Announcing their new BR 05 Watch Collection, Bell & Ross, a brand known for its iconic square BR03 model, keeps with its aviation roots, while giving us a fresh perspective on its round-in-square design. What is evident is the consistency in elements like legibility, functionality, reliability and precision. What’s been upgraded is its urban looks and overall feel of the watches.
Bell & Ross’s iconic identity remains intact with the lines of the case and the combination of round and square. The basic principles of geometric forms have a playful interaction and the result is a very different looking watch, that somehow still feels familiar and confident in the rigors of a city life. BR05 is intended for ‘the urban explorers.’
Unified Design that Works
Noticeable on the BR05 family of watches is the fact that the makers have used an integrated case, where the bracelet fuses to it, and forms a unified design. According to Bruno Belamich, Bell & Ross’ co-founder and creative director, this integration is aligned to the brand’s visual identity. At the same time the styling and design codes are slightly retro-seventies, and yet modern enough to match the current needs of consumers.
Very loosely you can also say that the watch is inspired by the classic designs of Gerald Genta. The size of the case for this collection is 40 mm, and given the particular form, it’s not very ample on slim wrists. To cater to a wide variety of audiences, the watches will be available in steel and gold cases, with bracelet and rubber strap combinations. There are dial color options to choose from, which includes a very impressive skeletonized version.
Under the Hood Power
Bell & Ross empowers the new collection a brand new automatic caliber – the BR CAL.321. A skeletonized movement – the calibre BR CAL.322, which is just the skeletonized version of the standard BR CAL.321, is also a part of the collection. If you think about it, this entire collection comes across as very sensible and distinctive and counter the proposition of a dressy sports watch, quite intelligently.
The design of this new collection is envisioned completely in-house and although the case measures only 40 mm, it fits wide and seems like it can cover a solid wrist. The case is built to be water resistant up to 100 meters and is supported by sapphire crystals at both ends. The talking point about the fitting of the watch, is of course the integrated strap and bracelet design – which tapers naturally to form the perfect fit.
As you can see, the dial comes in options and features detailing like the grouping of an hour marker and an Arabic numeral for some of the indices. The power reserve on the watches are two days, which is a decent number.