URBAN WRISTWEAR
At the official launch of the BR 05, we pulled Bell & Ross CEO Carlos Rosillo aside to talk about the story behind the brand’s latest timepiece
SAY WHAT YOU WANT about the luxury watch industry, but the indisputable fact remains that most designs are trend-driven. While the concepts involved may seem similar, it is the execution that sets individual timepieces apart. The luxury sports watch aesthetic first introduced in the 1970s was very much a game-changer. A new case design, coupled with an integrated bracelet, resulted in what is now considered a signature aesthetic that has become instantly recognisable. The new BR 05 by Bell & Ross is a watch that has captured the essence of that time period, while also introducing some unique design elements that give it its own identity.
Please tell us about the inspiration behind the BR 05.
It was very simple. What we wanted to have was a good synthesis of all the principles of Bell & Ross. We wanted to go into the city. And when you go into the city, you need to have all the tools to respond to this environment. We started with the iconic, but tempered it in keeping with the Bell & Ross design DNA.
What were some of the primary considerations behind the design?
To put it in a single word: ergonomics. The BR 03 was not designed with metal bracelets in mind. When you want to put a bracelet on a watch that was designed for a leather band, it changes the look and feel completely. On the BR 05, however, the bracelet is perfectly integrated into the design, making it very comfortable to wear for wrists of any size.
When we designed it, the most important thing was to stay faithful to the Bell & Ross aesthetic. I think this was achieved very clearly. If you were to remove the Bell & Ross logo on the BR 05 and replace it with something else, you’ll find that it just doesn’t look right. This is a Bell & Ross watch through and through. It can’t wear another label. You don’t even have to see the logo to know that it is a Bell & Ross.
When designing the BR 05, were you also keeping an eye on what your contemporaries in the market were doing?
I think you’re always influenced by creations that have been done before. When you love watches, you naturally want to see what’s going on out there and in a sense you’re influenced by everything. If you grew up in the 1970s, you would recognise lots of beautiful imagery from that time period being woven into the BR 05. But it’s also 2019, so we’ve made the BR 05 more modern with a new rounded square shape.
People say the Bell & Ross aesthetic is unmistakable. They say you will remember it forever once you’ve become properly acquainted with it. How true is this?
At Bell & Ross, one of our core values is inner strength. Whatever the model, there is inner strength resonating from within. You can feel it in the product. You can feel it in our people. There is a selfconfidence and inner strength that you can see across our products.
Some iconic watch designs become classics over time. They become part of a wider vocabulary that other brands sometimes draw from. In your opinion, when does this transition occur?
When? When you don’t have to put the logo on the watch to know what it is. This happened for us with the B01 in 2005. Some people would ask, “What is this ugly watch?” I could understand why they thought so, but what these people forgot is that we took what was in the cockpit and and put it on the wrist.
Over the years, we have refined this approach to “instrumentation”. The BR 05 is an instrument for the urban explorer who lives in the city. It’s an instrument for city life, not the country. It’s like how you’ll take the [Land Rover] Defender into the country, but drive around in the city with the Evoque. This is exactly what we have achieved with the BR 05.
SINCE ITS ESTABLISHMENT in the 19th century, Longines has maintained a true passion for the equestrian world with timepieces featuring exquisite engravings of horses, riders and jockeys, the stories of each piece closely linked with the story of the sports shown on the cases of the watches.
Recently, Longines has reinterpreted pocket watches of yesteryear for the Longines Equestrian Pocket Watch collection in limited and numbered editions. Available in eight models, each limited to only 20 pieces worldwide, they are made from 18-carat rose gold, attesting to the close relationship between Longines and the equestrian world, while embodying the brand’s values of tradition, elegance and performance.
EQUESTRIAN POCKET WATCH JOCKEY 1878
In 1878, Longines created its first chronograph movement using new mechanical processes to measure performance to the nearest second ‒ a common feature in chronographs used on American racetracks from the end of the 19th century.
This new model (pic above) inspired by the pocket watch back in 1878 features a hand-wound movement and a column-wheel chronograph mechanism created exclusively for Longines, with the latter being activated via the crown that acts as a push-piece. The model also allows to keep time to the second using the central chronograph hand.
The hours, minutes and small seconds at 6 o’clock are displayed by elegant blued steel Breguet hands in the 55mm diameter case, upon a white dial that features large Roman numerals and a timer with Arabic numerals. With the bow in the piece finely crafted based on the original model, the engraved cover opens to reveal the movement’s blued steel column wheel.
EQUESTRIAN POCKET WATCH SWEET HORSE
1881
Inspired by a silver Savonnette pocket watch from 1881, the feminine Pocket Watch Sweet Horse
1881 features a horse’s head and an elegantly engraved floral motif, while
inside, a handwound mechanical movement brings the exceptional timepiece to life.
Another Savonnette
pocket watch reiteration is one from 1910, which features an 18-carat rose gold case with an engraving of a grand eagle with wings spread in front of a ship, and another a young woman with wings and a horse. The travel-inspired
pocket watch is powered by a handwound mechanical movement, with the hours, minutes and small seconds at 6 o’clock displayed by elegant blued steel hands upon a white dial with large Roman numerals within the
49.5mm case.
EQUESTRIAN POCKET WATCH GENTLEMAN
FARMER 1910
A reflection of Longines’ centuriesold passion for the equestrian world, this 1910 reinterpretation upon an 18-carat rose gold Lépine pocket watch features an engraving of a distinguished gentleman on his horse ‒ the perfect
illustration of an elegance specific to equestrian sports, which Longines has shared for more than 150 years. The sides and bow of the piece
carefully designed based on the original model housed at the Longines Museum in
Saint-Imier.
The Pocket Watch
Racing Horses 1911 demonstrates Longines’ association with some of the most prestigious horse races around the world through the engraving of the heads of three horses in the heat of a race ‒ a symbol of the movement and energy of the sport. The Savonnette pocket watch of handwound mechanical movement displays the hours, minutes and small seconds at 6 o’clock with elegant gold steel hands and large Arabic numerals in the 53.35mm case.
EQUESTRIAN POCKET WATCH HORSES TRIO
1911
A year after the original Lépine pocket watch was created in 1911, Longines partnered with a show jumping competition for the first time, marking the beginning of a long history that led to the brand’s current association
with renowned races and equestrian competitions. The commemorative piece has a skilfully designed case back featuring a trio of horses, with their heads standing out against a background of intricate foliage,
amidst the plant motifs in the middle
of the piece.
EQUESTRIAN POCKET WATCH FARM HOUSE
1912
This 18-carat rose gold case depicts a farmhouse in a bucolic country landscape traversed
by a rider on his horse. The beating heart of the timepiece is the hand-wound
mechanical movement that brings to life the hours, minutes and small seconds at 6 o’clock, displayed by elegant gold steel hands and large Roman numerals in the 4mm
diameter case.
EQUESTRIAN POCKET WATCH SPORT 1929
A vibrant tribute to flat races that is based on a model from 1929, this Lépine pocket watch features two jockeys and their horses in the heat of a race. The bow of the piece was
carefully designed based on the original model housed at the Longines Museum in Saint-Imier, while within, a hand-wound mechanical movement
powers the time display upon the white dial in the 48.20mm case, with elegant blued steel Breguet
hands and large Arabic numerals.