From Bell & Ross -
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| Courtesy of Bell & Ross |
This one came out a while ago, but as I always say, watches aren't milk or eggs, they don't go off with age.
Some pieces just stick with you, and the BELLYTANKER has stayed with me some some time. This one is a bit special. I am particularly drawn to what my fellow sneaker heads refer to as the "color way". Black and white is easy. Blue and white is a gimme. Not quite your traditional copper, and not really beige at all. It is unique, something that not everyone is going to get or appreciate. But that's part of why I dig it.
Here are the pertinents -
Limited to 500 pieces
Movement: calibre BR-CAL.301. Automatic mechanical.
Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds at 3 o'clock. Date. Chronograph: 30-min timer at 9 o'clock, central chronograph seconds.
Case: 41 mm in diameter. Satin-polished steel. Steel bezel with tachymeter scale. Screw-down crown and push-buttons. Sapphire case-back.
Dial: gilt. Metal applique numerals and indices. Metal skeletonised Superluminova®-filled hour and minute hands.
Crystal: ultra-curved sapphire with anti-reflective coating.
Water-resistance: 100 metres.
Straps: satin-polished steel or brown calfskin.
Buckle: folding. Satin-polished steel.
From Bell & Ross -
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| Courtesy of Bell & Ross |
This is a new take on the Bellytanker. The Bellytanker has been a big hit for Bell & Ross, inspiring some unique partnerships and limited series, this latest take is a welcome addition.
Here are the pertinents -
Movement: calibre BR-CAL.301. Automatic mechanical.
Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds at 3 o'clock. Date. Chronograph: 30-min timer at 9 o'clock, central chronograph seconds.
Case: 41 mm in diameter. CuAI7Si2 bronze. CuAI7Si2 bronze
bezel with scale and anodized aluminum insert and tachymeter. Screw-down crown and push-buttons. Sapphire case back.
Crystal: ultra-curved sapphire with anti-reflective coating.
Water-resistance: 100 meters.
Strap: black calfskin leather.
Buckle: folding. Satin-polished CuAl7Si2 bronze.
Spoiler alert - I love this watch!
All too often, when I first see a watch at BaselWorld it never lives up to the expectations in real life. A large part of this is due to the pace of a big fair. You're over-tired, you're in a hurry and you've got just a few minutes (if you're lucky) to hold, examine and make the mental (and pen and ink) notes about any given watch. Memory (even when documented) can be fickle.
This one proved to be a bit different. Bell & Ross had been in a bit of a slump. But 2017 seemed to be a breakout year for the French brand, and the hits seem to keep on coming.
Now while the BELLYTANKER and the GARDE-CÔTES certainly embody some different color codes, but the BR V1-92 Military is something different again. It comes down to size and proportion.
The watch case is stainless steel and measures 38.5 in diameter, with a lug width of 20 mm. This is a pretty big departure from previous pieces in the Vintage collection. Okay, I understand that 2.5 mm doesn't seem like such a radical shift, but considering that the previous size was 41, it was a bold move to go smaller. But as the above image bears out, 38.5 is plenty big enough.
The crown was another interesting, and welcome choice. The knee-jerk response to a vaguely pilot style watch is to slap an oversized crown on it. Not so with the V1-92 Military. The crown is tactile and functional, and not a hindrance.
The dial and hands are a wonderful pairing. The dial is black, the large indices are a khaki lume, the smaller indices and interior numbers are white. The hands share the same khaki lume.
My only issue is the date window which ends up cutting a small portion of the number 20 at 4 o'clock.
The timekeeping was solid, no major deviations on either side of the scale.
But again, the most beguiling aspect of this watch is the size. And that size is balanced with restraint. The strap is not exotic. It is basic brown calfskin, and it is perfect.
It is balanced out with the subtle buckle that secures it to the wrist.
No deployant, no frills or extras. Just a simple, elegant logo on a solid, but elegant buckle.
The case back has no display window, no artifice. Rather it is solid, bearing the Bell & Ross logo prominently.
All too often we try to rationalize our favorite watches, but for me it often comes back to a visceral reaction. Something you feel good about deep down. And shouldn't a watch do more than simply tell time? It should stir something within you. And the BR V1-92 does just that.
Here are the pertinents, straight from the source:
Movement: calibre BR-CAL.302. Automatic mechanical.
Functions: hours, minutes, central seconds and date.
Case: 38.5 mm in diameter. Satin-polished steel.
Dial: black. Indices coated in beige Superluminova®. Metal skeletonised Superluminova®-filled hour and minute hands.
Crystal: ultra-curved sapphire with anti-reflective coating.
Water-resistance: 100 metres.
Strap: brown calfskin.
Buckle: pin. Steel.
And the suggested retail price reveals another departure for Bell & Ross, the price is a very reasonable $1,990 US.
there is nothing left to do or say.
Darryl Dawkins
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| Courtesy of Bell & Ross |
And suffice it to say, as far as Bell & Ross is concerned, there is plenty left still to say.
Bell & Ross has done something very, very few brands have been able to do in recent memory - write a second chapter and reassert their relevance. And this didn't just happen this past BaselWorld. It really began a few years ago with the release of what was, at the time, a rather daring choice for Bell & Ross. A chronograph with a blue dial with gold indices and hands was definitely not in the B&R wheelhouse at that time.
Since their founding, Bell & Ross had established themselves (primarily) as a brand that made (primarily) watches with black dials. That is not to say that is all that Bell & Ross made. But it is safe to say that when the average person (watch enthusiast, or Joe Public) thought about B&R, they tended to think of black, military style watches.
When they came out with the BR V2-94 AERONAVALE, it was a bit of a risk. But looking back, it is clear that this was a very worthwhile departure. It opened the creative (and marketing) doors to the possible opportunity of swimming in a slightly different direction. And it, in turn, gave rise to the BR V2-94 GARDE-CÔTES -
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| Courtesy of Bell & Ross |
And the BR V2-94 BELLYTANKER-
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| Courtesy of Bell & Ross |
Tudor, Omega and others simply grab the checkbook and look for new brand ambassadors or events to label. Bell & Ross has shown with their latest efforts that to grow a watch brand beyond that first burst, you need to be evolutionary - not necessarily revolutionary.
From Bell & Ross -
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| Courtesy of Bell & Ross |
There is something quite wonderful happening at Bell & Ross. They are re-discovering their (admittedly not too ancient) roots, and in doing so offering some truly fantastic watches. While I realize that there is a fair amount of enthusiasm about the Instrument collection, I have always been personally drawn to the pieces that make up the BRV models that are part of what is referred to as the Vintage collection. But having said that, the line was getting a wee bit flat. Like Henry Ford's Model T, you could have any model you wanted, so long as it was black. I kid a bit here, because there had been some options like silver, or in the case of the Aeronvale, a stunning blue.
But with the release of the GARDE-CÔTES, and now the BELLYTANKER, there is a fresh new take on a classic collection that has this Bell & Ross fan excited!
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| Courtesy of Bell & Ross |
In fairness, I have not seen this model in person, so all that I have to go by are the images and the spec. sheet. Having recently reviewed a "gently used" Bell & Ross chronograph ( The 2 Year Review ) I have to say that I came to really appreciate the tachymeter scale on the bezel. The addition of screw-down push pieces greatly adds to the sporty look of the watch, but does so gently, and subtly. It does not hit you over the head screaming - "I'm a sport watch, dammit!". Rather, it lures you in, seductively.
The dial is one that is going to haunt me for some time. It is pleasingly different from what is available on the market. What Bell & Ross describes as metallic copper and black. It pops without overwhelming. I hope at some point that a review might be possible, but I have to go with what is real - a visual impression (a very positive one), and the spec. sheet, which you can get the pertinents from below:
Movement: calibre BR-CAL.301. Automatic mechanical.
Functions:
hours, minutes, small seconds at 3 o'clock. Date.
Chronograph: 30-min
timer at 9 o'clock, central chronograph seconds.
Case: 41 mm in
diameter. Satin-polished steel. Steel bezel with tachymeter scale.
Screw-down crown and push-buttons. Sapphire case-back.
Dial: gilt. Metal applique numerals and indices. Metal skeletonised Superluminova®-filled hour and minute hands.
Crystal: ultra-curved sapphire with anti-reflective coating.
Water-resistance: 100 metres.
Straps: satin-polished steel or brown calfskin.
