Into Orbit: Meet the Bell & Ross BR-03 Astro
The French-founded watchmaker Bell & Ross is ever-creative in the many iterations of their famous square watches, and this month the brand has launched into orbit with a new boundary pushing creation: the BR-03 Astro.
Using the BR-03 flagship design in ceramic as its canvas, the new timepiece features an interstellar dial of the Earth seen from space, with various planetary and man-made components representing the display’s various timekeeping features. The watch is the latest addition to the brand’s work in unconventional dial creation, with their current catalogue including the BR-03 Horizon and BR-03 Gryocompass, both of which feature dials inspired by flight instruments.
At a glance, the BR-03 Astro is familiar Bell & Ross, featuring a 41mm by 11.5mm case in micro-blasted black ceramic and water resistant up to 100m. Signature to the collection, the case features a “circle in square, four screws design,” with rounded and beveled edges helping elevate the look. A highly tactile crown adorns its side, while a flush strap in black rubber secures the novel watch to the wrist.
As the brand states, “the magic of this watch lies in its display,” and it’s true. Inspired by views of our planet and the solar system from the Cupola, an observation module on the International Space Station (ISS), the dial features the Earth is at its center, the details of which are rendered upon the spherically hollowed sapphire crystal above the display. Orbiting it in three dimensions, Mars marks the passing hours, the moon indicates the minutes, and a small satellite works to count the seconds.
The magic, outside of its stellar details, is in the dial’s “mystery” functionality, with the practical movement of the various mechanisms driving the indicators being obscured for a novel demonstration of the passing time. The cosmos serves as the backdrop to each of the display’s timekeeping details, itself produced in blue aventurine.
Inside the watch is the Bell & Ross Calibre BR.CAL-327, which is a modified variant of the Sellita SW300-1 meant to accommodate the “mystery” configuration. The automatic movement is capable of a 54-hour power reserve at a frequency of 28,800 vph. A closed caseback protects the mechanism, with the watch’s various details engraved upon it.
The new Bell & Ross BR-03 Astro is available now as a limited edition run of 999 models. Pricing for the watch is marked at $4,800.
To learn more, visit Bell & Ross, here.
