The New Cockpit-Ready Bell & Ross BR 03 Horizon Watch
Tuesday - 17 September 2024
The BR 03 Horizon brings a new technical edge to the BR 03 collection from Bell & Ross, enabling the wearer to orientate himself while navigating the skies.
The BR 03 series by Bell & Ross arrived in 2005 and became a core collection that every pilot watch enthusiast wanted to get involved in, You can certainly see why. The whole concept formed from the vision of the brand’s two founders, Bruno Belamich and Carlos Rosillo, who wanted to create these technical-looking tool-like watches for everything military-based, including special forces, diving commandos, air forces and field action in general. The BR 01 instrument began the story, with its instantly recognisable circle-within-a-square profile. It was a declaration of independence. A unique selling point that no other manufacturer was recognised for. The main reason for its success lies within the simplicity of its design. The watch was strong, unique and easily identifiable. The same goes for the BR 03 series, which followed in its footsteps. It progressively replaced the BR 01 with a design that was more suited to daily wearability. I often think that the BR 03 is the purest expression of Bell & Ross watchmaking. It sums up what the brand is – a no-nonsense, no-frills brand focussing on practical, functional tools for daily wear. This very collection is now the brand’s core offering and the latest addition to the series shows a much-welcomed update.
The New Bell & Ross BR 03 Horizon Watch
The Bell & Ross BR 03 Horizon watch is a continuation of the BR 03 tradition. A disciplined utilitarian look with ergonomics at the heart of its DNA. It belongs to the Flight Instrument series and challenges its wearer to embrace a new way to read the time. In a way, you could liken the innovation to models like the Red Radar watch or the Radiocompass. Even the Gyrocompass addition, in fact. But this is not an entirely new concept. Bell & Ross actually released a 2012 version of the Horizon. It featured a 46mm case and was part of the BR 01 watch collection. The presentation of the watch, however, looks entirely new this time. It now comes in a smaller and more compact case size of 41mm by 41mm and looks more refined thanks to its curved lugs and its sleek black silhouette courtesy of a micro-blasted black ceramic material. Helping the watch sit comfortably on the wrist, Bell & Ross experts have made the case even more ergonomic with a height of 10.6mm and a practical 100-meter water-resistant capability. It's clear Bell & Ross has designed the new Horizon watch with comfort and practicality at the forefront. The case’s rounded corners evoke a subtle contemporary nature, while the sides boast expansive slopes that make the bezel a lot less imposing.
The new Bell & Ross BR 03 Horizon still features the four screws bolted onto the case in the corners, and the crown at 3 o’clock has an easy-grip design. The model takes inspiration from the artificial horizon which features in the cockpit of an aircraft. The crucial gyroscope has an important role to fulfil. It informs the pilot of his orientation relative to the Earth’s true horizon. The feature indicates pitch and bank, a backward and forward tilt, or a side-to-side tilt respectively. In the Bell & Ross BR 03 Horizon watch, it presents itself as a red-coloured indicator that stretches from the east side of the dial to the west on the underside of the watch’s sapphire crystal glass front. Joining this special feature is a dial split into two colours; blue for the northern hemisphere and black for the southern. This is a rotating central disc that features a black triangle serving as the reader for the hours. Then, on the inner bezel, white hour markers are set against a black background for optimal legibility. This scale features the minutes and the seconds. The 12 o’clock location is denoted by a white, legible triangle, while a white hand points to the minutes. An extra-long hand, decorated in a black and white striped pattern, is fixed at the centre and tracks the running seconds. Inside the case of the new Bell & Ross BR 03 Horizon is the BR-CAL.327, which is based on the latest version of the Sellita SW300 movement. It provides an impressive power reserve of 54 hours, storing the energy in its barrel until you return to wear it.
It’s great to see Bell & Ross broadening its offerings of the BR 03 range. It transposes all the favourable features of the BR 03 and brings them into a more modern package that still resembles the brand’s popular instruments for the cockpit. The duotone dial is particularly striking, borrowing its look from gyroscopes. Perfect for measuring and maintaining orientation, the Horizon watch boasts the signature square case that fans absolutely love, and despite offering a very different interpretation, it loses none of the distinctive features of the BR 03. I’d personally love to see more of this side to Bell & Ross’ watchmaking. The design is bold, off the wall, and adds a touch of technical sophistication to an otherwise so-frills, purpose-built tool watch.
For more information on the new Bell & Ross BR 03 Horizon watch, call and speak to a member of our Jura Watches sales team today on 01335 453453 or email us at help@jurawatches.co.uk.
