Do you smell the scent of burning rubber on asphalt? Do you hear the sounds of powerful jets roaring through the sky? If you think about it, these sensations aren’t just noise, they’re the essence of the mechanical marvel of human achievements. Bell & Ross, inspired by this, are releasing a duet of watches—BR-X5 Racing and BR-03 Horizon—that mimic the powerful machines that dominate both land and sky, bringing the spirit of high-speed racing and aviation directly to your wrist.
On the ground, the BR-X5 Racing takes center stage—an automatic timepiece that draws inspiration from the dashboards of racing cars. Just as horological precision is king in the world of high-performance racing, the central seconds hand of the model features a “checkerboard” type graduation, capable of slicing time down to a quarter of a second. Echoing the DNA of supercars, the watch uses a featherlight woven carbon plate integrated into a robust titanium body. All this is packed into a 41mm case that protects the COSC certified in-house BR-CAL.323 caliber. And because Bell & Ross are so confident of this movement, they’ve guaranteed 5 years of precision and reliability. There’s no sense in hiding it either, so it's on display through a large, tinted window in the middle of the dial, as well as through an open caseback.
The power reserve indicator located at 9 o’clock is particularly interesting. Once 70 hours is up and the needle moves from the indicator marked with “F” for full, to “E” for empty, you’ll know it's time to wind the watch again. With only 500 limited pieces floating around the market, the watch probably won’t make you drive any faster, but it could certainly make you feel like you could.
Look up, the BR-03 Horizon might just be soaring overhead. Similar to its racing counterpart, the watch lifts the design elements of a dashboard in the cockpit of an aircraft. There’s a slight twist though, the dial mimics an earth-and-sky concept: the upper blue area represents the sky, while the darker lower half represents the earth. A large white hand indicates the minutes, while a black and white striped one marks the seconds. What makes this watch stand out from others, however, is how the dial rotates, doubling as an hour hand through a large central indicator arrow. The BR-03 Horizon not only improves on what was thought possible for legibility in a watch, but completely reinvents it.
Encased in micro-blasted black ceramic, the watch houses the BR.CAL-327 automatic movement, offering a power reserve of 54 hours. With only 999 pieces available, the chances of one actually flying overhead is likely slim to none. But don’t rule out the possibility of another Bell & Ross timepiece ticking away on the wrist of the pilot on your next flight. After all, this is just one of their many “instrument watches” that continue to push the boundaries of aviation timekeeping—but you probably already knew that.
