The Bell & Ross BR01-93 GMT

Watch & Bullion

23 June 2016 | 2 min read

The Bell & Ross BR01 watch collection debuted about a decade ago; it was a bold manly dress watch that made a huge statement at the time there was simply nothing like it on the market.

Bell & Ross’ challenge has been to keep the BR01 collection fresh, while at the same time keeping to the original DNA and feel of the brand something that may others have failed to do. Very few brands like Rolex and Omega are able to maintain themselves true to their original roots and manage to sell the same watch year after year with little or no changes.

It might be easy to simply pronounce that this BR01 model is like all the rest, but with a GMT hand. That isn’t quite true, but it isn’t totally off. The case and profile of the GMT is identical to that of the BR01-92 (three-hand automatic). However, the BR01-93 has a different movement, extra spice of color, and a flange ring.

This GMT also has the 46mm wide case in matte black PVD that is actually quite thin at about 10mm thick and is water resistant to 100 meters. The sapphire crystal is double AR coated. Even though this is a larger than average piece it is incredibly confortable on the wrist, mostly because of how close the lugs and strap are to the bottom of the case.

The most important design difference of the GMT compared to most other BR01 watches is the addition of the flange ring. This diagonally aligned internal ring around the dial is used as a place for the 24 hour markers for the second time zone GMT hand. It also visually increases the size and style of the dial, making the BR01-93 look noticeably different and with a more expansive face. I find this to be very flattering to the overall design and a key benefit of the watch. The dial isn’t actually larger, but it just appears that way. Because the flat part of the dial is a bit smaller, another benefit is that the hour and minute hands are better suited to the proportions of the hour markers. That means that finally, the minute hand completely covers the hour markers rather than just cover them halfway. Again, a tiny difference, but seeing it really improves the overall presentation of the core BR01 dial design.

The addition of the large orange GMT hand makes it highly legible and adds a welcome dash of color. It accents the BR01 dial perfectly, adding orange or yellow looks very good. The middle section of the GMT hand is painted with lume for darkness viewing.

Inside the Bell & Ross BR01-93 GMT watch is a Swiss ETA 2893 automatic GMT movement, that also includes the date within a discreetly fitted a window located between 4 and 5 o’clock on the dial.

If you are in the market for a big watch that will set you apart from the crowd look no further than the BR01-93.