This Bell & Ross BR-03 Watch Is Inspired By The Power Of Flight
An homage to cockpit instruments and the artificial horizon indicator.
The best tool watches on the market seem to sing with functionality and durability, but few take inspiration as literally as the newest Bell & Ross BR-03, the Horizon. It not only takes design cues from an airplane cockpit, it even manages to look like an artificial horizon indicator (hence the name).
The visually striking timepiece joins the ranks of other rugged Bell & Ross timepieces, like the Bell & Ross BR-03 in Black Steel, as well as surprisingly refined offerings like the Art Deco-inspired BR-05. And yet, the BR-03 Horizon stands out tastefully in its own way, nodding to the “iconic dial of the gyroscopes used for handling flights with zero visibility.”
It’s an ingenious bit of watchmaking inspiration, nodding quite literally to the colorways found on an attitude indicator (blue represents the sky, dark lines represent the Earth, and center red lines represent the wings of an aircraft). Its circle-within-a-square design evokes instantly recognizable Bell & Ross design details, while the company’s calibre BR.CAL-327 movement powers the watch itself.
The timepiece boasts a 54-hour power reserve, and the watchmaker calls it “an intuitive tool with a simplified display, with a black seconds hand, a white minutes hand and a contrasting arrow (not unlike an indicator on a cockpit panel) to mark the passage of hours. Especially when worn with shades of blue and indigo in an ensemble, the effect is highly sharp and stylish.
Set on a sporty black rubber strap and built with a nicely sized 41mm case, the timepiece appears a fine addition to the ongoing lineup of “Flight Instruments” watches from the long-running brand. The BR-03 Horizon “enriches this set of horological instruments with a new timepiece with an iconic design,” part of a series of “unique, highly practical watches.”
Priced at $4,500 and available now online at Bell & Ross, just 999 examples of this highly precise, flight-ready watch are on offer.
