Three watches tell a story about shared passions, people, and above all, the essence of design. While Silberstein's colorful designs and the utilitarian stylings of Bell & Ross' signature square watch might initially seem to be from different worlds, one thing unites them. The clarity and integrity of Bell & Ross designer Bruno Belamich's aviation-inspired square —especially in this black ceramic case— is the perfect counterpoint to Silberstein's distinctive design language. These two singular designers, working in harmony, have created something that is greater than the sum of its parts.
For this collaboration, Alain Silberstein has created a trilogy of timepieces based on their iconic BR 03, famously inspired by aviation cockpit instruments. The new black ceramic trilogy consists of a BR 03 time-only model with a date, a BR 03 diving watch, and a BR 03 chronograph.
The BR 03-92 Klub 22 is available in a limited edition of 200 pieces, while the BR 03-94 Krono 22 and the BR 03-92 Marine 22 are available in a limited edition of 100 pieces each.
Two years ago, I approached Silberstein to discuss who his dream collaborators might be. I still remember with total clarity when he said, “Wei, if I could work with anyone, it would be among others Bell & Ross, because the BR 01 is, in my opinion, one of the most unique and iconic timepieces of our millennium.” Indeed, the Bell & Ross BR 01 has become one of the most enduring and totally original watch designs of the modern era since its launch in 2005. Silberstein adds, “The BR 01 was an act of design brilliance. The idea of taking inspiration from an aviation instrument panel and transporting this iconography to a wristwatch resulted in one of the most important watches of the era.” Bruno Belamich, Head Designer & Co-Founder of Bell & Ross
Cut to a few months later at the stunning restaurant in Paris’ Saint James, a hotel and private club also known as Rosillo’s second living room, for the very first time, the two designers met each other. It was extraordinary to see how quickly and immediately Belamich and Silberstein became friends. Over the course of the meal, Rosillo and I quietly marveled as the pair began sketching the blueprint of the collaboration.
“It was Bruno’s idea to take the very essence of each of our design languages and pare it down to its barest elements. Because of this, we immediately decided to make the three watches in black ceramic because of the purity of the black case and dial, which would serve as a canvas for the primary colors of my hands. For me, this was perfect because I had always made black watches in the past but never in ceramic, which is the only truly scratch-resistant material. I was delighted that I would finally have my ceramic watch.” Alain Silberstein
While the designs came quickly over the course of an amazing day in Paris, the actual watches took some time to perfect. Specifically, it took more than a year and a half to bring them to fruition, thanks to the several technical puzzles Bell & Ross had to solve.
“With the chronograph, Carlos explained that the seconds hand was by far the largest one ever fitted to one of their watches, and we had to ensure the reset function worked perfectly each and every time so it would align exactly at zero. With the diving watch, we had to make sure these huge oversized hands were as light as possible, so they wouldn’t affect the overall precision of the movement. And then to make a two-color ceramic bezel was a major challenge.” Alain Silberstein
All three watches use the BR 03 case, which at 42 mm × 42 mm is significantly smaller than the original BR 01’s 46 mm × 46 mm. This is in deference to the fact that collective tastes have shifted back to more classical dimensions. At 42 mm × 42 mm without lugs, the BR 03 is the perfect size for any wrist and is effortless to wear. All three watches also use black ceramic for their cases and are fitted with black rubber straps.
For these watches, Silberstein, Rosillo, and Belamich decided not to use any brand logos other than Bell & Ross’ ampersand.
Watches numbered from 1 thru 50 will only be sold exclusively in a box set of all three timepieces.
All three watches will be exclusively sold on January 9, 2023, at 9am US EST exclusively on GrailWatch.com
Bell & Ross X Alain Silberstein BR 03-92 Klub 22
The time-only model is the purest expression of the collaboration between Silberstein’s and Belamich’s design philosophies. On a pure matte black ceramic case and jet-black dial, we see the hands transform from functional objects into massive oversized geometric forms evoking a sense of playfulness, optimism, and humor. A huge red circle describes the hours, an oversized blue arrow reads the minutes, while an S-shaped form in bold yellow indicates the passing of the seconds. The dial is interrupted only by the subtle date indicator.
At the same time, the minute track is pure Bell & Ross, expressing the rugged instrument typography gleaned from cockpit instruments. Providing an additional jolt of visual energy, the four cardinal markers have also been turned primary yellow. The crown of the watch, meanwhile, features an engraved ampersand logo.
The time-only watch features an automatic movement with a date function, the calibre BR.CAL-302 and is available in a limited edition of 200 pieces.
Sticker Price $4,400 USD. For more info on Bell & Ross click here.
Bell & Ross X Alain Silberstein BR 03-92 Marine 22
The diver model expresses Silberstein’s most daring new interpretation of his design language while still retaining its functional utility as a submersible timepiece.
Says Silberstein, “I wanted the watch to feature the high visibility of the luminous hour and minute hands and bezel so that it would function perfectly as a diving watch even if it happens to be an engagingly artistic timepiece.” This timepiece, therefore, features the very first use of Silberstein’s “Maxi” hands, a blue circular hand with a massive luminous plot for the hours, and a huge red triangle inlaid with luminous material for the all-important minute hand that provides a reading for elapsed dive time.
Silberstein and Belamich also worked extensively on a two-tone ceramic bezel with the last 20 minutes of the insert colored red and featuring a full set of 20-minute markers with luminous indexes. Says Silberstein, “Traditionally, decompression stops at different depths take five minutes, and so we wanted to optimize the bezel to provide an easy reading for this.”
The diver model is depth rated to 300 meters, features a screw-down crown, and is powered by the same automatic movement with date function as the time-only model, the calibre BR.CAL-302 and is available in a limited edition of 100 pieces.
Sticker Price $5,600 USD. For more info on Bell & Ross click here.
Bell & Ross X Alain Silberstein BR 03-94 Krono 22
The chronograph model is the watch for both visual maximalists and those who love the functional advantages of a timepiece capable of timing events. It has a total of five of Silberstein’s famous Bauhaus-inspired hands, the same red circle for the hours and blue arrow for the minutes, but now the yellow S-shaped hand serves as the chronograph seconds indicator.
In addition, a blue triangle serves as the indicator for the chronograph 30-minute counter, with a yellow arrow for the continuous seconds indicator. The chronograph pushers are inlaid with a yellow lacquered rectangle for the start/stop function and a blue rectangle for the reset function. The crown features Silberstein’s signature red triangle.
The watch features an automatic chronograph movement with date, the calibre BR.CAL- 301 and is available in a limited edition of 100 pieces.
Sticker Price $6,700 USD. For more info on Bell & Ross click here.
