Since their foundation in 1995, aviation and military-inspired watches have always been at the heart of Bell & Ross. This legacy continues today with the new Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Red Radar Ceramic watch, a limited edition of 999 pieces with an extraordinary concentric disc dial housed beneath red sapphire crystal glass, a concept inspired by the radars used by flight controllers.
Some of Bell & Ross’ earliest landmarks include their Space 1 model, which became the first automatic chronometer worn in space, and their iconic Bomb Disposal Type watch with a remarkable anti-magnetic case with unbeatable precision. It wasn’t until 2005, however, that the Paris-based luxury watch manufacturer truly started to prick up the ears of collectors with the release of their iconic BR 01 series. Inspired by jet cockpit clock instructions, the BR 01 collection birthed what is now known to many as the legendary B&R aesthetic: a circle within a square. This range also included the Radar family with the first BR 01 Radar watch launched in 2010. It was the first of its kind to feature an innovative display with two rotating discs. A year later, a Red Radar was added to the collection topped by mysterious red sapphire crystal.
For 2021, Bell & Ross deliver their third addition to the successful Radar family with the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Red Radar Ceramic Limited Edition. Continuing to revisit the graphics of aircraft navigation instruments, the 999-piece edition comes in a reduced size of 42 millimetres compared to the 46 millimetre diameter of the 2011 model and for the first time is presented in matte black ceramic, a more scratch resistant and lightweight choice than its black coated stainless steel predecessor. The case is then paired with a choice of two straps, both delivered with every order of the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Red Radar watch. The first is a classic black rubber strap secured by a black PVD coated pin buckle and the second a ultra-resilient black fabric strap with Velcro closing.
The real centrepiece to the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Red Radar Ceramic Limited Edition is the dial. It feels familiar to the original Red Radar with the same playful aesthetic designed to reproduce the scanning motion of the light beam on a radar screen but with a few innovative improvements. The display is composed of two concentric discs which are fused within the dial. The external disc displays the hours while the inner showcases the minutes. To read both these intervals, follow the two screen-printed planes adorned above the dial which give the illusion of real flight. At the centre, a continuous seconds hand flows gracefully around the dial’s circumference evoking the realism of the scanning motion as done by the light beam on a real radar display.
The dial is topped by the iconic red tinted sapphire crystal glass which decorates its underside with the hour and minute scales, a choice made for better durability against impacts and abrasions. Beneath the two concentric discs lies a classic automatic winding movement, the BR-CAL.302 calibre. Due to the complex nature of the design, the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Red Radar Ceramic and its ultra-light discs had to be carefully engineered to preserve a decent power reserve. Bell & Ross’ team of talented engineers ensured that the precision of the watch movement was not altered by friction between these dials, guaranteeing no deformity and constant parallelism. In the end, they ensured the movement delivered a healthy power reserve of 42 hours.
