The king of aviation-inspired watches, Bell & Ross, have released the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Radiocompass, a brand-new addition to the BR 03-92 line paying homage to the radionavigation instruments found in jet cockpits.
The Release
The Bell & Ross Radiocompass gets its name from the radio compass, an on-board radio receiver which defines the position and direction of an aircraft via beacons on the ground. This critical device allows pilots to navigate regardless of conditions. The BR 03-92 Radiocompass takes the same case as the other 03-92s: a black ceramic form modeled after cockpit instruments that’s 42mm wide and 10.2mm thick. It has a screwdown crown for 100m water resistance and comes on a fitted rubber strap with a PVD-coated black pin buckle.
The dial is seen under a flat sapphire crystal. It features a black sloped ring with 5-minute markers and a protruding triangle at 12 o’clock. The main dial has a minute ring with bolded hour hashes, complemented by Arabic numerals (the orientation of the 3 and 9, pointed towards the center as on navigation dials, are sure to trigger some people). The brands’ signature vertically oriented 4:30 date is nicely nestled between the 4 and 5 numerals (on some models it just floats on its own). The hands are the real stars of the show. With the colorful hour and minute hands both traversing the entire dial, B&R has made the wide decision to label each (‘H’ and ‘M’), while the seconds is more traditional in its design. The triangle, hour hashes, and hands all feature Super-LumiNova, for a total of four different lume colors.
Our Thoughts
The BR 03-92 Radiocompass extends the brand’s Flight Instruments line, building off models like the Radar, Red Radar, and HUD. Its colorway also calls to mind the recent Multimeter. When I opened the press release for the Radiocompass, there was absolutely no surprise—this is exactly what Bell & Ross does. What’s impressive, though, is the brand’s ability to reinterpret seemingly endless cockpit displays as watches.
As always, remember that square watches make their presence known; the Radiocompass will wear every bit of its 42mm, though it will be aided with the ultra-wide strap, which will slim things down a bit. The color is nicely allowed to stand out, given that everything else is black, and I like the use of Arabic numerals for the hours, a feature unseen on any other of the more than 100 Instrument models. The hands are a fun pop, but I worry about at-a-glance legibility, given that the hour and minute extend across the whole dial. This is a fun watch, though, and a lot of Bell & Ross’ watches are about having fun with its aviation focus.
Availability
The Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Radiocompass is priced at $4,100 and limited to 999 pieces. It’s available directly from Bell & Ross.