It’s “new watch season”, and by that we don’t mean the manditory time when the Esquire staff splurges on its wristwear, but the time when a majority of they world’s biggest watch brands release their new timepieces for 2019. This year Bell & Ross impresses with the release of a streamlined take on its purest pilot watch, the BR 03-92 MA-1.
Housed in the aviation brand’s famous square case, Bell & Ross has looked beyond cockpit instrumentation for inspiration with its latest top-flight timepiece, inspired by the US Air Force’s groundbreaking icon of pilot apparel, the MA-1 flight jacket.
Commonly referred to as the ‘bomber’ jacket, Bell & Ross’ designers have drawn from the US Air Force’s adoption of colored nylon and ergonomic sculpting in the Fifties, launching a version of its self-winding aviator watch more stylistically dynamic than ever.
Encased in dark-khaki ceramic, with a sandwich dial stenciled to reveal the orange luminescent beneath, plus reversible khaki/orange calfskin strap, this is a watch that – like the jacket – rewards the wearer with military know-how.