F1 Grand Prix has come and gone
by Dino Standjofski on June 12, 2008
tagged as: carbon br02 challenge admirals cup golden bridge corum tourbillon br01 bell & ross
It's fun dealing with the different people that fly around the world for this event.
We show cased a plethora of heavy high end pieces in our window. The Bell & Ross BR01 Tourbillon was the main attraction as well as the all rose gold Bell & Ross BR01 97 Power reserve, Corum Golden Bridge, all gold Corum Admirals Cup Challenge 44 with brown dial. Other pieces that showed great interest was the Bell & Ross BR01 92 Blue, the all gold Bell & Ross BR02 with Carbon dial.
The big heavy pieces were a Limited Edition Audemars Piguet Alingi with carbon case, the Aryton Senna limited edition Hublot Big Bang, an 8 day Panerai, and the Blue Max from Ulysse Nardin.
All in all there was a great buzz, and plenty of mingling with thousands of tourists visiting for such a huge event here in Montreal.
Bell and Ross BR-02 Instrument in the Stratosphere
by Marco Gagliano on May 22, 2008
tagged as: bell & ross br02 watches
Bell & Ross have always upheld their promise to build watches fit for professionals. Continuously they have proved their worth by supplying some of the most demanding professionals in France. Air Force pilots to bomb disposal experts have been dedicated and have used a B & R timepiece. Now to demonstrate how durable and versatile the new BR 02 Instruments are, Bell & Ross are sponsoring an amazing endeavor that pits a human and a watch against possibly the harshest environmental conditions ever.
At the first opportunity available between May 24 and 28, Michel Fournier will be lifted via balloon to the stratospheric height of 40 km above Saskatchewan, where he will be released and free-fall back down. He will beat multiple world records including altitude records for a skydive and for balloon flight. Because so much of Fournier's freefall will take place in the stratosphere, where there is very little air resistance and almost no weather activity, he will be the first skydiver to break the sound barrier and will therefore hold the world record for fastest skydive.
During his attempt, Fournier will be wearing the BR-02 Instrument, as it boasts above-par resistance to atmospheric pressure, and temperature changes. This is more then just a marketing stunt on Bell & Ross' part. When we look at the numbers, it is evident that this is an opportunity to test the BR 02 in the extreme conditions it was built to withstand. The stratosphere is defined by being the only part of the atmosphere where temperature actually rises with height. The skydiver and the watch will therefore experience temperatures close to 0°C down through temperatures of about -60°C and back to Saskatchewan spring weather. Pressure changes are immense too, putting abnormal and radical stresses on the BR-02.
This event is definitely worth following. You can find out more in our news section, or go to the official event site at www.legrandsaut.org.
The Final Word from Basel
by Marco Gagliano on April 11, 2008
tagged as: br03 br02 br01 bell & ross tourbillon concord baselworld
The Baselworld fair has come to an end. Hundreds of thousands of industry experts and watch enthusiasts have witnessed one of the world's most revered trade shows. Upon his return, Matt was very excited over all the new Bell & Ross pieces, and in awe of the new Concord C1 tourbillon. The new direction that Alpina is taking with their manufacture movement came up more then once. Matt was also impressed by several new jewelry collections that have been released by Calgaro and Pianegonda, which I will write about in my next blog.
The infamous Orange Instruments are back. Here is a list of limited edition watches that will be available in the coming months.
- BR 01 92 Red or yellow - only 500 pieces
- BR 01 94 Red or yellow - only 500 pieces
- BR 01 96 and 97 Orange - only 250 pieces each
- BR 01 Ingot full gold: Coolest watch ever - only 250 pieces
Bell & Ross will also be introducing limited production pieces, with production limited to a certain amount per year. These will include the Blue and Phantom BR 03s and the Blue and Orange BR 02s that are already on bellross.com. Finally here is a list of all the other new pieces that were unveiled.
- BR 01 94 Pro Titanium
- BR S series: Smaller and slimmer then the BR 03
- BR 03 Type Aviation
- BR 01 Tourbillon Gold: with carbon fiber or aluminum fiber
- Grand Complication Minuteur and Minuteur Tourbillon.
Also, here is a great picture of one of the coolest watches to be released at Baselworld. The Concord C1 Gravity Tourbillon.
New BR02 94 for all you Chronograph fans
by Dino Standjofski on February 22, 2008
tagged as: watches chronograph bell & ross br02
The Basel Fair is coming up in April, and there will be a lot of new products coming out later this year. Bell & Ross is giving us a teaser with the new Bell & Ross BR02 94. The Bell & Ross BR02 line came out late last year and is designed for the true deep sea diver.
Rated to 500 meters with ratchet bezel and helium escape valve, the Bell Ross BR02 94 is stylish and rugged enough for most of us who only swim. There is something about a deep water watch that gives you the confidence and security to keep it on your wrist for your water sports, instead of leaving it with your belongings on the beach.
We will keep you informed as all the new products start surfacing in the coming months, so keep checking it out.
Water-resistance: 100m under water equals 11kg of pressure!
by Dino Standjofski on February 7, 2008
tagged as: watches hydromax br02 bell & ross tides corum
Water-resistance means a watch is sealed against dust and water. It refers to the pressure the watch can withstand, measured in atmospheres or bars. Pressure is a force applied to a surface where 1 bar = 1 kg / sq. cm.
There are two types of pressure:
- Relative or hydrostatic pressure which is the pressure exerted by water.
- Absolute pressure which is water pressure + atmospheric pressure.
The water-resistance indicated on a watch usually corresponds to relative pressure. During diving, the pressure on the watch is absolute pressure. At sea level (zero altitude), atmospheric pressure equals 1 bar and increases by 1 bar for every 10 metres below sea level.
- 10 metres = 2 bars
- 20 metres = 3 bars
- 100 metres = 11 bars
Freshwater has a density of 1, meaning one litre of fresh water weighs 1 kg. Saltwater has a density of 1.026 because of the salt it contains. In reality, relative pressure increases by 0.98 bar in freshwater and by 1.007 bars in saltwater.
Here are some examples of water watches:
- Corum Tides 48 is resistant to 300 meters = 31 bars
- Bell & Ross BR02 is resistant to 1000 meters = 101 bars
- Bell & Ross Hydromax, deepest watch in the world, resistant to 11,100 meters = 1111 bars
