Great New Books For Watch Lovers: The Millennium Watch Book Divers, De Bethune

 

Want to start the new year out right when it comes to watch collecting and watch loving?  A couple of great new books have just made their appearance on the scene and are worth a closer look — even if you missed them over the holidays. Among them: the Millennium Dive Book and a look at the contemporary brand, De Bethune.

The Millennium Watch Book: Divers

This book is perfect not only for watch lovers, but also for dive lovers. It is the third volume in The Millennium Watch Book Collection that pays tribute to watches made in the 21^st century.

According to Brice Lechevalier, publisher of the book and of GMT magazine,  he conceived of the project just before GMT Magazine was celebrating its 20^th anniversary in 2020. To celebrate, he opted to create an entire series of books over the course of 10 years. The Millennium Watch Book – the first one—spanned 300 pages and has become known as volume 0. In 2021, Volume 1 emerged to celebrate the tourbillon.

Now, volume 2 focuses on dive watches. The oversized hard-cover coffee-table book consists of 200 pages and encpmpanssing50 iconic dive watches released since the year 2000. It includes more than 500 images and covers dive-related topics and the future of the category. Roberta Naas authored several of the articles, including features on Panerai, IWC and Grand Seiko. Other contributors include a host of other industry experts, including Jason Heaton (avid diver and writer), Ken Kessler and Xavier Markl, among others. It is available in English or French like the previous Millennium Watch books. CHF 190.

 

 

De Bethune: The Art of Watchmaking

The book on De Bethune, written by Arthur Touchot and published by Assouline, focuses on this 20-year-old brand – and the spirit of its founder, Denis Flageollet. His objective for the brand has always been about being disruptive in a classic field.  In the past 20 years the brand has unveiled 30 movements – each incredibly sophisticated.  Production of the brand’s watches is extremely limited, with no more than 150- 250 watches being made per year. Average prices range from $45,000 to $300,000.

To celebrate the 20^th anniversary, the book also includes a special contribution from De Bethune’s CEO Pierre Jacques, as well as other industry leaders and collectors such as Aurel Bacs, Jean-Claude Biver, Ben Clymer, Suzanne Wong and Luc Pettavino (among others). The book outlines the progression of the brand over the past couple of decades and takes a closer look at its timepieces. It is perfect for true watch collectors who have a particular penchant for this brand. The coffee table book consists of 220 pages, more than 100 illustrations and a beautiful hard cover. It retails for $195.