How About a Big Bronze Skull for the Wrist? Bell & Ross Has You Covered

Ah yes, the skull watch. While not exactly what I’d call a “staple,” watches featuring skulls have been ever present in modern watch collecting for years. Most notably, we can look to independent watchmaker Fiona Kruger as something of a skull watch specialist, but other brands are in on the skull action as well. From Invicta (of course, Invicta) to Richard Mille, there are skull watches out there for every taste and budget. Indeed, one of my favorite watches from last year features a skull in a nontraditional way. But we can’t talk about skull watches without talking about Bell & Ross, who have released a variety of these watches in their relatively short history. Their latest release, the BR 01 Cyber Skull Bronze, is one of the strangest yet. 

First, let’s answer the question many are likely asking themselves right now: why? While different brands might have varying rationales for creating skull watches, we can at least identify that the skull itself as a symbol is recognized somewhat universally as dealing with the idea of mortality. A memento mori, a reminder that every living thing dies, is a theme that exists in art going back centuries. This is a natural thematic playing field for a watch, dealing as it does with the passing of time. Also, they just kind of look cool. I’m reminded of a heavily tattooed friend being asked about the symbolism behind the artwork on his body (including, you guessed it, skulls) and his curt response, indicating that he just liked the way it looked, and there’s not much more to it than that. 

The BR 01 Cyber Skull Bronze is, you guessed it, a big bronze skull using the brand’s traditional square shaped, aircraft instrument inspired case as a canvas. This watch, though, doesn’t have much to do with flight. Instead, it’s hyper modern take on the skull aesthetic, with an avant-garde, highly faceted bronze skull in the interior, linked by bridges at the corners to the similarly angular bronze case. The dial is largely open, with an exposed balance within the skull’s “brain,” and plenty of negative space to highlight the intricacy of the design as well as the partially exposed movement. 

The movement is the hand wound BR-CAL.210, which performs a neat party trick: when being wound, the skull’s jawbone appears to move up and down. Bell & Ross says that this is meant to symbolize the idea of laughing in the face of death. It no doubt adds a level of personality to a watch that is clearly aiming to achieve some kind of emotional reaction from its owner. It’s not just an empty technical achievement, though. There’s real ingenuity in the way the movement and dial are integrated into the case, using a pair of sapphire plates with the skull inserted between them. This gives the skull and the hour markers the appearance of floating within the dial.  

The BR 01 Cyber Skull Bronze measures 45mm x 46.7mm, and is 13.7mm thick. That case is mounted to an integrated rubber strap, and has a water resistance rating of 50 meters. This is a limited edition of 500 pieces, and carries a retail price of $11,400.