“A watch is a fragment of culture on the wrist,” says De Bethune co-founder and master watchmaker Denis Flageollet. If that’s true, then what is a coffee table book about luxury watches? Given that the forthcoming De Bethune: The Art of Watchmaking was penned by none other than Arthur Touchot, it’s likely to be as close as most folks get to owning the real thing.
To say that Touchot is passionate about watches merely scratches the surface: the former journalist has covered the luxury market in the New York Times, the Financial Times, and Hodinkee. He’s an Academy member of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) whose 2020 documentary A Moment in Time chronicles the recent renaissance of luxury watchmaking.
Published by Assouline, De Bethune: The Art of Watchmaking by Arthur Touchot promises to be a tour-de-force of the ultra-luxe watchmaker, chronicling its two decades of existence over 220 pages filled with more than 100 illustrations. Within those pages are passages on the company’s founding, manufacturing process, watch movements, and future plans. Touchot also includes quotes from passionate collectors ranging from Jean Arnault to Swizz Beatz and Michael Strahan.
While an actual De Bethune ranges from $45,000 to over $300,000, The Art of Watchmaking will only set horophiles back about $200.
While on this subject, see another of Assouline’s recent publications: ‘The Impossible Collection of Watches 2nd Edition.