Bell & Ross is a French watch company based in Paris with manufacturing in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.[1] Founded in 1994, the company has specialized in Swiss Made watches for professional users such as divers and pilots.[2]
History and production
Bell & Ross BR01-94
Bell & Ross was founded in 1994 as a university project between Bruno Belamich (Bell) and Carlos A. Rosillo (Ross).[3] The company's watches were originally produced by the German company Sinn, but the partnership was dissolved in 2002 soon after Chanel became a minority shareholder, and production was subsequently moved to Switzerland. Starting with its model BR-01 in 2005, the company began producing square watches meant to resemble instruments found in aircraft cockpits,[2] The company's square-cased BR models became its most well-known design.[4] The company divides production among three types of watches: Aviation, Marine and Vintage.[5] The types of watches differ by the size and shape of the case, the movement, and the dial layout.[2][6]
In 2016, Bell & Ross began working with the Renault Sport Formula 1 Team.[8] This partnership lead to Bell & Ross creating special edition timepieces to signify their relationship with Renault. As Renault rebranded to Alpine F1 Team, Bell & Ross remained with Renault and released the Alpine F1 Team Watch Collection.[9]
Records
The Bell & Ross Vintage 123 Heure Sautante was the first jumping hour watch with power reserve. It was introduced in 1992.[1][10]
