The New Bell & Ross BR-X5 Green Lum Introduces a New Luminescent Composite Case Material

I’ve long been on record as an appreciator and fan of the wilder designs from Bell & Ross. Few watch brands, in fact, have a wider design purview than B&R, which has fairly traditional aviation inspired watches at one end of the spectrum, bronze skull watches on the other, and their standard square case instrument watches right in the middle. The LUM series, an ongoing collection of watches that use luminescent material in a manner that can only be described as Maximalist, sits somewhere near the skulls, I think. Watch enthusiasts, of course, are notable in that we tend to love inventive applications of lume, but bold designs centered around the stuff still feel fairly niche. The new BR-X5 Green Lum takes the brand’s experiments with lume to a new level, giving the case itself the full lume treatment. 

Seeing the press release for this watch, I knew immediately that it was destined to be a new object of obsession for me, perhaps not unlike my beloved Multimeter. It takes the still relatively new BR-X5 platform, the brand’s most contemporary and forward looking case design, and gives it a visual and material transformation via the brand’s LM3D composite. This material is made from quartz fibers which are completely photoluminescent, giving off a pronounced green glow. The case is a combination of this material and DLC coated titanium, which effectively acts as a shell with large pieces of LM3D at the top and bottom of the case.

The dial is matte black and serves to extend the lume heavy design language of the case itself. Hands and hour markers are lumed, as are the outlines for the power reserve display at 9:00 and date window at 3:00. It is perhaps a missed opportunity to leave the date display itself un-lumed, but that’s minor criticism.

The power reserve indicator serves as a reminder that the BR-X5 platform is home to the first movement in the Bell & Ross collection to be developed by Kenissi. The BR-CAL.323 has a 70 hour power reserve and is chronometer certified, a step-up in specs from the modified Sellita calibers Bell & Ross has used most often over the last several years. The BR-X5 is also a notably sleek and modern take on the popular BR 05 integrated bracelet collection that has proven to be a major success for the brand, with a case measuring 41mm wide and 12.8mm tall. This case still has the hollowed out lugs and more architectural features as other BR-X5 watches, but with the added visual complexity of the heavy lume elements. 

The BR-X5 Green Lum is a limited edition of 500 pieces. The pre-order is open now, with delivery slated to begin in December. Retail pricing is set at $13,300. Bell & Ross