BREAKING NEWS: WatchBox Invests Significantly into Independant De Bethune.

WatchBox, arguably one of the industry leaders in the used luxury watch market space, has announced a sizable investment into darling independent De Bethune. According to a number of sources, De Bethune’s management will remain intact, with no changes made - something unusual for this kind of deal outside of the Swiss watch industry. In an effort to maintain a stable environment, Pierre Jacques will remain the CEO of the company with his COO, Denis Flageollet. 

At this point, the move has become more controversial than I would have personally expected. Many enthusiasts are feeling that WatchBox is just expanding its reach outside of its metaphorical “lane”. While WatchBox itself has definitely had its share of controversy, mostly dealing with accusations of stockpiling and inflating luxury used watches, I personal find this move a little bit exciting. A number of enthusiasts have their apprehensions about this investment, however. They feel that WatchBox is already a large enough company (they do around $300m a year in business), and this move is just weight being thrown around into independent brands.

De Bethune has always been a favorite of mine. They’ve been largely known for intense research and application of state-of-the-art tech for their watches and it’s beyond obvious in their releases. A sizable investment in the brand means they can continue, and actually expand those efforts. And WatchBox has always been a champion of independent brands, even if they haven’t always done right by all of them, all the time. 

We’re still in the early stages of this “partnership”, whatever that ends up looking like, but I’m excited to see what the future holds for De Bethune.  We’ll be sure to keep you updated as more information becomes available.

What are your thoughts on WatchBox making a significant Investment in De Bethune?