Review: De Bethune DB27 Titan Hawk V2 in Salmon Dial
Avant-garde engineering from a top independent watchmaker fusing classical and futuristic design
Like many watch collectors, I started with collecting mainstream brands, before learning more about the independent brands and falling in love with them. De Bethune is an independent brand that stands out to me due to its cutting-edge technology and very modern designs, three GPHG awards including the “Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix in 2011, wide range of product lines, and solid financial backing. Furthermore, De Bethune only produces 160-200 watches annually across all models, which means that each watch is fairly rare.
The only downside is the prices are generally pretty high, so I aimed for the entry level model in current production, which is DB27 Titan Hawk V2. The DB27 V1 was released in 2012 while the V2 was released in 2018. There are four color choices for the dial, blue, black, silver and salmon. The DB25 is a more classic line while DB28 is a more contemporary line. DB27 combines the signature floating lugs and crown at 12 o’clock from DB28 and adopts a more conventional 3-hand dial design. It is perfect for an entry level model for De Bethune.
The model of the watch in this review is DB27 Titan Hawk V2 and the reference number is DB27TIS2V2PS. TI stands for Titanium used for the case. S2 represents the salmon dial (while S1 is for silver, S3 is blue and S8 is black in De Bethune’s color coding scheme). PS means "polished and small" referring to the floating lugs.
My Titan Hawk keeps very accurate time and it is merely half a second slow per day measured over 30 days. It is a bit faster lying down dial-up while a bit slower vertically (on a winder) and being worn. So my trick is to let it lie down flat dial-up during the evenings. One surprise to me is that the second hand doesn’t hack, which is a feature I’d prefer to have. The power reserve is 60 hours which is plentiful. The movement in DB27 V2 is a new one and different from the V1. The movement doesn’t hack, which is the case similar to some high-end watches in order to protect the balance wheel. The transparent caseback and skeletonized rotor offer a good view of the movement.
The watch is very comfortable to wear thanks to the stylistic floating lugs and the light weight titanium case. The 43mm case size is just fine for my 20cm (7.87in) wrist but may be a bit too big for some folks.
The Titan Hawk V2 is still quite new, so it has not shown up in the watch auctions yet. The V1 has appeared at least twice in the auctions and you may check out the following links directly: DB27ZS8 and DB27S2.
While DB27 v2 is the entry-level model in De Bethune’s current production, there is nothing “entry level” about the timepiece itself. Instead, it represents the avant-garde in both technology and design, fusing classical and futuristic elements in one.
To research further:
Review by Monochrome
Review by A blog to watch
A video review by Tim of WatchBox
Introduction by De Bethune CEO
A collaboration with Fort Aero