Bell & Ross Launch BR 05 Skeleton Golden with Translucent Gold Dial

While Bell & Ross are best known for their aeronautical watches, it’s actually the sports luxe inspired BR 05 collection where some of their most interesting watches can be found. With the signature round within a square design, decorative screws and penchant for precious materials, it can go toe-to-toe with some of the biggest names in watchmaking, punching well above its price. Now, a new version is joining the collection, the BR 05 Skeleton Golden.

Off the bat, it doesn’t look too different to pre-existing BR 05 Skeletons. It has a 40mm stainless steel case with contrasting satin brushed and polished surfaces and it has the rounded bezel with four screws. However, what’s new is the dial.

Instead of a clear dial or no dial, as is the norm for skeleton watches, Bell & Ross have given the  BR 05 Skeleton Golden a translucent dial in a golden-brown colour, that provides a tint to the skeleton movement visible beneath. We’ve seen similar techniques used by brands like Rado with the Captain Cook Ceramic and its smoky grey skeleton dial.

It’s an interesting way to add colour to a style of dial that’s usually very monotone in shades of grey, as is the nature of movements. The alternative method of adding colour being to PVD coat the individual components, which is both time consuming and costly. By using a transparent dial you get a similar aesthetic without colouring the actual parts. Although, there are some parts of the watch (just not the movement) that have been coloured gold. The inner flange, the baton hour markers and the hands all have a rose gold colouration that helps to create a cohesive aesthetic.

Of course, a large aspect of the BR 05 Skeleton Golden is the skeleton movement itself. For this watch, Bell & Ross have used the BR-CAL.322. automatic movement, which is based on the Sellita SW300-1 a and has a 38-hour power reserve. One of the criticisms commonly levelled at Bell & Ross by collectors is that their movements are behind the curve in terms of specs by quite a margin compared to competitors at similar price points.

I tend to agree considering that the Skeleton Golden has a price of £6,500. Although the fact that it’s limited to just 500 pieces, making it fairly exclusive, takes some of the sting out. Plus, it is an intriguing and unusual take on the design.