I wanted to double up on my coverage of nice, (relatively, in the luxury watch sense) affordable military style watches that were unveiled at Baselworld 2010. I just spoke about the Tag Heuer Formula i Khaki that has a green military strap and dial. Now I would like to share with you the new Bell & Ross BR03-92 Military Ceramic watch. Put in the BR03 case which is 42mm wide, the watch is in a matte finished ceramic in green. Cool! The olive drab green color of the case is lighter than the dark green of the dial. The Bell & Ross BR01/BR03 dial is based on military fonts and a high legibility style – so it looks right at home. The label of “Military Type” is on the dial of the watch in the version I sampled, but not in the marketing image. Hard to say what will be in the final version.
The ceramic that Bell & Ross uses feels nice in the hand, and has the same level of detail and angle crispness that metal has. The case still has the metal screws that the collection is known for. There might be small differences between the production model and the one I am wearing in the images. For instances, the marketing images have screws on the dial of the watch as well as on the case, but the watch I checked out had no screws on the dial. So we will see what ends up in stores.
For me this Khaki ceramic case and military feel to the watch are welcome. The collection has been begging for it, and it feels just right. Bell & Ross has been focusing a lot on the BR03 versus larger BR01 case as of late. The popularity of the collection has prompted more people to demand smaller, more reasonable styles. Plus, service people prefer watches that aren’t as much “in the way.”
The case of course has a sapphire crystal, and is water resistant to 100 meters. Inside the watch is an automatic ETA 2892 movement. Pretty much everything you would expect from a standard Bell & Ross BR03-92 watch, but now in green and with a ceramic case. The watch will come with either a gray commando style rubber strap, or a matching green synthetic fabric (nylon I guess) Velcro strap. The AR coating on the crystal makes the dial really easy to read, and I love the two green tones on the dial (of course there is lume). A good look, and really fits with the “war games” theme that revolved around in my mind as I wore this watch. If anybody out there knows a stylist, please tell them about this watch so it can show up in the next Hollywood military movie with great special effects and a preachy plot. I really want to see Mr. Military Ceramic in action. The watch should be in stores in the next few months.
