Last year, Bell & Ross released 3 additions to their Aviation line, which built on the brand's "from the cockpit to the wrist" design motif. We enjoy these pieces for their creativity and playfulness (remember this guy?) as well as their extreme legibility in most cases. This year, Bell & Ross are adding 3 more models to their Aviation line, and they keep pushing the boundary of integrating tools from the cockpit to wrist-bound timing instruments. Let's have a closer look at what to expect come Basel.
BR 01-92 Heading Indicator on left, instrument on right
BR 01-92 Heading IndicatorIt's easy to see where this fake watch took its inspiration (and name) from. The top layer of the dial is dominated by the graphic outline of an airplane, set over an outer disc labeled with WES (West, East, South) indications and a large yellow triangle representing North. Traditional use would have this disc pointing you in the right direction, but here the yellow triangle will track the hour for you. Inside of that disc is another, lined with minute indices. At the center is a 3rd disc for the seconds indication.
The functionality of the discs tracking out the time is similar to the Red Radar we showed you earlier, but much more practical in this form thanks to the use of more numbers. As you might guess, the rotating discs had to be made especially light as to not hinder the accuracy of the ETA 2892 inside.
BR 01-92 Airspeed on left, instrument on right
BR 01-92 AirspeedThe Airspeed is a more traditional 3-hander, but features a dial that borrows graphic elements from the anemometer (read: airspeed) panel within the aircraft. Hours, minutes and seconds are each tracked along their own disc, with the hours at the center, the minutes in the middle and the seconds along the outer edge. The seconds track is broken into quarter hours by the colors green, white and yellow - as would be seen in the cockpit indicating levels of criticality. The Airspeed also employs the ETA 2892 for timekeeping duties.
BR 01-92 Climb on left, instrument on right
BR 01-92 ClimbThe Climb borrows from the vertical climb speed indicator within the cockpit. The 'up' and 'down' labels have been put to better use for a watch, in indicating the remaining power reserve of the mainspring. This one also features a date window at 3 o'clock on the dial, under which is written "CLIMB" which you can perhaps use as a conversation starter. Each our is written out in a very large, legible typeface reminiscent of the actual instrument. The Climb uses an ETA 2897 thanks to its power reserve complication.
Each of these replica watches is limited to 999 pieces and comes housed in a PVD black steel case that measures 46mm. We'll go hands on with these replica watches at Basel later this month, so stay tuned for further details and coverage. Visit Bell & Ross for more technical specs.
Basel-world-2013 Bell-ross Introducing the Baume Mercier Clifton Retrograde Date Automatic Live Pics Details Pricing 8601