If you think you have already seen every possible permutation of the BR series, wait till you clap your eyes on this monster. The new Bell & Ross BR-X3 Tourbillon Micro-Rotor is not your usual BR square-boy. This thing is transparent, skeletal, artsy, and unapologetically extra. It is basically the horological equivalent of someone wearing a sheer top to an opera gala: bold, confident, and incredibly expensive. And yes, the sticker is as wild as the aesthetics. More on that later.
The BR-X3 is Bell & Ross flexing its Haute Horlogerie muscles. The brand started with legibility, functionality, and precision—values inherited from aeronautical cockpit instruments. But this time, Bell & Ross fired up the creative thrusters and rocketed straight past tool-watch territory into art installation land. The BR-X3 represents the brand’s third tier of sophistication. After the square icons, the skeleton pieces, and the BR-X manufacture movements, the next stop on the evolutionary chart is this transparent technical sculpture of a watch, where the mechanics are the star of the show.
The square case undergoes a full transformation, combining a steel middle case with a sapphire top and sapphire caseback held together by four screws. The entire structure is designed so that the movement and case exist as one continuous framework. Think Mondrian meets Perriand, miniaturized and strapped to your wrist. Every bridge, wheel, and ruby stares back at you through the crystal, and the layout follows a strict geometric grid. The time display is pushed off to 2 o’clock to make room for the mechanical showcase.
Inside beats the BR-CAL.389 manufacture movement featuring a flying tourbillon at 5:30 and a micro-rotor that helps keep the watch at a shockingly thin 9 mm. Despite the slimness, you get a 58-hour power reserve. The case measures 40 mm wide, offers 50 m of water resistance, and comes topped with anti-reflective sapphire, paired with a grey alligator strap and folding steel clasp.
This see-through mechanical ballet is limited to 25 pieces. Very, very cool timepiece, but the price is equally cool, too, coming in at a bank account-busting US$99,000. The watch is available for pre-order with delivery slated to happen in December.
Images: Bell & Ross.
