Bell & Ross returns to their novel Red Radar concept first introduced in 2011 with the new BR 03-92 Red Radar Ceramic. It’s got all the drama of the original with a few new tricks up its sleeve, all built into a square 42mm BR 03 case rendered in ceramic. While the original leaned into the radar effect, the latest example brings some planes into the mix, chasing one another around the dial underneath a deep red crystal. Is it practical? Probably not. But is it fun? You bet.
The Red Radar is absent of a traditional hand set, relying instead on rotating discs to display the time. With the newest watch, the hour disc sits the closest to the movement, and uses a slower passenger plane as its indicator. Nestled within that sits the minute disc, which uses a faster fighter plane to track its progress. An analog seconds hand makes sweeps around the dial to bring the radar effect to life.
The hour and minute indicators are printed directly onto the underside of the sapphire crystal, giving the hours and minutes their own dedicated tracks in a design that references the radars for which it’s named. This layered effect is heightened by the running seconds hand dividing the crystal and the discs. Just how easy the display is to read, well, feels a little besides the point but I’d wager you could use the wing tips to maximize precision.
The Red Radar ceramic joins a dozen other watches in Bell & Ross’ Instrument Collection, beginning with the BR 01 that was first introduced in 2005. These watches borrow heavily from the graphics you’d find used on the flight instrumentation directly in the cockpit of old war planes, providing rather distinctive source material from which B&R has produced some rather memorable references. The BR 03-92 Bi-Compass from 2019 stands out as a favorite around here.
Bell & Ross is using the automatic caliber BR-CAL.302 which is a Sellita SW300 base, which they use liberally throughout their collection. The Red Radar Ceramic is limited to 999 examples, each priced at $4,300, with deliveries expected to begin by July. Bell & Ross.
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