Well, I finally got my first Bell & Ross. After hemming and hawing over them, at first liking the BR01, then finding it too big, I picked me up a BR03 and just got it today. Its significantly smaller than the BR01 on the wrist, and feels just about right. I’ve been leaning more towards the 42-44mm size of watches in the last year or so, and the BR03 fits just right. The square case and wide, flared strap make the watch fit a bit larger than the 42mm might suggest.

Shot these photos with my new Sony Alpha 500 camera, which has been doing an amazing job of photos. Here’s the BR03-92 mounted on a Gunny strap, which was included from the fellow I picked up the watch from. Bell and Ross watches are quite interesting as they are front mounted, and don’t have a removable caseback. ECW is another company that makes watches this way.

Here’s a shot of the BR03 laying on the box, which is very well made. The watch is sold with the Factory Rubber strap and a Nylon and Velcro strap. The “92” in the BR03 model number signifies the movement/complication level of the watch. In this case it is a basic model with the date at 4:30. I’ve always felt that B&R does a good job of making the date discreet but not awkward on these models.

Combined with the extremely legible dial and relatively slim form factor and the watch makes a great daily wearer.

A Close-up of the matte dial shows the four mounting screws on the dial. Lumed portions of the dial include the arabic numerals, hands and hour indices. The B&R lume initially was not very good when I charged it with a flashlight. Oddly, I happened to step outside for about 30 seconds and when I came in, the watch was glowing much more brightly. Perhaps the natural light charged it more efficiently than a superbright LED flashlight shining directly into it? Either way, the Lume has a nice blue hue to it.

Very nice signed crown. Surprising to me is that its not screwdown. You can also tell from this photo that the case is very nicely finished. Bell & Ross did a fabulous job of finishing the case and it looks spectacular in person. The quality is apparent immediately.

And finally, the wristshot. There she is, mounted on my 6.75″ wrist in all her glory. Fitted to a beautiful gunny strap, the BR 03-92 just looks outstanding. To be honest, I like it better than I thought I would and I think I will be keeping this one for a long time.

Specs:
Movement: ETA 2892 Automatic
Case: Stainless Steel
Case Size: 42mm
Dial: Black Dial
Strap: Rubber and Nylon

My most recent Omega, and Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra with the in-house Omega designed Co-axial 8500 movement. This watch features the very cool Teck Grey Dial. This dial is looks amazing with a very 3D presentation and really pops out when you see it in person. I’ve tried to capture it in my photos, but it doesn’t do the dial justice.

Here’s a close up of the dial, showing the beautiful applied indices and date window frame. The quartz version does not have the date frame. The middle area that has the verticle cuts in it is raised, with the chapter ring lower than the rest of the dial. This gives the watch dial a lot of depth and character while still being very understated.

I opted for the stainless steel bracelet but I also have the Deployant and Black Crocodile strap for dress occasions. The stainless steel bracelet is great and features screwed in links, which Omega does not have in many of their bracelets. A nice touch that is a welcome addition for a guy like me who grew up with Breitling.

There she is.. what a beauty. The 8500 movement is such a nice movement to look at with the twin barrels and spiral jeweling. Here are the specs:

Series Double barrel design
60 hour power reserve
Dual directional winding automatic
Free sprung balance
Full balance bridge
39 jewels
202 parts
COSC certification

Very nice specs, and a hell of a looker. I love my 8500. It also adjusts date interestingly by moving the hour hand in 1 hour increments similar to a Rolex GMT Master II. This allows you to change date relatively easily but also allows changing timezones very easily as well. A great compromise in my opinion.

Finally, a Corum Admiral’s Cup watch that I like!

CORUM – Admiral’s Cup 46 Chrono Dive

Corum’s extreme sports range introduces a new model and a new function with the Admiral’s Cup Chrono 46 Dive. Although slightly smaller, it features the same clean lines and strong design as its predecessors. Its highly recognizable 12-sided case is made of grade 5 titanium and water-resistant to 300 meters. The dial in subtle shades of gray is encircled by an inner flange bearing the 12 nautical pennants that are the signature of the brand.

Movement
Automatic, CO753 calibre, COSC-certified, 28,800 vib/h, 27 jewels, 48-hour power reserve

Functions
Hours, minutes, small seconds, date and chronograph

Case
Grade 5 titanium, 46 mm
Unidirectional rotating bezel
12-sided, cambered, anti-reflective sapphire crystal
Screw-down titanium back
Water-resistant to 300 m / 30 ATM

Dial
Black
Hour, minute and small seconds counters at 6, 3 and 9 o’clock respectively
Luminescent hourmarkers, hands and chevrons
Date window at 6 o’clock

Strap
Black vulcanised rubber with titanium buckle

Breitling’s Bentley Motors 30-Second Chronograph has been remodeled into a new Model, the Breitling for Bentley Barnato and Barnato Racing Chronographs. Both feature Breitling’s Caliber 25B movement with the unique 30-Second Chronograph. New for both the Racing and Regular Barnato Chronographs is the display back featuring a new Wheel Rim style Winding Rotor, mounted on the same 25B movement. This is a sweet looking display back!

Very cool to see Breitling really push forward with more display backs and fancy looking movements. Their stuff has been locked behind solid casebacks for far too long! They’ve also added “Swiss Made” to the dials of all their watches now which adds to the marketability of the brand. No longer are we seeing questions like “Is Breitling Swiss Made? It doesn’t say it on the dial.”, but we do get questions like “Are older Breitlings Swiss Made? They didn’t say that on the dial.”

From Breitling:

BENTLEY BARNATO
Resolutely Bentley in terms of its design, the Bentley Barnato associates a generously sized case with fixed bezel featuring a knurled raised motif and red-rimmed sports counters – just like on the dashboards of the finest sports cars from the British carmaker. Totally Breitling from a technical standpoint, it combines a selfwinding chronograph movement chronometer-certified by the COSC with an ultra-efficient and ultra-legible “30-second chronograph” system. Its originality extends to the reverse side fitted with a transparent back serving like an open car bonnet to reveal a wheel-rim shaped oscillating weight. Available with a black or silver dial enhanced by applied hour-markers and tone-on-tone counters with a refined spiral motif, the Bentley Barnato comes in steel as well as in a 500-piece red gold limited edition. It can be teamed with a leather, crocodile leather or rubber strap, or with the particularly sturdy and comfortable Speed bracelet.

BENTLEY BARNATO RACING
The Bentley Barnato Racing special series features a spectacular design that makes it the most original of all Breitling for Bentley chronographs. The pointer-type counters are replaced by a highly original disc-type counters system displaying the hours and minutes of the measured time by means of two red triangles. The openworked shape of the silver-toned discs is reminiscent of the steering wheels on the famous Bentley models that won the Le Mans 24 Hours race five times between 1924 and 1930 – thanks to Barnato and the other Bentley Boys. The “30-second chronograph” serves to measure the best laps to the nearest 1/8th of a second. The oscillating weight inspired by the wheel rims on the new Continental GT provides a maximum of energy to the COSC chronometer-certified movement. Carved in steel for the standard version, the Bentley Barnato Racing takes on an even more exclusive aura in a 500-piece red gold limited edition.

AN EXCLUSIVE “30-SECOND CHRONOGRAPH” SYSTEM
Inspired by a patent filed by the founder’s son Gaston Breitling in 1926, the ingenious principle of the “30-second chronograph” is distinguished by its central hand sweeping around the dial in half a minute instead of the customary 60 seconds. This original layout provides readings of the measured times accurate to within 1/8th of a second.

Breitling has finally released a new movement (kind of) with their Caliber 04! It resides in the new Breitling Chronomat GMT, which is quite the watch. Its a beastly 47mm Chronomat with a GMT complication. And like the Rolex GMT-II and the Omega Seamaster, the main 12-hour hand is used for local time and is indexed to the date so it can be used more easily for travelling. A nice touch and good move on Breitling’s part to do this rather than the opposite which is much less useful for travel. The only thing this watch is lacking is a 24-hour bezel. Instead you get a dive-countdown bezel and the 24-hour scale is printed on the dial.

However, I think most exciting is the prospect that buyers will now be able to purchase a Chronomat in a larger 47mm format. Many of the guys on the BreitlingSource forum have been yearning for a larger Chronomat B01… now they have it.. The Chronomat GMT B04!

From Breitling:

THE AUTHENTIC TRAVEL CHRONOGRAPH
Adjusting instantly to the time and date of the place of arrival, while maintaining a 24-hour home-time display and without losing any precision in counting the minutes, must be every traveler’s dream. A dream now come true with the new Chronomat GMT, a travel watch from Breitling boasting unprecedented user friendliness. The wearer need only pull out the crown and turn it forwards or backwards to move between timezones in an outstandingly simple manner. Equipped with the new Breitling Caliber 04, entirely developed and produced within the company workshops, the Chronomat GMT is one of the rare chronographs to offer such a smoothly functional dual timezone system. With its exclusive design and its dial featuring subtle three-dimensional effects, it is the new benchmark for all those who want to experience high performances in all parts of the world.

AN INNOVATE MECHANISM
From the famous world-time Unitime, the star of the 1950s, to the current Navitimer World models with dual timezone display, travel watches have always had a special place in the Breitling collections. A natural vocation for the favorite pilots’ brand that became “official supplier to world aviation”. Today, Breitling is returning to the forefront in this field by unveiling a new instrument distinguished by its smart and convivial operating mode. To ensure peerless user friendliness, the firm’s watchmakers and engineers have developed a differential system – for which a patent has been duly filed – serving to disconnect the local hour hand from the gear train when changing timezone. This operation thus has no effect on the precision of the watch, nor on the performances of the chronograph.

A HIGH-PERFORMANCE CHRONOGRAPH
The fact that the Chronomat GMT is such an exceptional instrument is also because it combines this extremely practical dual timezone system with a chronograph – and not just any chronograph. The brand-new Breitling Caliber 04 developed for this model is indeed derived from Breitling Caliber 01, the sturdiest, most reliable and most high-performance of all selfwinding chronograph movements, entirely designed and produced within the company workshops. It features the same original architecture and the same cutting-edge characteristics, including a column wheel, a vertical coupling clutch guaranteeing high-precision activation, and an over 70-hour power reserve – along with various innovative special characteristics such as the patented recentering device for the zero-resetting hammers. Designed to provide maximum operational functionality and security, Caliber 04 is manufactured using a high-tech production-chain system revolutionizing traditional movement assembly processes. Breitling thereby guarantees the authentic reliability of its “instruments for professionals” on a large scale. As is the case for all the brand’s movements, this highperformance “engine” is chronometer-certified by the COSC (Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute), the highest token of precision.

A POWERFUL STYLE
The new Chronomat GMT is based on the powerful, unique and quintessential design of Breitling’s leading model, with its imposing steel case featuring ultra-sturdy construction and water-resistant to 500 meters (1,650 ft), as well as its unidirectional rotating bezel engraved with exclusive numerals. However, its dial available in six colors with tone-on-tone or contrasting totalizers has been redesigned to give it a personality all its own. The applied hour-markers are fitted with highly original bases, inspired by Roman numerals. This refined detail accentuates the square shape of the central gridwork-patterned central zone that stands out in subtle ways depending on how it catches the light. The triangular openworked red-tipped hand points to home time on a 24-hour graduated scale partially covered by the inner bezel – thereby giving the dial even more life and depth by playing on the third dimension. The home-time hands and hour-markers are enhanced by a luminescent coating guaranteeing excellent readability by day and night. Entirely made in Switzerland and treated to extremely meticulous finishing, the Chronomat GMT may be teamed with a choice of various straps and bracelets offering a variety of styles and uses: the classic touch of Barenia or crocodile leather, the sporty spirit of rubber straps, and the sturdy masculine nature of the steel Pilot bracelet. A whole world of elegance and performance for the authentic travel chronograph.

PEERLESS FUNCTIONALITY
The new Chronomat GMT is equipped with two central hour hands. The first matches the minute hand and runs over a 12-hour scale, while the second is tipped with a red triangle and runs in 24-hour mode. When the user is in his home country, the two hour hands move in a perfectly synchronized manner.

CHANGING TIMEZONE
To adjust the 12-hour hand to local time, the user simply pulls the crown out to position 2 and turns it in either direction by the number of notches corresponding to the number of hours composing the time difference. The date display is indexed to this 12-hour hand and changes automatically if required, both backwards or forwards. The red-tipped hand keeps track of home time on a 24-hour basis, thus enabling one to distinguish between day and night and avoiding the risk of waking family members, friends or business contacts by phoning them when they are sound asleep. And if the traveler makes stopovers in several different timezones, he need only repeat the same operation on each occasion and then, upon returning home, reset the two hands to the same time. It’s hard to imagine anything simpler!