BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
Bell & Ross is synonymous with making pilot’s watches, and its square case design is as iconic as that of the Rolex Submariner or Breitling Navitimer these days. Yes yes fight me in the comments all you like, you who are fans of meaningless Top 10 lists (only WristReview lists have meaning!), but there, I said it. The square case might be synonymous with pilot’s watches, it is designed after aeronautical instruments, after all, but it has carried over to sub-aqueous adventures exceedingly well. The newest piece follows that trend.
The new BR 03-92 Diver Tara watch from Bell & Ross was created with the Tara Ocean Foundation. The Tara Ocean Foundation was established in France in 2003 and is the first officially recognised promoting public interest in the oceans around us in France. According to their website, their aim is to use scientific research to educate and inspire the masses in France, particularly younger folks, to understand the ocean more and learn ways we can protect and promote biodiversity. I genuinely don’t mean to sound cynical here as I think everyone must do their bit, no matter how small, to protect and improve our oceans, but this is something a lot of watch brands are doing right now. Still, as I said, it’s not about cynicism, it’s about everyone doing their part even if that means using non-toxic water-based washing liquid and sorting their plastics for recycling.
The watch itself is 42mm across with a blue rubber strap to match the blue matte ceramic case and blue dial, water resistance is 300m. A unidirectional diving bezel with contrasting orange elements stands out while matching the dial as well. My favourite detail on this model is the bright orange seconds hand, but the entire dial looks great with the SuperLumiNova applied on the markers and chunky hands. A date window is present too, and it’s not too in your face either. The Tara Ocean Foundation logo is on the dial as well.
Inside the watch is the self-winding BR.Cal-302 which is based on a Sellita base, it has a 4Hz beat rate and 38-hour power reserve.
This watch comes with a bright orange Velcro fabric strap to compliment the blue rubber one. It’s limited to 999 examples and will sell for $5600 which is brought on by the ceramic case undoubtedly.
