Brand History: Bell & Ross

It is all about consistency. For almost 20 years – ever since designer Bruno Bellamich and finance whizz Carlos Rossillo launched the brand in 1992 – Bell & Ross has focussed unerringly on designer watches built for professional use, and not for doctors and lawyers, but for pilots and divers, bomb disposal experts and astronauts.

Danger being part of its DNA, its watches invariably have the simplicity and toughness of precision tools, combining straightforward and very readable faces with a range of  advanced, super-durable materials, like carbon fibre and ceramics.

Advised by the pros – from the French national bomb squad to German astronaut Reinhrat Furrer - B&R turns out aeronautical, diving or military inspired watches with the reliability of Swiss craftsmanship and the ability to withstand otherwise dangerous pressures, temperatures and acceleration and to be water-resistant to depths down to a staggering 11,100m.

Design-wise, they generally tend towards the deceptive simplicity of the aircraft instrument dial, witness the classic BR01 series or the BR02 diver's watch. But over the years, they have also begun to step a little further out along the style tightrope.

So, they have come up with the likes of the glorious Grand Minuteur Tourbillion, the diamond-studded skull face echoing the death’s-head patch of the US 82nd Airborne, and the Mystery Diamond, which features a wandering diamond to signal the passing hours.