DE BETHUNE. A UNIQUE, IMPORTANT AND EXTREMELY FINE 18K WHITE GOLD WRISTWATCH WITH HAND-ENGRAVED DIAL
Lot incorporates material from endangered species … Read more DE BETHUNEIMPERIAL FOUNTAINUNIQUE PIECEVARIOUS PROPERTIES
DE BETHUNE. A UNIQUE, IMPORTANT AND EXTREMELY FINE 18K WHITE GOLD WRISTWATCH WITH HAND-ENGRAVED DIAL

SIGNED DE BETHUNE, DB25 IMPERIAL FOUNTAIN MODEL, NO. BIFAJ88H, CIRCA 2014

Details
DE BETHUNE. A UNIQUE, IMPORTANT AND EXTREMELY FINE 18K WHITE GOLD WRISTWATCH WITH HAND-ENGRAVED DIAL
SIGNED DE BETHUNE, DB25 IMPERIAL FOUNTAIN MODEL, NO. BIFAJ88H, CIRCA 2014
Movement: Cal. DB 2145, manual, 31 jewels, signed
Dial: Chinese numerals, ram head in relief to the translucent blue enamel centre, eleven Chinese zodiac heads engraved on outer ring
Case: Glazed display back secured by 5 screws, 44 mm. diam., signed
With: 18k white gold De Bethune buckle, undated Certificate of Origin and Warranty, instruction manual, presentation box and outer pouch
Special notice
Lot incorporates material from endangered species that is not for sale and is shown for display purposes only. The endangered species strap shown with the Lot is for display purposes only and is not for sale.Upon sale, the watch will not be supplied to a buyer outside Hong Kong with any watch strap.

Brought to you by

Cissy Ngan
Cissy Ngan

Lot Essay

Founded in 2002 by David Zanetta and Denis Flageollet, De Bethune quickly flourished in the watch industry by merging both peerless aesthetic with the latest scientific breakthroughs. The deceptively simple elegance of their designs serves well in magnifying the complexity of the materials and processes involved the creation of their timepieces. As De Bethune crafts an extremely limited amount of timepieces per year, the philosophy of the company has been to create better rather than more, and to draw inspiration from the past in order to constantly reinvent it.

Following the success of the IXéme inframonde Maya special series, in 2013, De Bethune created a set of twelve art pieces, the DB25 imperial Fountain. The series pays homage to the bronze heads of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac which adorned the water clock fountain located in the Yuanming Yuan – Old Summer Palace – outside of Beijing, China. Each timepiece is accentuated by a central bas-relief representing one of the twelve animal heads modeled after the bronze heads of the fountain. The hand-engraved head is further embellished by a background of Grand Feu enameling and the whole is surrounded by a free interpretation of twelve miniature animal heads.

Supposedly designed by Giuseppe Castiglione for the Quianlong Emperor, the water clock fountain, built during the 18th century by Italian and French Jesuits as well as Chinese artisans, was of great historical value. Arrange in a semi-circle, the twelve year circle of animals, the ram is intelligent, artistic, loyal and kind hearted, and 2015 announces a year of promise and prosperity.

In order to highlight the colourful and sculptural decoration of the watch by freeing the center of the movement from any mechanical components, the De Bethune manufacture had to exclusively design and develop a new caliber DB2145 to efficiently display time by having the hour and minute functions rotate around the rim of the dial.

The present watch is part of the collection of twelve watches representing the head of a different Chinese Zodiac animal. Made in white gold and decorated with blue Grand Feu enamel, this watch is a unique example which has never been offered at auction and is a rare and enthralling marriage of ground-breaking technology and supreme craftmanship.

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