SpotlightA Mouthful Of Sky: Bell & Ross BR 05 GMT Sky Blue

Bell & Ross launched a new BR 05 line in 2019 under the Urban pillar, with the intention to deviate from their legacy of military watches and cater to a more civilian, ‘urban’ sensibility. The time-and-date iterations fit snugly in the luxe sports watch category, with their stainless steel cushion-shaped cases and integrated bracelets harking back to the 70s’ luxe sports watch segment, pioneered by horological greats such as Patek Philippe with their Nautilus, Audemars Piguet with their Royal Oak, and Vacheron Constantin with their Overseas. With recent launches, however, the Bell & Ross have begun to dip into their aviation past to explore the luxe travel segment. This consists of launches with the dual-time feature—namely the BR 05 GMT White and Black. And now, the Parisian brand have unveiled the BR 05 GMT Sky Blue model in steel bracelet and rubber strap versions. The sky blue hue is almost reminscent of flights to unexplored lands or plunging into cool waters in tropical climes.

BR 05 GMT Sky Blue: A Tale Of Contrasts

The 41mm case of the BR 05 GMT Sky Blue portrays the signature design of paved circle within a square—albeit more subtly than the brand’s Instruments watches—on a combination of vertically brushed surfaces with polished bevels held down by four screws. Another trademark is the screwdown crown at three o’clock, protected by lateral guards.

A rectangular date window with the date printed on a matching tone-on-tone background sits at three o’clock

Cradled within is the azure blue dial with contrasting silver rhodium-plated indices and hour markers for six, nine and 12 o’clock, that are further coated in Super-LumiNova for legibility in reading time in low-light conditions. A rectangular date window with the date printed on a matching tone-on-tone background sits at three o’clock.

One Dial, Two Time Zones

The facility to check home time while globetrotting is not lost on world travellers, and the BR 05 GMT presents this reference time via a flange displaying a 24-hour graduate along the inner bezel. This feature is assisted by an independent GMT hand with a white arrowhead to indicate time. Further, this outer track is bicolour, half silver and half blue, with contrasting hour markers to instantly gauge the approximate difference between daytime and night.

The Bell & Ross BR 05 GMT Sky Blue comes with a stainless-steel bracelet in a mix of satin and brushed finishes

Complying to varied tastes, the BR 05 GMT Sky Blue also comes attached to a blue tone-on-tone striped rubber strap, ending with a steel folding clasp

Bell & Ross BR 05 GMT Sky Blue Shop The Collection

Powering the BR 05 GMT Blue Sky is the self-winding mechanical Sellita movement SW330-1, BR-CAL.325 calibre. Parts of this movement like the matt grey rotor and bridges are viewable from a porthole-shaped skeletal caseback. The BR-CAL.325 calibre beats at 4Hz and offers 42-hour power reserve. Together with the screwed in crown and sapphire crystal, the watch is up to 100m water resistant.

Complying to varied tastes and occasions, the BR 05 GMT Sky Blue comes with a stainless-steel bracelet in a mix of satin and brushed finishes or a blue tone-on-tone striped rubber strap, ending with a steel folding clasp.