In New York City, the US Open concluded a few weeks ago. One of the four majors (or “Grand Slam” events) in professional tennis, it’s a behemoth in the sport. Arthur Ashe Stadium, the US Open’s center court, is the largest venue in tennis, seating roughly 24,000 spectators. If Wimbledon represents traditional, all-white attire and well-mannered spectators, the US Open provides a counterbalance to the “posh” English major. It’s loud, boozy, much more chaotic – thoroughly “New York” in its energy. It’s the most important tournament for “home team” American tennis players.
This is where De Bethune enters the picture. We’ve touched on the brand’s move into tennis in a previous article. One of the major players in modern independent watchmaking, De Bethune is on the wrist of Tommy Paul (World #15, US #3), Jess Pegula (World #7, US #4), and Emma Navarro (World #18, US #5) – all at the highest echelons of the sport at their “home” major. Pegula made it to the final four, and sported her DB28xs Starry Seas on court throughout the tournament.
It’s quite rare to see independent watchmaking’s presence in the limelight of professional sports. Fortunately, we were able to connect with George Mayer, President E-Com, International, and Pre-Owned at 1916 Company (formerly WatchBox) to discuss how De Bethune became involved and is making waves in professional tennis.
The robotic arm epiphany – the beginning of DB and tennis
It takes an athlete to imagine an athlete’s needs. That’s really the beginning of the story for De Bethune’s foray into sports. Mayer was a national junior player, college tennis player, enthusiast of the sport well after his college days. While he was in Switzerland in May 2022, visiting the brand in L’Auberson, he encountered a robotic arm in De Bethune’s workshop.
Used to test the resilience of timepieces, the robotic arm accelerates and decelerates rapidly, jumps chaotically, to simulate the extremes of everyday life. “This was when the idea really hit me, these watches can really withstand impacts and acceleration. The brand maintained this as one of the core strengths of the watches – robust, resilient. And I immediately thought to myself, we have to put these on a tennis player’s wrist,” said Mayer when we spoke a few weeks ago.
With the robotic arm as a catalyst, Mayer saw an opportunity later when watching the ATP 500 tournament in Acapulco in February, 2023. Rising American star, Tommy Paul, played the final and came off of some of his biggest results to date including a semifinal run at the Australian Open earlier in that year. Mayer was able to get in contact with Paul’s agent, and the team expressed interest in seeing the watches and discussing further partnership possibilities. Mayer quickly shipped over a DB28 to Paul’s team as they arrived the following week to play Indian Wells in California, one of the biggest tournaments in the calendar and considered the “Fifth Grand Slam.”
“At that time, the smaller DB28xs model wasn’t out yet. We told him that there was going to be a more wearable, even lighter watch that he could play in,” said Mayer to provide the context for the initial partnership. “And that’s when Denis Flageollet (master watchmaker at De Bethune) kicked into overdrive and created the piece unique DB28xs LTC (Lawn Tennis Club) – a grail for tennis lovers with its Wimbledon green random guilloché dial, purple chapter ring, and tennis ball marker at 12 o’clock. That watch debuted that year (2023) at Wimbledon on Tommy’s wrist.”
Tommy Paul’s agent represents Jess Pegula and Emma Navarro as well. This is ultimately how De Bethune was able to crossover into the highest level of women’s tennis. It’s a huge leap, all of a sudden, for an independent watchmaking brand that didn’t particularly position itself as a “sports” brand.
Why not us? Why not sport?
De Bethune’s entrance into professional sports is fascinating, specifically because of how smooth that transition was. Mayer recounted from his early assessments, “there’s nothing that I would change on the watch to make it a better fit for the needs of tennis – ultra-lightweight titanium, super thin, iconic articulated lugs for peak comfort, and patented triple-parachute shock absorption system for max shock resistance.” The watches were always ready for the high-octane conditions of professional tennis matches. They simply hadn’t been brought there before.
One thing to note here as well, it is extremely unusual for a professional tennis player to wear a watch during matches. Most brands simply do not create timepieces that are resilient enough to survive the force of forehands and serves. Nor are many watches light and ergonomic enough to avoid interfering with players’ swing motions. Normally, brand ambassadors go to their bags immediately after a match, and the first thing they do is throw on a watch before on-court interviews begin. Combined in the Top 100 of men’s and women’s tennis, there are only around five to ten players that wear watches during matchplay – De Bethune has three. A testament to the brand’s ability to deliver an unusual, highly-desired combination of lightness, robustness, and comfort without sacrificing the quality of high-end independent watchmaking in finishing, case design, and movement construction.
Whenever a watch brand enters a new space, sports specifically here for De Bethune, there’s always the question of its impact. What does it do for the brand? From our vantage point, De Bethune’s venture into tennis opened up completely new ways of perceiving the brand and its watches, all in a very positive way. We covered one of our close friends, Tom T, and his journey to a DB28xs Steel Wheels that he wore running the Boston Marathon 2025 with a custom Alex Crown strap. Always searching for high-end timepieces that can endure his ultra-active lifestyle, De Bethune was never on the radar for Tom. That is, until he saw the brand on the wrist of Tommy Paul, Jess Pegula, and Emma Navarro. We see this recurring in our conversations with collectors, especially those who play sports regularly. There is a ton of appeal in having an ultra-modern, high-end watch capable of being worn on the tennis court, golf course, or running a marathon. Many brands simply cannot do it (or, it’s not recommendable for the longevity of the watch), and it’s become a great way for De Bethune to differentiate as a brand for collectors who take their sports seriously.
P.S. Special thanks to George Mayer for the insightful, behind-the-scenes chat on De Bethune’s entry into tennis!