Independents

Contemplating picking up a DB28 and wanted to hear experiences, good or bad, about De Bethune reliability, service, and general customer experience. I did a little research and with what little I could find it seems like a mixed bag so wanted to hear from some WPS members what their experience has been like. TIA!

My experience with DB dates back to 2008-16 when I owned at DB22 Power, bought here on WatchPro (then purists) collector's market . It was the most extraordinary ownership experience I have ever had with a watch. On a couple of occasions the watch needed attention ( a service and later a clean). Long story short, they were amazing. On the second occasion, their after sales rep boarded a flight to London, delivered me the watch, and then flew home again. I was a little aghast, as I was not in THAT much of a hurry to get it back, and I thought he was coming to UK for a number of days (that is what he told me). Turned out, he made the trip specially. We had a few beers at the airport (on me) and he flew back that same day. At other times, I got to meet Denis on a trip to the manufacture, where they very kindly gave me a full tour of the place, much to my surprise. In short, I think they are an extraordinary company, and if you can own one... do it. I later sold mine due its lack of wrist time (due to its 48mm size.) The only problem I encountered in owning the watch was the need for it to go back to CH on those two occasions, but both times the 'work around' solutions provided me with some of the most memorable experiences I have had in watch collecting. They are crazy, committed and in my opinion, outstanding.. going way beyond what I was expecting of them. (For full disclosure, I have never again owned an haute watch from an independent company so I can't compare them to anyone else's service, and things have changed at DB with regard to ownership of the company in last few years.) I will never forget the experience of being a DB owner. Recommended. 

That's an amazing experience, more than anyone could ask for. You do make an interesting point which I'm curious about too is what the impact of the new ownership has had on the brand experience and the products. I've seen first hand many examples of private equity bringing the end to great brands, rarely the reverse, and sometimes it's just enough to keep them alive. Certainly something to think about.

A huge + for DB!!!

I do have a close friend who is a HUGE DB collector and he raves about their CS and after sales support 👍

Thanks for the feedback! Gotta support "small" businesses in 2021 😂

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I do have only good experience with the brand . Have visited them a few years back and also asked them for new box for my DB27 back then , was sent instantly.

What kind of issues are you having if you don't mind my asking? Aside from the customer experience I am wondering how robust and reliable the case and movement are. The DB28 lugs are so light in titanium they do feel delicate (even if they aren't) and with so many calibres/revisions across so few watches I wonder if there are enough movement hours in the wild to have worked out all the bugs. That said, I haven't seen any complaints about either so I'm hoping these can hold up to everyday wear.

Those floating lugs are amazing. Didn’t get any issues whatsoever till now . And I won’t worry about the movements . Never hear any complaints

With some damn fine prices tags to come along with it....