The Rake and Revolution Team Up with Bell & Ross For Two Limited Edition Chronographs Inspired by Summer Cocktails

There are certain types of high concept limited edition watches that can only be pulled off by a singular entity. That’s what comes to mind when considering the new Bell & Ross “Bellytanker” chronographs released by The Rake and Revolution today. The #Negronitime (for The Rake) and #Spritzoclock (for Revolution) are both inspired by specific cocktails, and the very idea of sharing drinks (and time) with friends and family. Wei Koh doesn’t have a monopoly on these ideas, of course, but over time he’s cultivated something at both of his magazines that makes watches like these seem incredibly natural and unsurprising. In his article introducing them, he writes enthusiastically about the cocktail culture that inspired the designs, the joy of travel, and a desire to experience the world again after a prolonged period of staying in place. As we come out of a pandemic year and look ahead to a summer where many of us will be traveling again seeing people we haven’t for many months, these boozy chronographs strike a chord, even if your vacation destination isn’t nearly as luxurious as the Gritti Palace in Venice.

The blueprint for these limited editions is the Bell & Ross BR V2-94 Bellytanker, which is a vintage style chronograph inspired by high speed race cars that used emergency drop tanks from fighter planes in their construction. They evoke sleekness and an idea of futurism that took hold in the middle of the 20th century. It’s a lovely watch to start with, and has been the basis for other limited editions released by Wei Koh’s team in the past.

For the #Negronitime and #Spritzoclock (yes, the hashtags are part of the names of these watches) Wei has taken the colors of favorite summer beverages and applied them to Bell & Ross’s classic chronograph design. The #Negronitime has a panda-like layout, with black subdials at 3:00 and 9:00 and a dial that is somewhere between red and orange, just like the Campari based cocktail. According to Revolution, the dial incorporates both sunray finishing and multiple layers of lacquer that result in unique light play when the watch is out in the sun. This feels like a core requirement for a watch that’s so tied to the idea of returning to the normalcy of socializing with friends this summer. 

The #Spritzoclock takes its name from the spritz Veneziano, often referred to as an Aperol Spritz, or just a plain old spritz. In any case, it’s a refreshing summertime staple with Italian roots that has been enjoying an extended moment over the last few years thanks to social media (not unlike our beloved Negroni). A traditional spritz takes Prosecco, adds Aperol and a splash of soda water, and is served over ice in a wine glass. It can take on a bright orange hue, and that’s the primary color represented on the #Spritzoclock. The subdials have a darker tone to set off a bit of contrast, and the hands and hour markers are stark white for easy legibility. We’ve been through a season of green dials, so you’ll be forgiven if you’ve forgotten how great orange can be on a watch, but it’s sometimes difficult to pull off. The #Spritzoclock, to these eyes, gets it right, and it works as a nice complement to the #Negronitime (you can choose to buy them as a pair if you can’t decide which one you prefer). 

Like other Bellytankers, both limited and not, these watches come in at 41mm in diameter and run on BR Cal.301, a modified ETA 2894-2. Critics might say that 41mm is a tad large for a vintage inspired case design, but I think that watches with so much color deserve some real wrist presence, and the BR V2-94 case wears very well for a watch over 40mm – the proportions are just right, even if one might quibble with an extra millimeter or two in the diameter measurement. As you can see in these images, each timepiece is matched to a rally strap in a reddish, orange tone that has been picked out specifically to pair with these dials.

Both the #Spritzoclock and #Negronitime are limited to 50 examples each. They are priced at $4,500. More information here.