For its latest new release of 2023, Bell & Ross has teamed up with the Tara Ocean Foundation to create a limited-edition version of its BR 03-92 dive watch that celebrates the first year of their partnership. The Tara Ocean Foundation is a French public interest foundation dedicated to exploring the ocean and sharing its scientific findings with goal of raising public awareness. Naturally, a dive watch is the ideal candidate to serve as the platform for such a timepiece, and the new limited-edition Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver Tara takes the core blueprint of the existing series and renders it in the foundation’s colors, with a matte blue ceramic case and bright orange accents.
Since first introducing the model in 2017, Bell & Ross has offered the BR 03-92 Diver in a variety of different colorways and materials. At a quick glance, the new Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver Tara is most closely related to the black ceramic version that was unveiled in 2019, which means that it features a 42mm wide square-shaped case that houses a circular sapphire crystal, unidirectional rotating timing bezel, and a rubberized screw-down crown that helps ensure the model’s 300 meters of water resistance. However, unlike previous editions of the watch, the case of the new BR 03-92 Diver Tara is crafted from matte blue ceramic, and it is fitted with a matching blue bezel insert with a contrasting orange section for the first fifteen minutes. Additionally, the solid matte blue ceramic caseback is secured at the corners by four screws, and it is adorned with an engraving of the Tara schooner research vessel.
Similar to the case and bezel of the watch, the dial fitted to the new Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver Tara offers the same general design and layout that can be found across the rest of the collection, although it now appears in the Tara Ocean Foundation’s signature blue and orange colors. Set against a matte blue surface are applied hour markers that appear as rounded geometric shapes filled with Super-LumiNova, and just like the rest of models from the current BR 03-92 Diver lineup, the minute track is printed along the angled chapter ring, a circular date window sits at the 4:30 position, and three luminous hands display the time at the center of the dial. However, on the new BR 03-92 Diver Tara watch, the seconds hand is finished bright orange to match the bezel, and the Tara Ocean Foundation’s orange and white logo is printed directly below the handset on the lower half of the display.
Powering the new Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver Tara is the brand’s Caliber BR-Cal.302 automatic movement, which is based upon the core design of the Sellita SW300 and therefore runs at a frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz) with a power reserve of approximately 38 hours. Additionally, similar to other models from the collection, the new BR 03-92 Diver Tara comes with two different straps, along with a set of strap-changing tools to help users navigate the screwed bars at the lugs. The first of the two included straps is made from blue rubber with a matching blue PVD-coated tang buckle, while the alternate strap option is made from orange synthetic fabric and uses a Velcro-style closure with a blue PVD-coated fastening loop.
The new Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver Tara marks the first year of the partnership between Bell & Ross and the Tara Ocean Foundation, and all of the scientists aboard the Tara research vessel will be equipped with models from the brand’s BR 03-92 Diver collection. Produced as a limited edition of 999 examples, the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver Tara is accompanied by an official retail price of $5,600 USD, which makes it the most expensive model within the current BR 03-92 Diver collection at a full thousand dollars more than the standard black ceramic version. While some of that price premium is certainly due to the use of blue ceramic that is for its case components, it’s also important to note that this collaboration piece is more than just a co-branding exercise, and Bell & Ross will be donating a portion of the profits from each sale to the Tara Ocean Foundation. For more information on the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver Tara, please visit the brand’s website.
