WATCH TO WATCH

Total Transparency: Bell & Ross BR-X2 Skeleton Tourbillon Micro-Rotor


“A movement worn directly on the wrist” is how Bell & Ross describes its latest limited-edition haute horlogerie creation, the BR-X2 Tourbillon Micro-Rotor. Designed by the brand’s prolific Creative Director Bruno Belamich, the timepiece utilizes the emblematic Bell & Ross square case shape to underline an architecture in which the case and caliber unite to form a single element.

Bell & Ross BR-X2 Skeleton Tourbillon Micro-Rotor - front
Bell & Ross BR-X2 Skeleton Tourbillon Micro-Rotor

Bell & Ross developed an all-new, square-shaped movement for the watch, manufacture Caliber BR-CAL.381, which is set between two clear sapphire plates connected by a narrow band machined from a single piece of steel. The result is an almost entirely unrestricted view of the movement, which has been painstakingly skeletonized to remove as much material as possible while still allowing the components to perform at a high level of efficiency. Powering a two-handed time display and regulated by a flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock, the movement is self-winding by means of a microrotor, itself composed of an excpetionally dense alloy composed of 95 percent tungsten, a material denser than steel and nearly as dense as platinum.

Bell & Ross BR-X2 Skeleton Tourbillon Micro-Rotor movement
The square-shaped movement is set between two sapphire plates.

The use of a micro-rotor allows the movement to be extra-thin — just 4.05 mm — and its dimensions fit snugly within the confines of the 42.5-mm satin-polished steel case, which is water-resistant to 50 meters, just in case of the unlikely event that you’d want to wear this timepiece while swimming. The applied hour indices and baton hands are filled with Super-LumiNova; the Bell & Ross logo floats above the openworked dial, applied to the nonreflective sapphire crystal. The watch comes on a gray alligator strap and fastens with a folding buckle in satin-polished steel.

Bell & Ross BR-X2 Skeleton Tourbillon Microrotor - flat
The case offers an unrestricted view of the skeletonized tourbillon movement.

The Bell & Ross BR-X2 Skeleton Tourbillon Micro-Rotor is limited to just 50 pieces, priced at $79,000. What are your thoughts on Bell & Ross’s latest foray into high watchmaking? Let us know in the comments below.

Bell & Ross BR-X2 Skeleton Tourbillon Micro-Rotor - soldier
The watch is limited to 500 pieces.
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  1. Panamared

    Superbly executed! On a class of his own
    They got what needs to have to play with the big boys.
    Great price too

    Reply
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