Bell & Ross BR 03 Watches

Bell and Ross BR03 Review 

Bell & Ross is not yet 20 years old but the Franco-Swiss brand developed, after some trial and error, a strong and imposing identity. Its style is immediately recognizable among luxury watches. The three major ranges of the current catalog - Vintage, Aviation, and Marine - thus offer watches with a functional and technical look, cases with a strong personality, and dials benefiting from very good readability.

Bell & Ross is barely 20 years old but has known how to impose its watches on marked style and personality. Thanks to this strategy, Bell & Ross has acquired a strong reputation in a few years and now benefits from this recognition to continue its development. Capitalizing on the success of its flagship model, the BR 01, the brand, for example, knew how to expand its catalog with variations pushing the concept of aviation instrument to its climax - in particular, the BR 01-92 Red Radar or BR watch models 01 Turn Coordinator.

Bell and Ross BR03 92 Watch

The BR03-92 fits perfectly into the family of Bell & Ross instrument watches with optimal readability. The watchmaking company even goes to the end of its concept by reversing the traditional principles of day/night legibility in a game of reverse contrasts.

An updated version, its modern and stripped line goes to the essential, its refined display sports a graphic dial with clear indications and subtle colors. With its modern design, it offers optimal reading on the wrist. In the night version, this subtlety turns into an explosion of light. Its luminescent rubber dial and bracelet glow like an aurora borealis.

Bell and Ross BR 03-92 MA-1 Watch

From elite police units to air force pilots, Bell & Ross timepieces have equipped experts in the civilian and military world since its inception, meeting the most stringent specifications. Bell & Ross, in turn, draws inspiration from the dress codes of these professionals. The year 2019 sees the birth of the BR 03-92 MA-1: a revisited version of the iconic watch instrument from Bell & Ross. Its subtle details pay homage to the US Air Force MA-1 aviator jacket - or "bomber" - introduced in 1958.

The sandwich construction of its dial, as well as its cutouts, allows it to be enhanced by the color of an orange bottom plate. In addition, the dark khaki ceramic case and the reversible khaki / orange calfskin strap offer a certain military look to the wearer. Bell & Ross designers took inspiration from the nylon used by the US Air Force in the 1950s and the ergonomic shape of the MA-1 to launch a dynamic version of its automatic pilot's watch.

Like the Bell & Ross professional watches, the MA-1 bomber jacket met strict functional requirements; its neat aesthetics, its sculptural forms simply flowed from it. The widespread adoption of jet aircraft in the 1950s made it possible to reach higher altitudes and thus much colder temperatures. The rationalization and explosion of avionics have also contributed to the cockpits becoming more compact. The Air Force pilot’s leather jackets, thick woolen skin, bulky, uncomfortable and prone to freeze in flight, needed to be quickly redesigned.

Nylon has emerged as the ideal solution; indeed, almost all the production of this polyamide fiber was devoted to the manufacture of parachutes and their hangers since the Second World War. She was looking for a new outlet. Like the jacket, the BR 03-92 MA-1 strap, in khaki calfskin, is not only lined with orange but also reversible. 

Bell and Ross BR03 Diver Watch

It is easy to summarize what the series of three Bell & Ross Divers offers us. A first square watch, water-resistant to 300 m. The Diver is available in a black model with an orange needle, a blue one with a yellow needle, and another in bronze, available in a limited series of 999 copies. 

First, it is equipped with a diving goggle that has the distinction of being quite thin. Here, no ceramic, but an aluminum insert. Many people prefer ceramics, but I am still a fan of aluminum, which "lives" with the watch, marks itself, but helps to give it character. The figures specific to BR 03-92 disappear in favor of round or rectangular hour indicators. The shape of the needles has also been reviewed. They are strangely thinner than the “regular” models but seem to be treated with a more powerful Super-LumiNova.

Bell and Ross BR03 Price

Prices will be around $2,900 for the ladies’ model with quartz movement; $4,300 for the three-hand BR 03-92; and $6,000 for the BR 03-94 chronograph.

Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Ceramic Watch

The Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Ceramic is powered by a classic ETA 2892A2 movement. This reference, beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour and having a seconds stop, corresponds to the top of the range from ETA for watches with three automatic hands with the calendar. It will fulfill its office over time with precision. Its height of 3.6mm notably allows the watch to display a reasonable thickness of 11.43mm.

Although elegant, the BR 03-92 Ceramic does not betray its origins on the bottom side with this engraving which recalls the identification plates of military equipment and its 4 closing screws. This BR 03-92 fits easily on the wrist. Its contained measurements - if we compare them to a classic BR01 and its 46mm side - allow a very good wearing comfort. Proof, moreover, that Bell & Ross wished to make the BR 03-92 Ceramic a versatile watch, the model is supplied with a strap dressed in alligator - visible on our photo series - that accompanies a second black synthetic canvas strap with the resolutely military appearance.

The watch remains nevertheless present in everyday life and will not fail to attract the eyes of your table neighbors. But, and this is THE strong point of this model, you can safely wear it during the week at the office, in a suit/tie, or on the WE on more casual outfits.

Bell and Ross BR 03-51 GMT Watch

Instrument BR 03-51 GMT Titanium is an avant-garde watch combining high-tech materials around the mechanics of Swiss fine watchmaking. Two complications serving the long-haul traveler: a second-time zone and a large date for optimal readability. The dial at 6 o'clock displaying the second time zone is a watch in the watch. It offers a rapid and simultaneous reading of two indications: the reference time and the local time.

The large, photoluminescent white numerals and the orange hand in the second time zone contrast with the carbon fiber of the dial, while the date is displayed in large in its window at 12 o'clock. The use of high-tech materials: polished brushed titanium for the case and carbon fiber for the dial optimize the performance of the watch. Ultralight, its titanium case offers maximum wearing comfort. In addition, titanium is perfectly resistant to all-natural environments (atmosphere, seawater) and has exceptional resistance to corrosion and chemical attack. These are all reasons why the designers of Bell & Ross turned to this mineral in their constant search for perfection.

Instrument BR 03-51 GMT Titanium is the ideal watch for long-distance travel. An essential tool for the man who wants to travel while keeping his bearings, she knows how to be forgotten by its lightness and comfort on the wrist.

Bell and Ross BR 03-92 New Steel Watch

The Bell & Ross BR03-92 watch of aeronautical and military inspiration and born of a collaboration between engineers, master watchmakers, brand designers and professional users who sought to reproduce as accurately as possible an on-board clock wrist scale. This watch is a benchmark in terms of readability, reliability, and performance. It is available here on a polished steel case, black rubber strap, and date function.

Bell and Ross 03-92 Phantom Ceramic Watch

The "Phantom" style was designed with reference to stealth planes, undetectable but never completely invisible ... The full black dial plays the card of legibility indiscretion. The new BR 03 Phantom in matt ceramic version is the new reference for Bell & Ross with its legendary BR03 watch case, its black FULL dial, and its rubber strap.

Bell and Ross BR 03-92 Heritage Watch

The passion for old watches and legendary aircraft from the 1940s gave birth to a unique style, the "Heritage" style. It draws its inspiration from history while using the most modern techniques to restore the effects of passing time ... Its sand-colored hands, numerals, and indexes with an old appearance, and the natural leather strap, offer character and the look of vintage military watches.

Technical specifications:

• Automatic mechanical movement.
• Functions: hours, minutes, seconds. Dated.
• Matt black ceramic case. Diameter 42 mm.
• Black dial. Sand-colored numerals, indexes, and hands covered with a photoluminescent coating.
• Anti-reflective sapphire crystal.
• Water resistance: 100 meters.
• Bracelet: in gold-colored calfskin with hot stamping and black ultra-resistant synthetic canvas.
• Black PVD finish steel pin buckle.