New Release: De Bethune DB27 Titan Hawk JPS
A stunning addition to a 10-year model line standing out for its avant-garde design and advanced materials
Soon after I came to the United States 30+ years ago as a graduate student, I fell in love with the NBA games. My #1 hero was Michael Jordan, who led Chicago Bulls to NBA championship 3 times during my years at the university. It was so thrilling for my roommates and me to watch Michael perform the impossible, wearing the 23 jersey.
I was a bit stunned when I saw Michael Jordan show up on my Instagram feed yesterday. It is an account that only follows other watch accounts. Then it all made perfect sense. Michael was wearing the De Bethune DB27 Titan Hawk JPS in its global premiere. As a watch collector and investor in the WatchBox, he is the best person to unveil this highly coveted model. Michael got the #23 case number, out of a 25 limited edition release for the US market.
This model is the latest iteration of the DB27 V2 with a rare black zirconium case. JPS refers to “John Player Special”, a cool black and gold color scheme. What is so special about the Titan Hawk model line? What are the new features of the JPS edition? Let’s dive into it!
A Brief History of DB27
The Titan Hawk V1 was launched in 2012 to celebrate De Bethune’s 10 year anniversary. The signature design elements include the crown at 12 o’clock, futuristic floating lugs and the use of grade 5 titanium as case material. In 2018, a major revision with a new dial design and new movement was launched. In this V2 model, a central second hand was added while the date function in V1 was dropped. The case back is completely visible now, as compared to the partial view of the V1 model. The reference number of the DB27 JPS is “DB27V2JPS”, indicating it being part of the V2 family.
Similar to F.P. Journe’s long running entry-level Chronomètre Souverain, De Bethune keeps refreshing its entry level DB-27 Titan Hawk line with variations in dial designs, case/strap materials and color schemes. These iterating models are enticing horological creations for the De Bethune lovers. Let’s see some of the DB27 models produced in the past.
DB27 Titan Hawk JPS
De Bethune designers certainly determined to make an ultimate Titan Hawk by including all the recent innovations that make De Bethune watches stand out. First, the black and gold color scheme that debuted spectacularly in DB28 GS JPS just earlier this year. This color combination just looks so elegant, sporty and cool. De Bethune is well-known for the cutting edge know-how in advanced materials. They spared no effort in making the gold and black in case, lugs and movement look so distinct and avant-garde. We saw these striking and vibrant colors in car racing which provided the inspiration for the JPS design. The color scheme is so trendy that it matches with the characters in the latest Disney movie “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”.
The second decision was the use of black zirconium for case and lugs. A very limited number of DB27 V1 were casted in zirconium and fetched the highest prices in auctions among DB27 models. Zirconium is so strong that even scissors and knives can be made from it.
Lastly, a black canvas textile strap with leather reinforcements was paired with the watch. A similar canvas textile strap was first used with a DB27 V2 in green dial. The choice made the watch a lot more sporty and avoided using leathers made from endangered animals. Now, if you are following the recent releases from Audemars Piquet’s Code 11.59 collection, you will notice that many of them come with rubber coated nylon straps. We are certainly seeing a new trend here.
The AutoV2 caliber is one of many in-house movements developed by De Bethune. It is an automatic movement with 60 hours of power reserve. The crown is located at the 12 o’clock position to create a perfect symmetry. It is a time-only movement with 217 parts and there is no hacking function. It is an interesting fact that many of the movements from the very best watch brands like Patek and F.P. Journe don’t hack. The reason is to protect the fast spinning balance wheel from being put to stop suddenly.
What a stunning watch front and back! Now, the price is set at $60K. Is it a bit high? Let’s take a closer look. The first DB27 V2 released in 2018 was priced at $38K. It comes out to about 9.6% annual increase for 5 years (from 2018 to 2023). We know that Rolex’s 2022 price increases ranged from 2.5% to 12%. Patek and Lange made price hikes of about 7-8% for 2022. So, the pricing of DB27 JPS is inline with this trend of top brands.
Another way is to look at the auction performance of this model line. For 2021 and 2022, the data points for DB27 V1 are $107K, $120K and $227K. The data points for DB27 V2 are $60K and $138K for the same two years.
The annual production of all De Bethune watches is about 160-200 pieces. The volume is about 1/5 of that of F.P. Journe. The JPS edition is 25 pieces for the US market. Taking all these into considerations, the pricing seems reasonable.
“Be Like Mike!” Congratulations to the lucky few who have the fund and access to own this rare piece. For the rest of us, it is a smashing release to admire from a distance before the end of 2022. For me, I’m quite intrigued to see if 2023 may bring us the DB27 V3. Until then, the JPS edition is at the top of the Titan Hawk family.