The Bell & Ross BR 05 GMT Sky Blue (Live Pics & Price)

For the past 4 years, Bell & Ross has been hard at work expanding its urban-oriented BR 05 collection, the Parisian brand’s vision of a sporty-chic watch with integrated design. First presented with a time-and-date display, it took a couple of years for the brand to connect this collection to its aviation roots, by presenting a flight-dedicated and travel-oriented version, equipped with a practical GMT function. And now, following two versions in either white or black, the Bell & Ross BR 05 GMT comes in a cool, lightly-coloured version with summer tones.

The Bell & Ross BR 05 collection, launched in 2019, has been an important step in the brand’s history. Not only it was the B&R’s first incursion in a far less military world than previous collections, with a watch entirely devoted to civilian life, but it was also marking the arrival of Bell & Ross in the ultra-competitive market of the sporty-chic luxury sports watch with integrated design and 1970s inspiration.

While the time-and-date display was, of course, the best way to launch this newly-designed model, the brand quickly reconnected this new collection to its roots, that of aviation (military or civilian) by proposing a dual-time model meant to be used while travelling. A fitting complication for such a sporty, casual model, which has first been presented with a black dial, followed a year later by a white dial model.

It is time now for the BR 05 GMT Sky Blue edition, which retains all specifications of previous iterations, while bringing some fun and colours to the equation. And it starts with the same case, measuring 41mm in width (1mm more than a 3-hand version) with a fairly acceptable thickness of 11.1mm. The case, while far more restrained and elegant than military watches of the instrument collection, retains the brand’s emblematic shape, the circle within a square with 4 functional screws. It is, like all models in the collection, nicely finished with a combination of vertically brushed surfaces and large polished bevels. The crown, protected by lateral guards, is screwed, just like the caseback with sapphire crystal. And the watch is also 100m water-resistant.

The dial is the most important topic for this new BR 05 GMT Sky Blue. Azure tones are here complemented by rhodium-plated elements, resulting in a watch that is discreetly colourful and attractive, with a perfect attire for summer. The light blue dial retains great contrast with the applied markers and numerals, and all elements are largely coated with Super-LumiNova. The inner flange, which displays a 24h scale, is bicolour to mark day or night. The date, a necessity in a GMT watch, is also printed on a matching tone-on-tone disc.

Under the hood is the calibre BR-CAL.325, the internal name for a specifically decorated Sellita SW330-1. This tried-and-tested movement beats at 4Hz and boasts 42h of power reserve. It is equipped with a caller/office GMT function, with the central GMT hand independently adjusted in one-hour increments – at this price point, I would have preferred a flyer-like complication. The back reveals a movement with a full rotor and bridges decorated with matte grey surfaces.

Offered either on a brushed and polished steel bracelet or a tone-on-tone striped rubber strap, the new Bell & Ross BR 05 GMT Sky Blue is now available and is part of the permanent collection. It is priced at EUR 5,200 on rubber strap or EUR 5,700 on steel bracelet.

For more details, please visit bellross.com.