This year, watch manufacturer De Bethune presents its first 100% sports watch. This diver’s watch is equipped with a new caliber, water-resistance to more than 100 meters and makes a lasting impression with an exceptionally good readability. De Bethune developed and designed the DB28GS Grand Bleu to be a resolutely sporty watch – while cultivating the aesthetic elegance cherished by the brand.
Just 10 years ago, De Bethune began developing timepieces with a more contemporary spirit with the first DB28. Already at that time, De Bethune’s founder and Master Watchmaker, Denis Flageollet, an outdoor sports enthusiast, felt the need to create watches adapted to an active lifestyle. In 2015, the first DB28GS was launched, followed by the DB28GS Grand Bleu, De Bethune’s first diver’s watch.

Since not only divers‘ watches in particular, but sports watches in general – in every situation, in any kind of weather and under the poorest of lighting conditions – should be particularly easy to read, De Bethune developed a special lighting system for the DB28GS Grand Bleu. To illuminate the watch and the movement from the inside, the slightly bluish white light source is produced by a fully mechanical means that works on the dynamo principle. Neither electronics nor a battery is needed. A pusher at 6 o’clock activates a mechanism that provides the energy needed to light the watch.

As a diver’s watch, the DB28GS Grand Bleu is also equipped with a uni-directional rotating bezel which serves to enable accurate calculation of immersion time, as well as the transition through various decompression stops. Generally, all the numerals relating to the minutes counter are indicated on the bezel, which tends to create a more crowded visual effect. For the DB28GS Grand Bleu, these indications appear on the sapphire crystal driven by the bezel. This enables the model to remain unusually slim for a diver’s watch.
The DB28GS Grand Bleu displays central hours, minutes and seconds.

The DB28GS Grand Bleu is powered by a new movement, the 27th from the De Bethune factory. The hand-wound calibre operates at a frequency of 28,800 vph and provides a power reserve of five days.
The movement is housed in a titanium case with a diameter of 44 millimetres and a water resistance of 10 atm. De Bethune has placed the crown at 12 o’clock, and the patented system of floating lugs ensures that the watch sits perfectly on the wrist.

The DB28GS Grand Bleu is delivered with two straps: a canvas version and a striated natural rubber iteration.