Bell & Ross watchmakers have only been making watches since 1992. The were founded and are currently headed by Bruno Belamich and Carlos Rosillo. Belamich was the original watch designer, creating watches that were intended to replicate the appearance of the instrument of a aircraft cockpit. They were originally produced by Sinn, a German watch maker.
In 2002, Bell and Ross broke ties with Sinn and opened their own production facilities in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Over the years they have made some impressive looking and functioning watches. Utilizing highly accurate Swiss movements, and adding special functions for specific uses.
I generally don't focus in on the younger watchmakers here at the best men's watches under blog, because I think a 100+ year track record carries a lot of weight behind it. But the Bell & Ross watches have really stood out to me, and I could not resist giving them a company review.
The Bell & Ross Vintage line is one of the more classic looking watch lines they offer. In fact, it may be the only real classic looking lines of watches they have. It is a great place to start, for those of you who are not completely sold on the square case style they lean toward.
In 2002, Bell and Ross broke ties with Sinn and opened their own production facilities in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Over the years they have made some impressive looking and functioning watches. Utilizing highly accurate Swiss movements, and adding special functions for specific uses.
I generally don't focus in on the younger watchmakers here at the best men's watches under blog, because I think a 100+ year track record carries a lot of weight behind it. But the Bell & Ross watches have really stood out to me, and I could not resist giving them a company review.
The Best Men's Bell & Ross Watches for Under...
The Best Men's Bell & Ross Watch for Under 2000 Dollars
Vintage Original Beige
Model: Br123-Original-Beige
Case: 41mm, Stainless steel
Band: Leather
Movement: Automatic
Functions: HH, MM, SS, Date
Battery: N/A
Water resistance: 100M/330ft
The Bell & Ross Vintage line is one of the more classic looking watch lines they offer. In fact, it may be the only real classic looking lines of watches they have. It is a great place to start, for those of you who are not completely sold on the square case style they lean toward.
This watch has a 41mm stainless steel case, with a crown at the 3 o'clock position. It has a sapphire crystal lens covering the dial face. The beige original version has a beige face, with Arabic numerals marking the 3, 9 & 12 o'clock hours, and indexes marking the remaining hours. All the markings are in black. There is a date window located at the 6 o'clock position and the hands are black, imbued with a super luminova to provide nighttime use. The band is a brown calfskin leather, with a buckle style clasp.
The Bell & Ross Br123 uses a ETA 2892 movement. It is an automatic movement with 21 jewels. It has 42 hour power reserve. It runs at 28,800 BPH. they are proven movements, and are used in a tone of watches today.
The online retail price of the Br123 averages at about 1800 dollars. A couple hundred below the price point of this review, and stacks up nicely in comparison to a lot of my previous 2000 dollar watches. The biggest downfall for me with this company is longevity, and I do believe if they keep their unique looks and quality build, they could be a long standing company.
Aviation
Model: BR-03-94-Heritage Ceramic
Case: 42mm Ceramic, PVD
Band: Calfskin
Movement: Bell & Ross automatic movement, BR-CAL.301
Functions: HH, MM, SS, Date, Chronograph
Battery: N/A
Water resistance: 100M/330ft
This is not the first time the Aviation Heritage Ceramic has made my list. This was my first experience with Bell & Ross, and I completely enjoyed the looks of their watches. It is why this post was made.
The Heritage Ceramic has a 42mm Ceramic and PVD, square case. The crown is located at the 3 o'clock position and the chronograph function buttons are located above and below the crown, basically at the 2 & 4 o'clock positions. The case and buttons are all black, and the lens is sapphire crystal. The dial face is also black, with Arabic numerals at the 6 & 12 o'clock positions, and with indexes marking the other hours. there are two sub dials, located at the 3 & 9 o'clock positions, one being for the chronograph and the other being a small seconds. The watch uses the large central sweep second hand for the chronograph functions. There is a date window at the 4:30 position. The hands are black with imbued, super luminova on them for nighttime usage. The band for the watch is leather, and it has a buckle style clasp.
The movement is called by Bell & Ross, a BR-CAL.301. This is basically a ETA 2894-2 modified movement. It has chronograph functions, Date, HH, MM, and a small seconds. It has 37 jewels and a 42 hour power reserve. It runs at 28,800 BPH.
Generally, I can find this watch through the online retailers for around 4200 dollars. It is a pretty unique piece of wrist art, that will get lots of looks, and is a very well built product. It should last a lifetime.
Something of a forgotten, or unrealized fact about Bell & Ross. They make some pretty nice dive watches. In fact, at some later date, this watch may make the best men's dive watches under list. They are slightly unconventional looking, but pretty much all Bell & Ross watches are.
The BR02-92 Marine Automatic has a 44mm steel and gold case, with the crown at the 3 o'clock position. There is an additional button at the 2 o'clock position for the bezel. The bezel is an internal, unidirectional, 60 minute dive bezel. The watch also sports a helium release valve at the 9 o'clock position. The lens is a sapphire crystal. The dial face is black. It has white Arabic numerals at the 3, 6, 9 & 12 o'clock positions, and uses indexes for the remaining hour marks. There is a date window located at the 4:30 position. The hour, minute, and second hands are black, with a photo luminescent coating for nighttime viewing. The band is a rubber with a gold buckle style clasp.
The best I can say about the movement on this watch is, the blue and orange faced version of this watch uses the Sellita SW200, but I am unable to confirm that this version of the Marine Autos use it too. I am assuming it does, it only makes sense, so I am going to go with it and say that the Sellita SW200 has 26 jewels and a 38 hour power reserve. It runs at 28,800 bph. It is a common movement, in several different watches on the market today.
I have been able to find this watch for around 7700 dollars. It is a really nice, full function diver, made with high dollar materials. Bell & Ross did really well with this watch.
Aviation Carbon Forge
Model: BR-X1
Case: 45mm Titanium and Ceramic
Band: Woven black rubber
Movement: BR-CAL.313 automatic
Function: HH, MM, SS, Date, Chronograph
Battery: N/A
Water resistance: 100M/330ft
The Aviation Carbon Forge is a limited edition watch. It is a skeleton square case chronograph made with cutting edge materials. The case is 45mm square and made from titanium and ceramic. The crown is at the 3 o'clock position and the chronograph buttons are at the 2 & 4 o'clock positions. The lens is sapphire crystal. The face is a skeleton face, it uses indexes to mark the hours. The sub dial at the 9 o'clock position is a 30 minute timer, and the sub dial at the 3 o'clock position is a small seconds. The central sweep second hand is the chronograph counter. The hands of the watch are chromed steel with super luminova, for night time viewing. And the Band is rubber with a buckle style clasp.
The movement for the Aviation Carbpn Forge is a Bell & Ross BR-CAL.313. It is a ETA 2894-2 base, meaning it has 56 jewels, and a 42 hour power reserve. It runs at 28,800 bph. Again, this is another very popular movement, that you can find in a lot of watches.
I find this watch through online retail outlets for around 17,500 dollars. It is a very pricey watch, but its use of materials and design and features call for a high price tag. Then throw in the fact that these are limited edition watches, it is no surprise to me that this is nearly a 20,000 dollar watch.
The online retail price of the Br123 averages at about 1800 dollars. A couple hundred below the price point of this review, and stacks up nicely in comparison to a lot of my previous 2000 dollar watches. The biggest downfall for me with this company is longevity, and I do believe if they keep their unique looks and quality build, they could be a long standing company.
The Best Men's Bell & Ross Watch for Under 5000 Dollars
Aviation
Model: BR-03-94-Heritage Ceramic
Case: 42mm Ceramic, PVD
Band: Calfskin
Movement: Bell & Ross automatic movement, BR-CAL.301
Functions: HH, MM, SS, Date, Chronograph
Battery: N/A
Water resistance: 100M/330ft
This is not the first time the Aviation Heritage Ceramic has made my list. This was my first experience with Bell & Ross, and I completely enjoyed the looks of their watches. It is why this post was made.The Heritage Ceramic has a 42mm Ceramic and PVD, square case. The crown is located at the 3 o'clock position and the chronograph function buttons are located above and below the crown, basically at the 2 & 4 o'clock positions. The case and buttons are all black, and the lens is sapphire crystal. The dial face is also black, with Arabic numerals at the 6 & 12 o'clock positions, and with indexes marking the other hours. there are two sub dials, located at the 3 & 9 o'clock positions, one being for the chronograph and the other being a small seconds. The watch uses the large central sweep second hand for the chronograph functions. There is a date window at the 4:30 position. The hands are black with imbued, super luminova on them for nighttime usage. The band for the watch is leather, and it has a buckle style clasp.
The movement is called by Bell & Ross, a BR-CAL.301. This is basically a ETA 2894-2 modified movement. It has chronograph functions, Date, HH, MM, and a small seconds. It has 37 jewels and a 42 hour power reserve. It runs at 28,800 BPH.
Generally, I can find this watch through the online retailers for around 4200 dollars. It is a pretty unique piece of wrist art, that will get lots of looks, and is a very well built product. It should last a lifetime.
The Best Men's Bell & Ross Watch for Under 10,000 Dollars
Marine Automatic
Model: BR02-92-Rose Gold and Carbon
Case: 44mm, Rose Gold & Steel
Band: Rubber strap
Movement: Automatic, Sellita SW200
Functions: HH, MM, SS, Date
Battery: N/A
Water resistance: 1000M/3300ft
Something of a forgotten, or unrealized fact about Bell & Ross. They make some pretty nice dive watches. In fact, at some later date, this watch may make the best men's dive watches under list. They are slightly unconventional looking, but pretty much all Bell & Ross watches are.The BR02-92 Marine Automatic has a 44mm steel and gold case, with the crown at the 3 o'clock position. There is an additional button at the 2 o'clock position for the bezel. The bezel is an internal, unidirectional, 60 minute dive bezel. The watch also sports a helium release valve at the 9 o'clock position. The lens is a sapphire crystal. The dial face is black. It has white Arabic numerals at the 3, 6, 9 & 12 o'clock positions, and uses indexes for the remaining hour marks. There is a date window located at the 4:30 position. The hour, minute, and second hands are black, with a photo luminescent coating for nighttime viewing. The band is a rubber with a gold buckle style clasp.
The best I can say about the movement on this watch is, the blue and orange faced version of this watch uses the Sellita SW200, but I am unable to confirm that this version of the Marine Autos use it too. I am assuming it does, it only makes sense, so I am going to go with it and say that the Sellita SW200 has 26 jewels and a 38 hour power reserve. It runs at 28,800 bph. It is a common movement, in several different watches on the market today.
I have been able to find this watch for around 7700 dollars. It is a really nice, full function diver, made with high dollar materials. Bell & Ross did really well with this watch.
The Best Bell & Ross Watch for Under 20,000 Dollars
Aviation Carbon Forge
Model: BR-X1
Case: 45mm Titanium and Ceramic
Band: Woven black rubber
Movement: BR-CAL.313 automatic
Function: HH, MM, SS, Date, Chronograph
Battery: N/A
Water resistance: 100M/330ft
The Aviation Carbon Forge is a limited edition watch. It is a skeleton square case chronograph made with cutting edge materials. The case is 45mm square and made from titanium and ceramic. The crown is at the 3 o'clock position and the chronograph buttons are at the 2 & 4 o'clock positions. The lens is sapphire crystal. The face is a skeleton face, it uses indexes to mark the hours. The sub dial at the 9 o'clock position is a 30 minute timer, and the sub dial at the 3 o'clock position is a small seconds. The central sweep second hand is the chronograph counter. The hands of the watch are chromed steel with super luminova, for night time viewing. And the Band is rubber with a buckle style clasp.The movement for the Aviation Carbpn Forge is a Bell & Ross BR-CAL.313. It is a ETA 2894-2 base, meaning it has 56 jewels, and a 42 hour power reserve. It runs at 28,800 bph. Again, this is another very popular movement, that you can find in a lot of watches.
I find this watch through online retail outlets for around 17,500 dollars. It is a very pricey watch, but its use of materials and design and features call for a high price tag. Then throw in the fact that these are limited edition watches, it is no surprise to me that this is nearly a 20,000 dollar watch.
Wrap Up
The best men's Bell & Ross watches for under was a fun list for me. I really enjoy these watches and hope that I was able to show some people a watch brand that they have never heard of before. The best men's watches for under is glad to have been able to assist you in finding a new watch for you or for your loved one.
