BY ERIK SLAVEN
Bell & Ross is known for the square case and round dial design that mimics vintage aircraft instrument panels. The (relatively) new BR 05 integrated sports watch collection is an evolution of this design language, but there’s also a healthy portfolio of conventional, vintage-inspired round pieces in the V2-92 line. Most recently, the brand launched the BR V2-92 Full Lum Limited Edition model alongside this latest orange variant. The former is a more traditional offering, while the latter has a fun, modern look that blurs the line between old and new. Both dial layouts are the same, but the bright orange has a positively unique character.
The stainless steel case has modern dimensions at 41mm in diameter with a thickness of 11.5mm. It’s not a huge watch, but certainly not vintage in size. The case is also very versatile, but without a specific purpose. A jack of all trades, if you will. It has a black anodized aluminum rotating bezel with a simple 60-minute scale, although it’s not specific for diving (and there’s no detailed 15-minute scale). It’s also bi-directional and most serious divers have unidirectional bezels for safety. With a water resistance rating of 100 meters, you can do some light diving, but it’s designed more for timing events on land. The screw-down crown is protected by integrated guards and there are sapphire crystals front and back (the main crystal is domed). There are two strap options – a tropical black rubber with pin buckle or a stainless steel bracelet with folding clasp.
The show stopper is the bright orange dial that has a Nomos Club Campus vibe. Large Arabic numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock are outlined in black and filled with Super-LumiNova, as are the surrounding indices. The black hour and minute hands have Super-LumiNova inserts as well. A stylish, color-matching circular date window sits at 4:30 and is both discreet and functional. I wish a lot of date windows blended this well. A black minute track spans the outermost perimeter. It’s not the first Bell & Ross watch with a bright orange dial as the BR 03-92 Diver Orange launched a couple of years ago, but it works really well with the retro BR V2-92 aesthetic.
Powering the watch is the BR-CAL.302 automatic, based on the Sellita SW300-1. It has 25 jewels, beats at 4Hz with a 42-hour power reserve. It’s used in a lot of Bell & Ross watches, both round and the more typical square/round dial design, and is both reliable and accurate. Seen from the exhibition case back, the movement has some basic finishing, but is relatively undecorated.
This particular watch pays tribute to skateboarding, going back to California in the 1970s with a retro design and pop of color. It retails for EUR 3,300 on the rubber strap (ref. BRV292-O-ST/SRB) or EUR 3,600 on the steel bracelet (ref. BRV292-O-ST/SST), which is a solid price for this model. It’s also limited to 500 pieces.
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