This is the Bell & Ross BR01-92 Carbon watch. I bought
this watch about 8 months ago. Although it's still considered new, I have to
say that this watch served me very well so far. This is a very big watch. Case diameter
measures at 46mm. Has a nice weight to it but it is not thick, so this watch
will be able to fit nicely under your sleeves. It has a water resistance of
100m. Ok, let me see what else I can describe…. Just look at the few wrist
shots below, I have nothing much to say because it’s so simple! It doesn’t even
have a window which displays the date! But this is what I like about it. It doesn’t
have small meters which displays altitude, body temperature, blood
pressure, weather, alarm, or a hidden self destruct button that makes it explode when you enter some code to it. This watch simply
just tells you the TIME!
This is a very legible watch. It has big white markers which makes legibility optimal against its black background. Speaking of "black", the watch is coated with Super-luminova which makes reading easy at dark conditions. Also, look
how big the hands are. It looks just like a mini wall clock, and when you walk
around in the streets, old people can actually read the time on it without
their reading glasses on! Haha! And of course, in my opinion, everyone will be
able to look at how beautiful this watch is. It also has anti-reflective coating on its scratch resistant sapphire crystal. Well of course some of you might
disagree with me thinking that this watch just looks ridiculous. You might
think it’s like mounting an iPad mini on your wrist. Well, for this watch, I think
its either you like it or you hate it. There’s not much “in between” in
opinions.
I wear my BR01-92 on a rubber strap. It is wide which
matches the lugs on the watch but tapers down towards the end of the strap. When
worn on the wrist, some may find that it looked just like a black wrist
sweatband. If you don’t like the rubber strap, you can choose to wear it on a
leather strap. Bell & Ross also provides a Velcro nylon strap if you want to
wear it over your coverall if you are a fighter pilot, or you simply prefer the
NATO/ZULU strap look. It is comfortable on the wrist and has good wrist
presence.
The watch uses a reliable ETA 2892-2 movement which beats
28,800BPH (8 ticks per second). It has a power reserve of about 40 hours. Timekeeping
accuracy is typically at -2seconds/day, but it can vary up to about
-5seconds/day if it is not wound up properly. This is a very accurate watch.
The BR01-92 is equipped with a screw-down crown. I particularly
like watches with screw-down crowns not only for its water resistant
properties, but also, in my opinion, makes the crown sturdier because it takes
additional effort to “pull out” or move the crown when it’s screwed down
properly. But of course you have to be careful not to over tighten it which may
spoil the thread in its mechanism.
The wrist shot below shows you the effectiveness of the anti-reflective coating on its sapphire crystal. It really enhances legibility. Some people don't like the anti-reflective coating on the crystal because if you have a scratch on it (you will probably not scratch it because it is scratch resistant but sometimes bad things happen), the scratch will be very obvious. Also, fingerprints and water stains will be very obvious on the crystal if you do not wipe it clean often. But when its clean, like in the picture below, it will seem as if the watch has no crystal and some will be tempted to touch the crystal just to confirm what they see. (that's when you get back the fingerprints!) Anyway, I like the anti-reflective coating.
The BR01 line is Bell & Ross’s trademark model. The design
is inspired by the cockpits on aircrafts which is the ultimate reference point for
legibility. Some of them have
chronograph features (BR01-94) and some comes with a power reserve indicator
(BR01-97). They come in different colours and materials. You can have it in
Stainless Steel cases, PVD finish cases
(Carbon), or Ceramic cases. They also have limited edition models
which come in different colours, like models with blue or yellow markers. If you
like the design of this watch but feel that it’s way too big, you may want to
look at their BR03 models which come in 42mm cases. Take a look at their website or visit an
Authorized Dealer which holds this brand if you are interested in buying one.
Pilot in the picture is wearing the BR01-94 Carbon (Chronograph model)
For those who are unfamiliar with this brand, Bell & Ross is
very much inspired by military watches. With their motto, “the essential is never
compromised by the superfluous”, you can have an idea of what kinds of watches
they make. What I know so far is that
they make really nice watches on their Aviation, Divers, and Vintage lines. You
can take a look in their website for a better understanding of their direction.
They have described their “watch making principles” which I very much agree. I agree
with it so much that in future when I buy a new timepiece, I will definitely consider
my purchase with reference to it.
1.
Legibility
– They aim to make their dials very clear which makes reading very easy. You won't
need to use a magnifying glass, do mental calculations in your head, guess, use
a ruler, or when you are so fed up you just use the time on your mobile phone.
2.
Reliability
– They make watches with accurate timekeeping which will still be useable even in the most rugged or extreme environments.
3.
Functional
– They use robust materials in their watches so it will be practical in most
situations. They also have chronograph models which some might find it useful.
4.
Water Resistance
– Some models have water resistance of up to 1000m.
These four principles are very important for military and
professional watches. Of course, if you love watches, you would want your watch
to be of a make whose name holds sufficient weight to it. I know Casio watches can
cost below $100 but the brand says “Casio”. No offense to Casio watches, I know
they make very functional watches at very affordable prices. But if you like
watches, you’ll understand that there is a huge difference between a Rolex and
a Timex in terms of ownership, and of course the prestige which most enjoy.
