The BR-03 lineup from Bell & Ross tends to take its cues from the skies and from the pilot’s cockpit, but one forgets the Bell & Ross BR-03 can also scour the ocean depths, as a new bronze timepiece attests.
To be sure, the handsome Bell & Ross BR-03 Diver Black Bronze boasts the same rugged and distinctive “circle within a square” design and bold 42x42mm case shape (drawn from the pilot’s dashboard). And yet, the Diver Black Bronze, as the watchmaker says “returns to the fundamentals of professional diving watches” by taking cues from the long maritime heritage born by the bronze alloy, as even the earliest sea explorers used sturdy bronze for portholes, propellers and equipment.
Watches made from bronze have also gained increasing popularity in recent years, watch experts note. and Bell & Ross is blending the adventure-ready design of the BR-03 with its own 92 percent copper, 8 percent tin alloy for the durable case of this limited-edition timepiece. For all its performance specs, the watchmaker kept the French Riviera and luxury yachts in mind when working with the material to land on the Diver Black Bronze, noting that the watch “displays a warm, luminous coppery-gold hue that immediately evokes the fittings of classic yachts and the refined atmosphere of Mediterranean ports of call.” To say this is a watch made for the water, or born from the water, feels quite apt.
The more the durable, adventure-focused watch is worn, the more it evolves over time and takes on a distinct patina, the watchmaker rightly notes. In the process, “each BR-03 Diver Black Bronze watch thus acquires a unique personality—a soul of its own that tells the story of its owner,” the horologist said.
Fashioned with SuperLuminova-treated “bathtub-style” indices, plus a skeletonized hour and minute hands, the watch also features a solid bronze unidirectional rotating bezel for true dive watch performance and utility. Within, the watchmaker outfitted the “sporty and sophisticated” Diver Black Bronze with the 54-hour power reserve of its automatic mechanical BR-CAL.302-1 caliber movement, plus a standout 300 meters of water resistance. To that end, the watchmaker says the Diver Black Bronze is “designed first and foremost as a professional instrument for divers,” in spite of its lavish luxury yachting design inspiration.
Limited to just a shade under 1,000 units (999 timepieces, to be exact), the tool watch horologist says the Bell & Ross BR-03 Diver Black Bronze “belongs to the great tradition of Bell & Ross instrument watches,” carrying on the spirit of the open skies transposed to the depths of the ocean blue. For the proper blend of performance, rugged appeal and long-running, classic style, find the latest from Bell & Ross online now for $5,500.
