Usually reserved for diver’s watches, the bright orange dial makes its debut within Bell & Ross’ distinctively classic Vintage family. Limited to 500 pieces, the new Bell & Ross BR V2-92 Orange watch introduces a new neon aesthetic to the typically modest collection promising increased legibility, an automatic movement and a round 41mm stainless steel case.
Since their founding in 1993, Bell & Ross have taken inspiration from the world of aviation to create their timepieces, particularly dashboard instruments. Their flagship BR 01 and BR 03 watches, designs which the Swiss-French manufacturer call their “instrument collection”, are characterised by their famous “circle-within-a-square” architecture, a staple of Bell & Ross’ DNA. While this aesthetic remains unmastered by anyone else, the brand realised they needed to step outside of the box – literally – and bring something fresh and different to their portfolio. Still upholding their aviation heritage, the Bell & Ross Vintage collection was born, opting for traditional rounded cases and military dials inspired by the original codes of historic pilots’ watches. While still vintage in principle, the new Bell & Ross BR V2-92 Orange watch opts for an arguably more contemporary centrepiece with a new bold orange dial. The obvious novelty of the Bell & Ross BR V2-92 Orange watch is its dial, so let’s start there. While the inaugural edition, and several other pieces that followed, featured a classic black military dial with pure white indexes and hands, the new 500-piece limited edition opts for a dramatically different orange centre, a colour usually set aside for diving watches. The finish is unmissable, but then again, that’s the point. It offers incredible legibility in both daylight and at night time with the numerals, indices and hour and minute hands increasing their appearance further with glow in the dark Superluminova inserts. Other than the new colour scheme for the dial, the Bell & Ross BR V2-92 Orange watch follows suit to its precursors with a traditionally shaped 41mm stainless steel case with nice proportions, including an 11.5mm height, curved lugs with circular brushing and polished flanks. A screw in crown is added at 3 o’clock, paired with crown guards for additional protection, assisting in a water resistance of 100 metres. This is more than enough for shallow snorkelling and works perfectly alongside the underwater-worthy orange dial and the contrasting black aluminium bi-directional rotating bezel detailed with a 60 minute scale.
Fuelling the Bell & Ross BR V2-92 Orange watch is the BR-CAL.302 automatic winding movement. The Swiss made calibre takes its base from the Sellita SW300-1 and offers 25 jewels, a frequency of 28,800vph and a power reserve of 38 hours. It also ensures the classic running of hours, minutes and seconds and a small rounded date complication between the 4 and 5 o’clock markers. Lovers of mechanical movements can enjoy the technology through the sapphire crystal glass case back, the same material used to protect the dial but this one highly domed and treated to an anti-reflective coating. There are two strap options for the Bell & Ross BR V2-92 Orange watch. The first is a stainless steel bracelet with a classic three-link profile, satin-finished surfaces and a folding buckle. The second is a supple black rubber strap secured by a classic satin-finished pin buckle. Both designs fit nicely with the aesthetic of the Bell & Ross BR V2-92 Orange watch, the rubber band bringing out the sporty personality of the orange dial while the steel bracelet is more suited to those preferring of a formal look.