Attractive in its beige-black livery, the Bell & Ross Military Beige BR V2-92 is functional, with a bidirectional rotating bezel in anodized aluminium that enables events to be timed and countdowns to be set. The hour and minute hands have central fields filled with SuperLuminova. The automatic is (to my eyes) marred by the date window at 4.30, but apart from that it is an attractive, wearable, 41 mm watch.
Elasticated Nato strap
It is in two versions, with black Nato elastic canvas strap (above) at the price of €2,600, or with a stainless steel bracelet with differentiated polished-satin-brushed finish, €2,900 (below). It is powered by the BR-CAL.302 automatic movement, probably the Sellita SW300-1. The watch has a screw-down crown, which helps give it a water resistance of 100 metres, making it a tough and practical timepiece.
Chronograph version
The chronograph version BR V2-94 is very similar, with two recessed subdials for the 30-minute counter and continuous seconds. It is powered by calibre BR-CAL.301, based on the ETA 2894-2, running at 4 Hertz (28,800 vibrations per hour), with a 42-hour power reserve. The crown and pushers are screw-down, giving the watch the same 100-metre water resistance as the automatic. It costs €3,900 with black Nato elastic canvas strap, or €4,200 with stainless steel bracelet. Both of the watches have a sapphire caseback.
Bell & Ross Military Beige, design considerations
It’s strange that will all the watches on the market, it’s very difficult to find one that fits one’s tastes exactly. A watch like the Bell & Ross Military Beige BR V2-92 is moving in the right direction, but I would prefer it larger, without the date window, and a long leather or Nato strap so I could wear it outside my coat or flying jacket. A bit like what pilot watches were once like, with the addition of the bidirectional rotating bezel so I can see how long I have been cycling, or flying. I think I’ll have to commission it myself.
