Take flight with the high-performance Bell & Ross BR 03-92 HUD

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FOLLOWING THE LAUNCH of the BR 01 in 2005, Bell & Ross has been building up a dedicated collection of instrument timepieces directly inspired by the different flight instruments in aircraft cockpits, starting with the BR 01 Radar in 2010. Among other individual references that followed were the Altimeter and Horizon in 2012, the Airspeed and Heading Indicator in 2013, and last year’s Bi-Compass.

In 2020, as part of its continuing quest for innovation and performance, Bell & Ross turned its attention from the flight deck to the windshield’s head-up display and introduced another marvel of an instrument timepiece in the form of the BR 03-92 HUD. The headup display is a transparent glass screen that displays all information essential to flying, including the horizon line, altitude, speed and flight path vector, in the pilot’s visual field, with the primary function of keeping the pilot focused on his line of sight.

The high-performance tool puts the emphasis on legibility and will guide the way day and night. In case of low visibility for instance or no matter the conditions, the screen will adjust in brightness and contrast to op timise the ambient lighting.

The BR03-92 HUD embodies the contemporary spirit of Bell & Ross’ instrument watches and evokes the concept of augmented reality in a black matte ceramic design of high-tech construction involving three layers. On the first plane, the green-tinted sapphire crystal glass gives the illusion of the digital HUD-type display, using the surface of the disc dial and that of the glass. Four brackets are printed on the verso of the glass to evoke the four corners of the HUD line of sight.

On the second plane, the black and green hands reveal the minutes and seconds. The hands’ center parts are purposely hidden to further increase the digit analogy and the legibility principles of professional instruments.

On the third plane, the hours are indicated by a green triangle marker which appears in the center through an independent concentric disc which is not graduated. This ultra-light disc is designed to ensure that the power reserve nor the accuracy of the watch is not reduced.

By using the green color, Bell & Ross recreates the graphic style of this instrument as closely as possible. The green on the dial mirrors the computer-type display of the

HUD, and the case’s anti-reflective matte black background provides a striking contrast. The crystal glass is tinted and obtained through a green metallization technique that is applied on its back side.

To provide an intense green light, the hour numerals, indices, triangle as well as the minute-circle and hands are coated in green Super-LumiNova C3. The ladder is also applied on the 4 brackets. This combination - green-tinted glass on green information emphasises the ultra-legibility of the dial and its fluorescent brightness to reproduce the HUD digital green display.

A limited edition of 999 pieces, the BR 03-92 HUD is fitted with a black rubber strap or an ultra-resilient black synthetic fabric strap.

“THE BR03-92 HUD EMBODIES THE CONTEMPORARY SPIRIT OF BELL & ROSS’ INSTRUMENT WATCHES AND EVOKES THE CONCEPT OF AUGMENTED REALITY IN A BLACK MATTE CERAMIC DESIGN OF HIGH-TECH CONSTRUCTION INVOLVING THREE LAYERS”