De Witt has unveiled a new limited edition of its flagship piece. The watch dubbed Twenty-8-Eight Tourbillon represents homage in two different ways. Firstly, its name is a tribute to one of the greatest military geniuses in the history, Napoleon Bonaparte, who just happens to be a direct ancestor of the company’s owner, Jérôme de Witt. Moreover, it is also a nod to the success of the watchmaker itself, since it shows off its first ever entirely in-house made tourbillon movement DW8028. De Witt is launching two new versions of the model, both made in the same art deco styling and with vertical lines on the dial. The new “Bronze” and “Glacier” variations placed in a casing made from gold and titanium will both be issued in 99 copies.
De Witt Twenty-8-Eight Tourbillon Watches
Named after the Coronation Date
Twenty-8-Eight Tourbilon pieces represent the pinnacle of the brand’s expertise, and the watchmaker tends to present a new version of its star product on a yearly basis. Previously, we have presented a skeleton version of the watch which was presented at the last edition of the Baselworld fair. As it was previously mentioned, the name of the flagship model hails and derives its name from an ascendant to the founder of de Witt watches, the important figure of the French and the world’s history. The name of the model is a tribute to the date when Bonaparte became the Emperor of the French which occurred exactly on the 28th of Floréal according to the French revolutionary calendar (hence the highlight on the number 28). For the rest of the world, the date of this event was May 26, 1805.
DW8028, the Brand’s First Proprietary Tourbillon Movement
Moving back from history to the horological part of the story stands the brand’s prized DW8028 tourbillon movement, the first one of the sort that the company was able to produce completely by itself. The caliber features a rather conservative architecture with a Swiss lever escapement that has a variable inertia balance wheel, as well as a Breguet overcoil. The manufacturer used 18 K yellow gold for the construction of the escapement wheel, balance wheel and pallet. Besides, DW8028 otherwise includes 19 jewels and the total of 185 parts and functions on the frequency of 2.5 Hz. When fully wound by hand, the 33 mm wide caliber provides a power reserve which lasts for three days. Naturally, the caliber is likewise treated with high-end decorative techniques and has its single barrel and tourbillon cage bridges beveled and ornamented with Côtes de Genève motif (all of the decorations are of course performed by hand).
Art Deco Styling
The newcomer by de Witt displays a new type of two-part dials with an imposing appearance. Featured with two vertical appliqués, the dial includes three Roman numerals and sword-shaped openwork hands. Its most notable section is at the lower section where one can see its tourbillon carriage encircled with a gold segment decorated with circular graining. Both of the new versions of Twenty-8-Eight model have a case in a round shape, with the diameter of 43 mm, the thickness of 10.28 mm and with the brand’s trademark Imperial column decorations on the sides. Its front and skeletonized back are covered with sapphire glasses, while the watch supports water resistance to 30 meters. In both cases, the strap is made of black alligator leather and with a buckle made in the material of the case.
De Witt Twenty-8-Eight Tourbillon Watch Glacier
Two Variations: Bronze or Ice-Blue PVD Treatment
The new versions of de Witt’s flagship models are named “Bronze” and “Glacier”, after its overall appearance caused by the use of different finishes. The first variation with the casing in a bronze tone has the reference number T8.TH.016. Its case is made from the combination of 18 K rose gold and titanium which received bronze PVD treatment. This version sports a black dial with bronze PVD appliqués, while several other components are in rose gold tone.
De Witt Twenty-8-Eight Tourbillon Watch Bronze
On the other hand, the second version T8.TH.015 has a cool appearance with its housing in white gold and titanium with ice-blue PVD coating, matched with a gray dial with appliqués in the same tone and several rose gold accents and components.
Last but not least, the watchmaker revealed that each of the models is the result of laborious work of a single master watchmaker who is in charge of the assembly, adjustment and testing of the watch. By being involved in each of the stages of the watch’s production, one of the brand’s skillful artisans guarantees high quality to the product, but also adds a bit of intangible quality to the watch. The name of the master watchmaker in charge of the specific timepiece can be seen on a small plaque on the barrel bridge which is visible through the sapphire case-back section.
