I’ve Never Seen (Inside) a Pilot’s Watch Quite Like This Before

Honoring a big anniversary, Bell & Ross’s uniquely squared-off timepiece gets some revealing new treatments.

By Steve Mazzucchi

Published April 30, 2025

·

Updated April 30, 2025

Every product is carefully selected by our editors. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more

From the beginning, Paris-based Bell & Ross looked at pilots’ watches a bit differently.

Instead of viewing them as aeronautical aids, the brand aimed to bring the experience of sitting in a cockpit to your wrist.

bell and ross br-03 flat — The Black Ceramic edition is both the most affordable and the most revealing of the inner workings.

Toward that end, 2005’s BR-01 caused a stir with a striking design that drew inspiration from the dials and instruments pilots spend much of their flying lives monitoring. The following year brought the more wrist-friendly BR-03.

Now, 20 years after that original pilot’s watch, the brand celebrates the anniversary with another unique reinterpretation of the genre: the BR-03 Skeleton collection.

Power of three

The new BR-03 Skeleton family comes in three (increasingly pricey and rare) varieties, all united by an approachable 41mm size.

The most straightforward and affordable of the bunch is the 10.6 mm-thick BR-03 Black Ceramic, rendered, of course, in microblasted ceramic of the black variety.

bell and ross br-03 full — The Grey Steel version of the watch gives off the strongest Terminator endoskeleton vibes.

Next up is Grey Steel, a slightly pricier and slimmer option at 9.65mm.

Lastly we have the top dog in price and size and profile, the Lum Ceramic, an 11.25mm piece with a faceted three-dimensional dial.

Lovely bones

True to their heritage, the watches each feature rounded corners, burly bevels and bolts in each corner, plus short, square lugs that match the overall design and making strap-swapping easier.

Of course, the headlining step with this new iteration is the skeletonization of the dials, which provide a peek at inner workings that often go unseen.

bell and ross br-03 on wrist — Like its siblings, the Lum Ceramic edition’s 41mm case size fits comfortably on the wrist.

With the Black Ceramic watch, a tinted, somewhat see-through panel shows off the entire movement, while the Super-LumiNova-treated numerals and indexes seem to almost float on the surface.

The brushed steel of the Grey Steel edition, meanwhile, gives off much more industrial vibes.

The X at the center of the skeleton is more noticeable, while the lack of numerals delivers a much more streamlined, unfussy feel.

bell and ross br-03 lume — The Lum Ceramic is the rare watch that might actually look better when the sun sets.

At the top of the call sheet, the Lum Ceramic dovetails the look of its siblings, which makes it either funkily stunning or stunningly funky, depending how you choose to view it.

The X at the center and the other cutouts all get a Super-LumiNova outline that, ironically, gives this watch significantly more visual pop when the lights are off.

Movement and more

Now, what is there to actually look at behind these skeletons? A new movement built for Bell & Ross by Sellita that is based on its SW300-1 automatic movement.

Beating at 28,800vph and offering a power reserve of 54 hours, it’s essentially a clone of the ETA 2892 that is quite dependable if not overly ostentatious.

bell and ross br-3 movement — Behind the skeleton lies the beating heart, a BR-CAL.328 movement made for Bell & Ross by Sellita.

Each watch has the same strap system, a black rubber and black synthetic blend with a stainless steel pin buckle that matches the watches’ colors.

One could argue that for all the thought that clearly went into the design, these straps are rather boring.

However, it is worth noting that a. They are pretty easy to swap, and b. Anything too showy might detract from the eye-popping anniversary celebration taking place squarely in the center of your wrist.

Availability and pricing

The Bell & Ross BR-03 Skeleton collection is available now. The Black Ceramic edition costs $5,990, the Grey Steel edition costs $5,600, and the Lum Ceramic edition costs $6,600. The latter two editions are limited to 250 pieces.

Bell & Ross BR-03 Skeleton Collection

While Bell & Ross has been making unique pilot’s watches for 20 years, these three anniversary editions boast a never-before-seen element: skeletonized dials that provide a look behind the scenes at its new BR-CAL.328 movement, created for Bell & Ross by Sellita with a power reserve of 54 hours. Each of the three variants also feature squared-off 41mm cases with rounded edges, Super-LumiNova-treated numerals and indexes and 100m of water resistance.

Specs

Case Size	41mm
Movement	BR-CAL.328, Sellita base, automatic
Water Resistance	100m

Starts at $5,990

About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.