When replica Bell & Ross announced BR 05, those of us who had participated in BaselWorld 2019 were eagerly waiting for the public’s response. I remember that when I saw the trailer for the conference for the first time, I had to take the oath of office (not true), and we will not discuss it anymore. I thought “Wow, they really like it.” “It” is a clear, unapologetic design, inspired by Genta and his iconic luxury sports watch. The status of the icon is so lofty, to approach its form with your own design is to dance with destiny. Icarus came to mind. Therefore, at the press conference, I would like to know whether they succeeded or failed.
The reaction is-both. The diehards and snobberies who oppose the Royal Oak and Nautilus condemned the move only out of respect. Those with rich pockets or people who have no AD connection cannot obtain the said watch, but still see it as an opportunity to enjoy the aesthetics they dream of, and this still comes from the brand they know, trust and respect. Many more people just don’t care about either way at all. Final Results? Well, there is nothing. Things are out of hand. Now, best Bell & Ross is the proud manufacturer of a series of luxury sports watches in stainless steel with integrated bracelets, which can be purchased in large local watch shops. Frankly speaking, a series of watches seems to fit their existing watch series and their position in the market very well. To be fair, although Bell & Ross is a new model, it is not in the 70s, but they still imitate the format of the “Marine Corps” watches of the 90s, although their functions are much more obvious. Tactically, the Germans resonated with them.
So why should I write this on Wear and Wounds? Bell & Ross (Bell&Ross) is a brand, and its design, especially the round box design, I find very attractive. Seeing them with their own eyes, they will always complete their work to an extraordinary degree, which gives them the luxury of “X-factor”. Perhaps my favorite example is BR V1, which is equivalent to the Swiss luxury version of Sinn 556 (not just because of the early relationship between the two brands). It is small, dexterous, very good on the wrist, and has reached the ninety percent unchanged, but also low-key the value of the tool watch. This is also a perfect comparison, which can illustrate the biggest problem of Bell & Ross. In fact, many of their watches are just value for money.
BR 05 brings unique aesthetic characteristics to nature and can be used in more accessible terrain. Although it cannot be compared with value, I do believe that accessibility is at least a partner of value and is also very important to our work at Worn & Wound. In addition, cheap BR 05 is a very beautiful watch. It mixes Genta DNA and Bell & Ross’ unique form and typography vocabulary. Although I have never thought of 15202s or 5711s (the latter is more than the former, tbh) or a truly integrated bracelet watch, I do appreciate the finishing, if nothing else, this style of watch is for the brand Show off your abilities.
Therefore, let us put aside the controversy for a while and let Bell & Ross face to face and bracelet-like value this semi-radical. I can say from the beginning that, regardless of the price, BR 05 surprised me and perhaps made me an integrated sports watch guy.
Where to start? The case of BR 05 is actually BR05. As with all integrated bracelet watches, things starting from the wrist flow to the entire surface of the watch, forming a clean and tidy stainless steel case, which happens to tell the watch the time. You cannot really talk about the case without discussing the bracelet, and vice versa. So let’s start with the overall shape.
Bell & Ross is famous for its square instrument table. Although they have made many other watches and cases, they will never escape the square. Therefore, they embraced it. The Associated Press has a round octagon, Patek Philippe’s porthole, and B&R has a square. After placing it in place, they adopted a platonic geometry, rounded the corners into a soft Nauti-cal shape, cut a hole in the center, and obtained the foundation of BR 05. This shape acts as a border and is located slightly offset from the 40mm middle shell at the top. Combined with the rotatable display back, you can see the main body of the watch, which has a thickness of 10.7 mm, which is very slim.
Let’s stop there for a while. Part of what makes the fake BR 05 more attractive is that you can see some very simple shapes at the same time, while others are extremely complex, and they are all finished with a high degree of processing. The simplest fact is that the rounded square is at the top, which determines the overall tone of the design. This makes it easy to access (unlike the hollow dial in the faceted case, for example), and it’s almost nothing, at least to me, it makes it more palatable.
Back to the mid-end – not only copied the shape of the bezel, it adopted this shape, but then turned steep downhill, and then seamlessly transitioned into the bracelet. This is one of the more RO style details. It looks as if the medium-sized case has been cut off on a grinder, forming very eye-catching details in shape and surface, but it is also very functional and provides a perfect angle for the growth of the bracelet. Then, the bracelet continued to maintain this shape, gradually reduced to 17 mm at the buckle, and re-wound on the other side.
Connecting each link is a wide rectangular block with rounded corners to make the shape work again. Between the flat surface and the larger connecting chain, the design mixes RO and Nautilus, while also talking to other series of B&R tool watch H chain bracelets. The buckle is butterfly-shaped, with a striking B&R and number logo at the seam where the buckle is closed. More information about what to wear later.
On the right side of the middle case is a small screw-in crown between the two screw-in crown guards. The design is very basic, with grooves and ampersands for gripping on its outer surface. The size is set to be no larger than 5mm x 3.5mm of the middle shell. I can’t help but feel that it is a bit small. Although its masculinity is not so exaggerated compared to many B&R timepieces, the BR 05 is still masculine in many ways, and this crown feels too light or too delicate. It is also painful to hold it when fully tightened. Maybe touching a larger diameter or a more confident grip can solve the problem.
The completion of an integrated sports watch is indeed a matter of life and death. As mentioned in the introduction, B&R has always been impressed by the watches I have seen. The lines of the case are always clear and obvious, brushing the teeth always has an attractive texture, and because of the lack of better words, they never feel mushy when polished. Therefore, I am happy to say that BR 05 has not disappointed me. Considering every surface, most surfaces are coated with rough particles.
Starting from the top, the bezel is polished vertically, with chamfered and polished edges, and has an attractive “black polished” appearance. There is a polished screw at each corner-I will continue the introduction. The screws of the middle shell are the same, without screws, providing a cool step effect. The side of the case is drawn vertically. Compared with the horizontal drawing, I usually find it less attractive, but considering that it is actually a hard kink before the lugs, they have no choice. At least it is a relatively thin surface, which is also shattered by the crown and crown guard on the right side, so I rarely find myself looking at it frustrated.
The bracelet then consists of larger H-shaped links with a flat brushed top surface and fully brushed sides, including the area between the links. The surface is also slightly rounded, which allows the links to move better although there will be a larger gap between the links. Then the connected square links are completely polished and their edges are rounded. Although these links are small, they add up to create many outward-facing polished surfaces. In other words, they provide a bling effect. Enough for me to have dinner with my girlfriend, she complained that the reflected light kept shining into her eyes. In addition to the blind influence that these links may cause, another disadvantage is that they are only required to be scratched, because the highly used samples I received have already passed (you can clearly see in the photos).
Back to those screws. Since the first BR 01, the corners of B&R’s instrument series have been screwed on. In the context of these timepieces, because they have added a meter-based format, they will not feel the derivation of RO design. However, by screwing four screws to the BR 05 case, B&R undoubtedly stepped into the dangerous AP area. If you take a step in this direction, it will be a difficult decision. On the one hand, it has affected their history, and without them, there may be too much blank space in the corner, and on the other hand, it has nothing to do with this concept, except for history. RO’s iconic details are also very obvious and hard to ignore (at least they are round). To be honest, I am a bit contradictory here because I think the area needs some details, but it feels too primitive to ignore it.
Still there? Thank you for your participation. Unlike the case and bracelet, the dial is very simple, maybe too much. The dial is available in black, blue or silver (plus a slightly separated skeleton model). The dial uses elements from its iconic scheme and has been overhauled from sports replica watches china in the 70s. In this way, you will find a sunny surface with a glossy fill mark applied. The numbers are twelve, six and nine, with small batons, while the other alarm bells are marked with larger batons, but three hours have been replaced by the date window. The batons and numbers are reminiscent of other B&R (B&R) models, but look fatter and rounded, which is similar to the rounded square elements of the case. The design successfully stored enough light to make the watch glow well.
