De Bethune / DB28XS
De Bethune DB28XS
Collection profile · 2023
The DB28XS is De Bethune’s compact 38.7–39 mm interpretation of the DB28, preserving the floating-lug architecture and open, contemporary aesthetic while scaling the icon down for slimmer wrists and broader everyday wear.
Why it matters
DB28XS is the compact branch of the DB28 family, important because it brings De Bethune’s signature floating-lug design to a smaller wrist profile without losing the brand’s technical identity.
Key references
Collection timeline
- 2023 — The DB28XS line was presented in official De Bethune communications as the compact, more intimate extension of the DB28 family.
- 2024 — De Bethune unveiled the DB28XS Aérolite, a meteorite-dial interpretation that pushed the collection’s material experimentation further.
- 2024 — Official collection-page language described the DB28XS range as 38.7 mm watches with hours, minutes, power reserve indication, and tourbillon options.
More from De Bethune
- DB25 — DB25 is De Bethune’s classical round-case family, now used for elegant calendar, moon-phase, and chronograph executions that pair restrained proportions with the brand’s signature hand-finishing and technical refinement. The line acts as the maison’s more traditional counterpoint to its experimental and reversible creations, while still carrying unmistakably modern De Bethune architecture.
- DB27 — De Bethune DB27 is an official collection page for the brand's Titan Hawk-era self-winding watches, currently best treated as a source-backed archive-style collection rather than a live model family.
- DB28 — De Bethune DB28 is the maison's signature experimental collection, built around floating lugs, sculptural titanium architecture, open horological displays, and high-complication variants.
- DB28XP — De Bethune DB28XP is the ultra-thin, experimental branch of the DB28 family, represented by official press releases for meteorite, Kind of Blue, Steel Wheels, and tourbillon executions.
- DB29 — De Bethune DB29 is the brand's Maxichrono Tourbillon collection page, centred on a high-complication chronograph-tourbillon architecture with coaxial chronograph indications.
- DBD — Digital-display collection using rotating discs to show jumping hours and trailing minutes in an unconventional layout.
- DB Eight — De Bethune DB Eight is an official eight-sided-case collection page, useful as a source-backed long-tail page while the brand does not expose multiple current model references there.
- DB Kind of Two — DB Kind of Two is De Bethune’s reversible, double-faced watch family, built around a single case that offers two distinct identities on opposite sides. The concept merges classical and contemporary aesthetics while showcasing the maison’s technical ingenuity in managing display orientation, case turning, and dial architecture.