To Make Great Motoring Watches, Bell & Ross Designed Its Own Car

Instead of gleaning inspiration for his new BR 03-94 AeroGT and BR 03-92 AeroGT from existing cars and planes, Bell & Ross creative director Bruno Belamich designed his own automotive muse. Belamich’s AeroGT concept is a supercar infused with fighter-jet dreams, and it would look right at home parked next to a Ferrari FXX K or an F-22 Raptor. While it harkens back to the celebrated 250 GTO beloved by gentleman drivers of the ‘60s, elements like its teardrop-shaped glass roof, razor-thin wing mirrors and turbojet engine exhausts are clear nods to Bell & Ross’s aeronautical and military roots.

The companion BR 03-92 and 94 AeroGT watches follow a similar approach, though their inspiration comes first from the sky and second from the track: the square cases of each model remain in direct line with Bell & Ross’s now-iconic flight-instrument look. Then the automotive details come roaring in. Skeletonized movements and dials evocative of a stripped-down engine; a rally-style calfskin strap; red-arrow detailing on the date window and twelve o’clock hour markers; even a tachymeter bezel scale for easy speed calculations — it all oozes classic racing style. The end result: modern driving timepieces inspired as much by the future of speed as they are by its past.

BR 03-94 AeroGT

While many watchmakers are content to cover up the beauty of their mechanical movements, like the rear glass cover on a mid-engine supercar, Bell & Ross put their beautiful BR-CAL.319 automatic chronograph on display both from the front (with an anti-glare coated crystal) and through a small window on the caseback. The dial is adorned with applied metal indices, and the unique date window at three o’clock shows off the day’s date along with the day before and after. It’s then all housed in a satin-polished steel case, finished with red accents on the pusher and crown. Only 500 will be made.

BR 03-92 AeroGT

For those who appreciate the beautiful simplicity of a three-hand movement, the BR 03-92 features Bell & Ross’s BR-CAL.318, a fully openworked automatic movement clearly visible through both the skeletonized dial and the transparent caseback. Like its chronograph sibling, the BR 03-92 is housed in a beautiful, square, stainless steel case; is water resistant to 100 meters; and features that beautiful metallic red accent on the crown. It, too, is available in a limited run of 500.

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