DeWitt: Master of innovation and reinvention
A descendant of Napoleon, Jérôme de Witt launched the DeWitt brand in 2003. An interest in collecting watches and a knack for business led de Witt to invest in a watch company that had recently lost its founder.
Rather than cutting his losses, de Witt took over the business in its entirety and his namesake brand was born. It didn’t take long for de Witt to find great success. Just two years after its launch as DeWitt, the brand was awarded the prize of innovation at the Grand Prix de Geneva in 2005 and currently has more than 80 points of sale on all continents. Originally manufactured in a small factory in Vandoeuvres, DeWitt moved production to the expansive Manufacture in Meyrin due to growth. In this workshop, each DeWitt watch is handcrafted and assembled by a single watchmaker, given ample time to make sure that each timepiece is perfectly constructed. The company explains its identity as having “a unique vision of luxury, daringly different and unconventional.” With a focus on innovation and reinvention, DeWitt continues to reinterpret its top-of-the-line luxury timepieces.
X-Watch
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Continuing its exploration of reversible watches, DeWitt imagined the X-Watch with a spectacular articulated “bonnet” in the shape of an “X” that partly covers the face of the watch.
Activated by four push pieces, the bonnet separates in its middle and opens to disclose the face of the watch. The X-Watch houses DeWitt’s in-house manufactured movement, Calibre DW 8046. Built of some 544 components, the Calibre DW 8046 is the perfect illustration of the inventive audacity of DeWitt’s master watchmakers ($485,000).
TWENTY 8 EIGHT – TOURBILLON SQUELETTE –T8.TH.009
With a focus on mechanics and movement construction, the Twenty-8-Eight Skeleton Tourbillon does not intend to compete with the ultra-skinny and fragile skeletons.
The architecture remains deliberately strong and is therefore wellbalanced with the design of the case, which features 48 imperial columns. The carved-out main plate, a sand-brushed nickel silver base with black gold surface finishing and a yellow gold inscription of the caliber reference, is a marvelous labyrinth of curves, circles and straight lines ($345,000).
TWENTY 8 EIGHT – TOURBILLON –T8.TH.010
The Twenty-8-Eight Tourbillon features an innovative blend of materials, with a 43mm round case in rose gold and grade five Neotitanium, offering remarkable lightness and robustness.
Its contrasting two-tone face in anthracite grey and galvanic black highlights the relief and draws the gaze into the very heart of the movement. The accuracy and finishing levels applied individually to each of the 27 components of the dial are a genuine work of craftsmanship ($173,000).
TWENTY 8 EIGHT AUTOMATIQUE –T8.AU.011
Featuring a slightly thinner case, the dials of the Twenty-8-Eight Automatique are artistically divided into two guilloché zones.
The central flame pattern is remarkably precise and lends this model a radiance and elegance unique for this category of watch.
Showcased in its 43mm case, the timepiece is clad in tones of velvet black and taupe, bringing illumination to every wrist. The Twenty-8-Eight Automatique is a lively and sunny timepiece, made in 18K rose gold and grade five Neotitanium ($25,700).
TOURBILLON DIFFERENTIEL ROSE GOLD – AC.8002.53.M1052
Traditionally housed in a case that is a combination of titanium, rose gold and rubber, the Tourbillon Différentiel is now clothed in 950 platinum, 18K rose gold and a blend of 18K rose and white gold.
The patented power-reserve winding system in a tourbillon-equipped watch has been miniaturized, offering new possibilities for sequencing the parts of the movement and the aesthetics of the display ($272,000).
TWENTY 8 EIGHT TOURBILLON ASW REGULATOR HORIZON ROSE GOLD –T8.TA.001
DeWitt’s Twenty-8-Eight Regulator A.S.W. Horizons invites watch lovers to a journey through the sky and, by its design and inspiration, also intends to pay tribute to Art Deco design.
Made out of tinted sapphire with bluish tonalities, the dial is a New York Art Deco construction, while the hours and minutes hands, positioned in the center and in the shape of double-edged swords, are like two additional columns dictating the passage of time ($332,800).
Golden Afternoon Rose Gold – GA.AU.001
With lightness and fantasy, the Golden Afternoon collection has tried to artistically retrace the stages of a woman’s life and her changing perceptions of the world around her.
The dial is a delicate motherof- pearl garden, while the hours and minutes hands are refined little sculptures of angel wings. The seconds hand, thin and elegant, is topped with a little flame. On the lower left part of the dial, a small DeWitt logo gently floats across the sky ($40,800).
TOURBILLON FORCE CONSTANTE A CHAINE WHITE GOLD – AC.8050.48.M1020
Combining 18K rose gold with DeWitt’s emblematic chocolate color, Tourbillon Force Constante releases a truly warm and reassuring ambiance.
Mechanically rotating the crown when winding, the barrel spring drives a miniature chain consisting of 192 handcrafted elements, using an intermediate wheel to activate the power-reserve indicator sliding on a worm screw. If the pointer is in the red zone, the power reserve is close to zero; when it is in the green zone, it means the barrel spring is sufficiently wound ($326,700).
