Denis Flageollet has spent the past two decades shaping the landscape of contemporary watchmaking. Trained both as a watchmaker and a restorer, his formative years with François-Paul Journe and Vianney Halter at THA Horlogerie gave him an unusually broad foundation, from problem-solving to prototyping. That experience became the launchpad for De Bethune, which he co-founded in 2002 and where he continues to serve as its technical heartbeat.

2011: DB1W and DB1Y, the very first De Bethune watch

Flageollet has always looked forward rather than back. His fascination with physics, astronomy and materials science has driven a stream of innovations: from the delta-shaped balance and silicon escape wheels to advanced shock-absorbing systems and the spherical moonphase. His exploration of titanium — most memorably in its deep, heat-treated blue—has become a signature that shifted the visual language of modern independents.

2014: DB25 Moonphase, a spherical moon sits among gold stars, crowning this bright theater

Among the milestones are the DB28, with its flexible lugs and space-age dial, which won the 2011 Aiguille d’Or at the GPHG, and the sculptural Dream Watch 5. Each carries his imprint: mechanically ambitious, aesthetically distinct and never bound by tradition. Flageollet’s contribution is not just in individual watches, but in proving that the future of horology can be imagined afresh.

2011: DB28 Tourbillon, the innovative “floating lugs” system — patented for its ability to effortlessly adapt to the wrist’s size and movements