De Bethune is Seeking Perfect: A Movie on the Art of Watchmaking

What better way to celebrate two decades in the watchmaking industry than create a movie about the perpetual search for perfection in watchmaking? Not all brands would have the vision to do this, but then not all brands are De Bethune. Innovative and traditional in equal measure, the brand has risen to the upper echelons of — not just independent watchmaking, where it has always been — but the heady world of high-end watch collecting writ large. De Bethune’s watches are held in the highest regard by the greatest connoisseur curators of world-beating assemblages. Regular readers will know all too well that we at Revolution are huge fans, so it made perfect sense for the movie to be co-presented by Revolution founder Wei Koh with our friend and watch collector Todd Searle.

Seeking Perfect is a behind-the-scenes look at the world in which De Bethune founder and master watchmaker Denis Flageollet lives out his dream of creating watches like nothing seen before. Independent watchmaking is arguably the most freeform interpretation of the art form, with brands liberated of the shackles of conglomerate ownership and possessing a raison d’etre of breaking barriers and allowing a spiritual vision to manifest itself in a wrist-mounted time-telling machine. Anchoring this horological modernism is a traditional grounding, rooted in the time-served methods and discipline of fine watchmaking. It’s a potent combination, and a story made for the silver screen.

Flageollet is inspired by nature and his natural surroundings. Understanding the composition and the nuances of the materials with which a watchmaker works is key to the work of a master of the art. In the movie, the viewer is given an exclusive look at Flageollet creating a unique watch case from scratch, beginning with the rough iron ore from the earth around his atelier. We then join him in his forge where he takes this raw material and turns it into a beautiful watch case – horological alchemy in action.

Wei Koh and co-presenter Todd Searle take us through the journey with the brand, speaking to Denis Flageollet, CEO Pierre Jacques and house jeweler and movement finishing specialist Victoire Halter. And they all have one thing in common — they are seeking perfect.