The Bell & Ross BR-03 Skeleton Lum Ceramic glows with form-first design
Tom AustinThe look of a watch is a subjective thing. One person may love something, while another may hate it, and that’s fine, because if we all liked the same thing, the world would be a boring place. Interestingly, we can easily be wrong, too; our minds can also trick us into thinking we dislike something. For example, I thought I didn’t get on with square watches. But as it turns out, thanks to the Bell & Ross BR-03 Skeleton Lum Ceramic, that is most definitely not the case. Its combination of dark tones, texture and all-around quirkiness delivers a wear like no other watch I’ve worn – and has converted me. It’s hip to be square.
What on earth is that?
Bell & Ross unveiled its BR-03 Skeleton collection at Watches & Wonders this year, marking the culmination of around twenty years of the brand drawing inspiration from flight instruments and creating pilots’ watches with a distinctive, arguably even now iconic look. The collection consists of three pieces, and one of the rarer and most special-looking is the one we have here, the Skeleton Lum Ceramic. As the guy who’s always wearing a different watch, it’s not unusual for people I know to ask me about them, but with this one, it drew quite an audience. I can’t remember the last time I wore a watch that sparked so much conversation, even with a stranger asking me about it in the supermarket. Not that it’s a particularly ostentatious watch – it’s just unusual, but in the greatest of ways.
The BR-03 Skeleton collection consists of two ceramic models and one steel model, with this ceramic model serving as the flagship piece in the trio. I was hesitant at first about the case size: at 41mm, it doesn’t seem too bad, but the perfectly square proportions mean each corner protrudes to give the watch a much larger appearance. On my 7″ wrist, though, it wears very well, primarily due to its relatively thin 11.25mm thickness and overall flat profile. The ceramic case feels amazing to the touch, with its lightly microblasted texture and its ability to stay cool without feeling cold, unlike metal watches.
The square case and utilitarian finish give the watch a strong and robust appearance, looking like some kind of wrist-mounted vault. I was surprised to find the watch has a push-in crown instead of a screw-down, but it still manages a 100-meter water resistance rating, so it’s more than adequate for light aquatic adventures. The flat sapphire crystal does a great job of keeping reflections at bay thanks to its anti-reflective coating, and it sits extremely close to the dial, which is something I love to see.
Glow hard or go home
The main part of the BR-03 Skeleton Lum Ceramic’s appeal is its party piece, its dial. Finished in the same sandblasted texture ceramic as the case, it makes the watch appear to be one unified piece of solid ceramic, which is a cool effect. As the name suggests, it is a skeletonised dial, but the dial apertures are screened by a tinted sapphire, meaning the fussy look of the movement doesn’t clutter things, and you have to look a lot closer to see through it.
Like the others in the collection, the skeletonised dial is broken up into an X motif, and surrounding each aperture is a glorious array of lume, which, when you turn out the lights, radiates a striking, futuristic glow more reminiscent of something you might see in Star Wars rather than on your wrist. Being Super-LumiNova X1 C3, it’s also long-lasting, with the watch actually lighting up the corner of the room when it’s on my nightstand. Bell & Ross has been experimenting with lume for some time, so it’s no surprise that they’re now demonstrating a level of mastery with it.
Form over function
Sometimes functionality isn’t what we all want from a watch. Often, we like to see brands express their creativity through design and push the limits of what they can do with it while keeping it recognisable. That’s precisely what Bell & Ross have done here: we have a watch that clearly wasn’t designed by committee, and looks like more of a production-ready concept than a mass-produced, consumer product.
Reading the time isn’t really the top priority with this watch, so B&R decided to run with a Sellita-based BR-CAL. 328 automatic movement. However, once again, they decided that form was necessary, so the movement architecture has been overhauled to mimic the X-design on the dial, so that it’s visibly harmonious through the skeletonised windows. Upon closer inspection, this kind of attention to detail is superb.
Closing thoughts
What is the BR-03 Skeleton Lum Ceramic? It’s undoubtedly no dress watch, it’s not legible enough to be a functional pilot’s tool, and it’s no underwater diver either. It’s definitely suited to more casual styles; the comfortable, wide rubber strap pairs better with a t-shirt and jeans rather than a suit, that’s for sure. But it does fill a slot in anyone’s collection as a unique, conversation-starting daily, which is a joy to wear. It turns out that I do like square watches, after all.
Over-zealous lume can sometimes be a distraction on watches, but with the BR-03, it makes it part of its charm, and I think that’s what I like best about the watch. As I touched on in when it first released, I criticised the price level as I felt initially that what you got for £5,900 didn’t balance the books. However, since spending time with it and understanding its quirks and rarity, I think the price makes more sense now, especially considering you get an actual full ceramic watch that has a bespoke movement.
Bell & Ross BR-03 Skeleton pricing and availability
The Bell & Ross BR-03 Skeleton Lum Ceramic is available now through Bell & Ross retailers, limited to 250 pieces. Price: A$10,800, £5,900
| Brand | Bell & Ross |
| Model | BR-03 Skeleton Lum Ceramic |
| Reference | BR03A-LM-SKCE/SRB |
| Case Dimensions | 41mm (D) x 11.25mm (T) |
| Case Material | Microblasted black ceramic |
| Water Resistance | 100 meters |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating |
| Dial | Open |
| Strap | Black rubber, black PVD-coated steel pin buckle |
| Movement | BR-CAL. 328, Sellita base, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 54 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds |
| Availability | Limited to 250 pieces |
| Price | A$10,800 £5,900 |