Bell & Ross Aviation Black Dial Orange Canvas Strap Automatic Men's Watch BR0392-O-CA

WORLDTEMPUS - 6 April 2012

In a year that has seen traditional watchmaking powerhouses base their new 2012 products on new pilot interpretations, Bell & Ross provided the most original timepieces inspired by aircraft instrumentation with an imaginative set of three limited edition watches - and also rounded up its aeronautical collection with several other additions to the existing lines.
The twenty-year-old Parisian brand has been successfully adapting cockpit instruments to the wrist with great panache, and at the recent Baselworld fair unveiled yet another set of interesting watches that are destined to rapidly become collector's items: a trifecta comprising the BR 01 Horizon, the BR 01 Altimeter and the BR 01 Turn Coordinator - each one limited to 999 pieces worldwide, increased from the previous number of 500 due to a higher demand and the proliferation of the Asian market that catapulted the global number of points-of-sale to 800.
Keeping the perspective
Since its inception, Bell & Ross has been blending the graphic language of the fashion world and the spirit of military instruments to establish a b corporate identity through the use of black & white. In recent years, the brand has been going beyond the mere military chic spirit or the vintage look with several unexpected creations. The square BR 01 case has been the territory used for the brand's most creative forays inspired by the industrial styling of traditional analogue flight instruments; after the recent Compass and Radar models, the 2012 limited editions were among the most talked about timepieces at Baselworld in terms of design, and one in particular attracted the most attention: the BR 01 Horizon, with a black 46 mm PVD case powered by an ETA 2892 caliber.

On the dashboard of an aircraft, probably the most fascinating item is the altitude indicator, a/k/a artificial horizon. It's a vital instrument that allows pilots to monitor the plane's position in relation to earth - a most valuable asset, especially if there is no visibility. Bell & Ross successfully transposed its layout into another precision device: a watch that is both innovative and fun. The BR01 Horizon features a two-layered dial with grey (representing the sky) and black (land) parts divided by the white artificial horizon line on a 9-3 axis and then the index ring on an upper level joined by a bridge that imitates the aeronautical instrument.

Coordinating the collection
The other two members of the limited edition gang of three include the more complex Coordinator (based on two concentric discs that have to be perfectly weighted in order to maintain precision and avoid friction) and the simpler Altimeter (with graphics inspired by the device that measures the atmospheric pressure). Since co-founder Carlos Rosillo says there are six vital instruments on a traditional cockpit panel, it is expected that Bell & Ross will work through the entire dashboard…the others being the radio magnetic indicator, vertical speed indicator and the air speed indicator.

Military devices and particularly aviation instruments have always attracted industrial designers because they personify that famous "form follows function" mantra. Bell & Ross has always been inspired by aviation watches and has built a part of its collection around a historical perspective: five lines, with each one representing a key period in the history of military/aviation timepieces starting with the BR01 PW (pocket watch), then the BR WW-1 (the transition from pocket watch to the wrist during World War I), the BR123 (inspired by vintage watches around World War II), the BR02 (representing the widespread use of jetliners in the 1970s) and finally the BR01 (contemporary instrumentation).

A vintage bomber
Adding to the evolution of the aviation watch within its collection, another Bell & Ross product unveiled at Baselworld was the WW-2 Bomber Regulator - the historical follow-up of the Vintage WW-1. During the Second World War, instruments to measure time were attached to crew members' legs to facilitate access and better timing of the bombings. The WW-2 Bomber Regulator is adorned with an unusual bezel to make it easier to use with gloves and also retractable/flexible lugs that allow the best possible fit to the wrist in spite of its 49 mm diameter. The regulator-type dial has separate hour, minute and second hands.

Materials, complications and fine tuning
The rest of the new Baselworld products had to do with the use of different materials, revisiting complications and fine tuning the collection. On the materials front, Bell & Ross issued a few models created in "argentium" - a purer silver (960 instead of 925) that is shinier and more resistant to oxidation. The Vincent Calabrese jumping hour and power reserve calibers used more than a decade ago in the Vintage line were revisited and encased in the WW-1 series (one model in platinum, the other in rose gold). The line was enriched with the addition of a 42 mm monopusher chronograph for the WW-1 and a black bezel for the Vintage 126 chronograph.
The new-vintage/neo-retro style is certainly one of the major trends seen lately in watchmaking and Bell & Ross seems to dominate its design codes in contemporary timepieces. Never losing track of the horizon, it appears.