Armed with their experience in the aeronautic and military fields, Bell&Ross in-house engineers, master-watchmakers, designers and professional users pooled together their knowledge to create readable, functional, accurate and reliable watches which meet the specific demands of professionals on the job. Offering for the first time a Flyback function, characteristic of the very best aviation chronographs, the new BR 126 Blackbird pays tribute to the Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird”, the legendary American plane. The Flyback complication was developed for aircraft pilots before the Second World War. It allowed them to instantly stop and restart their chronograph on receipt of radio or visual signals indicating the moment to change course or release bombs. In unveiling the BR 126 Blackbird, Bell & Ross infuses its Vintage collection with an element of modernity. Like its namesake, the limited edition is matte black in color, giving more prominence to the crucial indications displayed in orange, the color reserved for the most essential information. Since legibility of on-board instruments is vital in aeronautics, white is also prevalent in cockpits for its extreme legibility.

Dassault Aviation is another story about heritage. Marcel Dassault liked to say that ‘a beautiful plane is a plane that flies well’. Likewise, Bell & Ross embraces the philosophy that the beauty of an object, no matter how sophisticated it is, can never match the logical culmination of its primary function. The excellence of the Falcon business jets is the result of the company’s groundbreaking technology in designing and manufacturing fighter jets since 1963. The amazing saga continues today with the Falcon 7X generation business jets and the delivery of Dassault’s 2,250^th Falcon. To mark the celebrated jet’s 50^th anniversary, Bell & Ross has created two limited edition timepieces : the Vintage Falcon. While the elegant metallic Falcon’s 50^th anniversary logo appears on the back and the Falcon’s outline on the dial, the brown dial and brown leather wristband enhance the authentic vintage spirit.

 

 

WW2 Military Tourbillon

Case : grade 5 titanium, anti-reflective sapphire crystal Size : 45mm Movement : mechanical hand-wound movement (120h power reserve), tourbillon with carbon fiber main plates and pink gold tourbillon carriage Functions : hours (counter at 12), minutes (central hand), 120-h power reserve indicator (at 9), Trust index (at 3) Dial : dark brown with golden appliqué index and numerals Strap : distressed calfskin or brown Water-resistance : 50m

 

Vintage WW1 Heure Sautante Platinum

Case:  satin-brushed platinum, sapphire caseback (available in 18K pink gold) Size: 42mm Movement: mechanical self-winding movement (42h power reserve), blue-steel screws, circular-grained mainplate, oscillating weight and bridges decorated with “Côtes de Genève” Functions: Hours indicator (window at 12), minutes, (central hand) and power reserve (at 6) Dial: opaline pearl Water resistance: 100m Strap: alligator with platinum buckle Limited edition: 25 pieces

 

WW1 Heure Sautante Pink Gold

Movement : jumping hour, automatic winding movement. Bluesteel screws, circular-grained mainplate, oscillating weight and bridges decorated with «Côtes de Genève» Case : 42 mm. Satin-brushed 18K pink gold. Sapphire caseback Functions : Hours indicator (window at 12 o’clock), minutes (central hand) and power reserve (at 6 o’clock) Dial : opaline pearl Crystal : anti-reflective sapphire Water resistance : 100 meters Strap : alligator Buckle : 18K pink gold  Limited edition : 50 pieces

 

Bell & Ross also creates Haute Horlogerie for men for whom time is not only a tool but also a genuine passion. In its quest for essentials, Bell & Ross launched in 2012 a grand complication with an original display and perfect legibility : the Vintage WW1 Heure Sautante, in two limited editions in pink gold or platinum. These two timepieces brilliantly combine the complexity of a mechanical movement with the simplicity of a completely new reading system. The movement and its immaculate finishes, the blue-steel screws, circular-grained mainplate, oscillating weight and bridges decorated with “Côtes de Genève” are viewed through the sapphire crystal on the caseback. In its platinum version, the Vintage WW1 Heure Sautante features a second window for the power reserve indicator. Its opaline grey and silvered dial in 18K gold with its hand-applied guilloché decoration and pear-shaped blue-steel hand lend it a timeless elegance. The pink gold version is enhanced by an opaline pearl dial decorated with finely elegant markers indicated by pear-shaped blue-steel hand. The power reserve indicator is displayed discreetly and in perfect harmony with the dial.

Continuing from those high-end neo-classical pieces, Bell & Ross presents in 2013 the WW1 Régulateur Vintage.  For a long time the most precise instrument in the history of watchmaking, the “regulator-type” movement separates the indications by ordering them into a hierarchy: it creates an original display in which each of the indications – hours, minutes and seconds – have their independent display. Thus the WW1 Régulateur has a dominant central hand for the minutes, an hour counter at 12 o’clock and a small independent seconds hand at 6 o’clock, allowing rapid and precise reading of short time periods. Its “barleycorn” guillochéd caseback, worked in the style of period watches, is decorated in precious metal, reflecting the watchmakers’ exquisite craftsmanship. Finally, the brand new WW2 Military Tourbillon targets both high-end timepiece collectors and professional watch enthusiasts.