The growing trend of vintage-inspired watches has been noticed throughout the industry, and one of the brands to respond is Bell & Ross. The company ? which was founded in 1992 and thus has no authentic vintage watches of its own ? has nonetheless always positioned its pieces as militarily and historically inspired. The brand’s hallmark square cases, seen on many of its watches, are themselves an homage to the dashboard instruments on military planes, and last year Bell & Ross released a wood-and-bronzed BR 01 inspired by antique marine clocks. This year the brand took its inspirations to a new level with the release of the BR V1-92 Military, part of its renewed ?Vintage? collection, now in its third generation (picture below, courtesy of our friends at Monochrome Watches).
The watch itself cites no specific era or reference number for its inspiration, but it takes on design details from a variety of different time periods to create its distinguished look. Featuring characteristics from an array of styles from the 1930s through the 1950s, and of course also with many modern flairs, the watch appears to have remixed many fan-favorite features seen in vintage military watches and placed them in a straightforward, 38.5-mm satin-polished steel case.
Held by the utilitarian case, which itself features a solid caseback and miniaturized crown, is a vintage-inspired, curved sapphire crystal that resembles the acrylic crystals of yesteryear. Beneath this is the watch?...