When Bruno Belamich and Carlos Rosillo founded Bell & Ross in 1992, their vision was to create a brand meeting the needs of extreme professionals. Inspired by the form and function of aircraft and space controls, they set out to replicate the simple watch designs from the 1950s to the 1970s – but using modern technology to offer better precision and reliability. Business Destinations spoke with Mr Rosillo to find out more about the new Vintage collection.
What was the inspiration for your new range?
We actually started Bell & Ross with the Vintage Collection as a tribute to the aviators of the 40s, who were the first professionals to use the wristwatch as a tool on their missions. With this new collection, we show the coherence and cohesiveness of all Bell & Ross’ watch collections. It combines the authenticity of vintage watches with the legibility of cockpit instrument panels. Each aspect of the watch is a testament to our four essential design principles: legibility, functionality, precision, and reliability. The traditional shape of the round case is reminiscent of wristwatches of yesterday; the domed crystal recalls the crystals of the time period. The vintage spirit is abundant with the beige dial and hands remind of the uniforms of World War II pilots.
Other horologists have tried to romanticise the age of aviation through their work – how does your experience inform your efforts?
I love the rational world of the military that values utility and functions. We build our watches with pilots in mind: they are functional watches, very precise, with no superfluous elements. Military watches are probably the best examples of this principle: a military watch has to be readable at the first glance; it has to offer rigorous precision, whether it is mechanic or quartz, it has to be reliable and extremely solid; its functionality has to be perfect, the usage has to be for the earth, sea and the air.
And your watches are specifically chosen by the military for exactly those reasons.
We are proud to have developed some great models for very specific professional units: Civilian Security, Minesweeper, Submariners, Aeronaval, RAID (the French anti-terrorism police unit), and we keep on working on professional markets. This means that we have developed an expertise in terms of product development. We use this expertise for all our watches, even the ones that are purchased by the public at large.
You began as designers for extreme professionals – is that still the case?
The professional client is only a small part of our business. Nowadays, the watch is a status object and it completes a certain lifestyle. Our client can be the high end executive who wants a technologically perfect and original watch as well as the wealthy man searching for a watch of exception.
But you do develop limited editions specifically for military units.
The French Air Force was interested in our square watch but they needed very specific functions. For them, we developed a multi-function quartz movement mechanism with unidirectional bezel to allow pilots to count their flying time. RAID chose many models in our range, including the SPACE and the BR 01. The same models exist for civilian use but without the logo of the Air Force or the RAID.
Every year we produce several pieces that are limited editions. That means there are only 500 pieces (one per retailer since we have about 500 retailers worldwide).
Some are exceptional, for instance the Tourbillon: it is a piece of art, you feel a great pleasure both wearing it and contemplating it on your wrist. These kind of high-end timepieces allow us to go beyond limits in the technical and craftsmanship fields.
Others are unique pieces inspired by a specific idea like the BR 01 Airborne or the BR 01 Radar which are inspired by the symbols of the military or dashboards instruments. We believe that limited editions help build the image and the history of the brand by creating real collectors’ items.
What’s next for Bell & Ross?
The future is exciting for us; the brand is growing, and the interest in our brand is growing. This is very motivating for us,and it is very exciting to work with Bruno in the development of the collections. The future is big and bright!
