Friday, February 23, 2024

The BR 03-92 DIVER BLACK & GREEN BRONZE - for the Crispy Diver or Desk Diver


Courtesy of Bell & Ross

This is the latest diver from Bell & Ross, and it is minty and refreshing! Based on the now iconic BR 03 platform, this underwater time machine is unique in the world of divers in that it is not exactly round... 

Courtesy of Bell & Ross

It's Hip To Be Square!

"Back in the day" Bell & Ross made some more traditional looking divers in terms of being, well, round. But comparing the B&R divers of today to their forebears raises a few questions about form and function. And a lot of why I particularly like this watch can be summed up on the musings of Kevin Burrows and Lawrence Schlossman's magnum opus - Fuck Yeah Menswear.

Legibility - the quality of being readable.
There are a lot of dive watches out there that look great in daylight while you are braving the
dangers of your office (desk diver). But in the real world (not Instagram photos from Pitti Uomo), you actually might want to be able to reasonably read the time on your watch. This was, in many ways, the motivation behind the original design of the BR-03. I mean, yes, it does resemble a cockpit gauge. And if you are super into aviation that can be cool. But it also allows for a very clear field of view.

Presence - Let's be honest, there are a lot of round dive watches out there. Just like there are a lot of sheep out there. Just sayin'...

Steezy - meaning style with ease. This is sometimes confused and/or comingled with sprezzatura which is often more of an affectation as it is by design or intent. 
Nothing wrong with either, in the big scheme of things, but as we get back to the sheep metaphor, think Panerai = sprezzatura. Long story short? You're trying too hard, there was only one L'Avvocato (that's Gianni Agnelli for the Philistines out there), and it is unlikely that you, gentle reader, will be picking up his mantle of style anytime soon. The BR 03-92 Black & Green Bronze diver says you make your own choices. A green dial may not be your cup of 緑茶 (that's green tea, for you barbarians out there).

Courtesy of Bell & Ross

The BR 03-92 Diver Black & Green Bronze is, well, bronze. And with that comes some classic contradictions. One simple truth is that bronze will gain patina, and character. The case of a bronze watch will convey the years and share the history of both the watch and the wearer. Should you dive with it, that will happen more rapidly. But that is in many ways the joy of owning a watch, the stories that it tells. And rather than a carefully arranged narrative designed to look absent minded or half hazard (sprezzatura), this is (for me at least) the very essence of Skeezy.

"...the CuSn8 bronze of the case (92% copper, 8% tin) evokes the fittings used on the most elegant of yachts, and evolves beautifully over time."

So if you are drawn to this watch as I am, here are the pertinents, straight from the source -

Limited to 999 pieces

  • MOVEMENT

    calibre BR-CAL.302. Automatic mechanical. 54-hour power reserve. Functions: hours, minutes, seconds and date.

  • FUNCTIONS

    hours, minutes, seconds and date.

  • CASE

    42 mm wide. Satin-finished and polished CuSn8 bronze. Unidirectional rotating solid bronze bezel with 60-minute scale and black anodized aluminum ring and Bilight® dots. Screw-down crown. Crown guard. Steel case-back

  • DIAL

    Green. Black hands filled with white Super-LumiNova®. Glossy black skeletonized hour and minute hands filled with white Super LumiNova® (green glow).

  • CRYSTAL

    sapphire with anti-reflective coating.

  • WATER-RESISTANCE

    300 metres.

  • STRAP

    black rubber and ultra-resilient black synthetic fabric.

  • BUCKLE

    Pin. Satin-finished and polished bronze.


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