Bell & Ross R.S.19 Chronographs Limited Editions
Celebrating the fourth year of their partnership with the Renault F1®Team, French-Swiss watch maker Bell & Ross has created four new driver’s chronographs of the R.S.19 collection.
The men behind Bell & Ross and Renault F1® Team are poised to take the competition to another level this year thanks to a strong new pairing in the drivers’ seats: Nico Hülkenberg (GER) and new signing Daniel Ricciardo (AUS).
At the respective headquarters of Bell & Ross and Renault F1® Team, two passionate teams are out to conquer time with their precision-engineered machines. The personal and professional stories behind these men of action embody identical values: performance, dedication, technical expertise and courage.
Anyone who follows the sport of F1® knows that the winning formula is always teamwork. It takes hundreds of people to get their two men over the finish line, after all, –and the same goes for exceptional watchmaking. Since 1977, as with the centuries old Swiss tradition, the engineers and designers at Renault F1® Team have sought velocity through mechanical accuracy and collaborative innovation; they share the conviction that every millisecond counts.
Teamwork isn’t just limited to the individual teams –as Bell & Ross’ R.S.19 watches prove, their respective passion really can crossfertilize, creating more than the sum of their parts. To celebrate the perseverance, talent and training needed to achieve the highest performance, a team-inspired campaign will accompany the new collection launch. Daniel, Nico and other extraordinary people will walk the public through the life, rituals and preparation of both Renault F1® Team and Bell & Ross teams.
With 2019’s Formula 1®season well underway, Renault F1®Team faces its most exciting opportunity in years. The talent behind the wheel and the technology being harnessed are unmatched. The same goes for Bell & Ross’ R.S.19 collection novelties that are more track-ready than ever.
The Bell & Ross R.S.19 collection races ahead with a pair of carbon-dialed chronographs, color-keyed in keeping with Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hülkenberg’s steering wheels.
Bell and Ross BR V3-94 R.S.19 & BR 03-94 R.S.19 Chronographs
Shaped by Bell & Ross’ expertise in crafting ultra-functional tool watches for professionals, this year’s Renault F1®Team ‘R.S.19’ watch collection is built on two limited-edition chronographs, fit for the uncompromising environment of a modern F1® cockpit.
The BR V3-94 R.S.19 and BR 03-94 R.S.19 share the same ‘engine’ and styling language, yet are mounted on two differing, equally iconic ‘chassis’. The BR V3-94 R.S.19 sports the classic circular case of Bell & Ross’s Vintage collection –now tuned-up to 43 mm ‘XL’ proportions– and the BR 03-94 R.S.19 features the utilitarian 42mm across square of its Instrument watches.
The similarities start with the highly legible, luminescent dials: derived from the Renault F1® Team steering wheel color coding introduced in the R.S.17 collection. This time however, a dial made of F1®’s essential high-tech material: carbon fiber. It provides a sleek background to the signature Renault F1® Team yellow and black colors, plus the green, red and orange found on cockpit buttons.
Each model benefits from a bi-directional timing bezel for ‘on the-fly’ timing, knurled for a better grip while wearing gloves. When things come down to the wire, there’s the high-precision stopwatch functionality of their chronograph mechanics, which can record events to an accuracy of an eighth of a second, over the course of 30 minutes.
The BR V3-94 R.S.19 and BR 03-94 R.S.19 are each limited editions of 999 pieces.
Bell and Ross BR-X1 R.S.19 Skeleton Chronograph
The ergonomic design and ultra-functionality of Bell & Ross’ BR-X1 gets the R.S.19 treatment, making every second count. With every BR-X1 chronograph, Bell & Ross has pushed with the limits of extreme micro-engineering, stripping the movement, dial, case and pushbuttons down to their purest functionality: raw performance at its most uncompromising and streamlined, which is reminiscent of Formula 1®.
Designed as a high-octane race car for the wrist, the BR-X1 R.S.19 has been created for fully functional operation at the wheel: ergonomic ‘rocker’ push-buttons suitable for use with gloves, highly legible dial details colored in keeping with Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hülkenberg’s cockpit controls and extreme lightweight thanks to the combination of grade 5 titanium, ceramic and rubber.
The square case of the BR-X1 is surrounded by a bumper in micro-blasted ceramic and rubber that acts as a peripheral protective shell. Rubber grip elements have also been integrated into the case to ensure better handling when activating the chronograph’s ‘rocker’ push-buttons, even while wearing gloves.
New to the BR-X1 this year is the addition of a ‘time marker’ outgrowth to the dial’s circumferential bezel ring. Following a hot lap, the team back in the pit lane can instantly mark wherever the chronograph’s yellow running seconds hand has been stopped, by rotating and aligning its yellow triangle. Following a second lap, the respective times can be instantly compared.
The BR-X1 R.S.19 is a limited edition of 250 pieces.
Bell and Ross BR-X1 TOURBILLON CHRONOGRAPH R.S.19
Meaning ‘whirlwind’ in French, the tourbillon is the ultimate tune-up in the high-octane world of Haute Horlogerie –and sure enough, Bell & Ross’ Renault F1®Team R.S.19 collection benefits from the addition of a particularly sporty example.
Whirring the ticking escapement and throbbing balance-wheel around by 360º per minute, the tourbillon cage at 6 o’clock evens-out the pull of gravity across the movement’s regulating parts, improving timekeeping and reducing friction at certain pinch points: an ingenious invention dating back over two centuries.
Like an F1® engine itself, the manufacturing and hand-assembling of a tourbillon cage, with a far smaller balance-wheel to fine-tune as it rotates inside this cramped space, is an extraordinary undertaking.
The vision is mesmeric, however –a thrilling showcase of fine mechanical watchmaking. In combination with the stripped-back and highly technical case design of the BR-X1, fitted with Bell & Ross’ new lap-by-lap time marker around the bezel and stopwatch chronograph functionality, the R.S.19 Tourbillon is a turbocharged triumph of precision engineering and passion.
The BR-X1 TOURBILLON CHRONOGRAPH R.S.19 is a limited edition of 20 pieces.
Technical details
Model: BR V3-94 R.S.19 Limited edition, REF. BRV394-RS19
Movement
Calibre BR-CAL.301 Automatic mechanical
Functions
Hours, minutes, small seconds at 3 o’clock
Date
Chronograph: 30-minute counter at 9 o’clock, 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock, central chronograph seconds
Case
43 mm in diameter
Satin-polished steel
Bi-directional rotating steel bezel with black anodised aluminium ring with scale and countdown timer
Crystal: sapphire with anti-reflective coating
Screw-down crown and push-buttons
Sapphire case back
Water-resistance: 100 metres
Dial
Carbon fibre
Applique Super-LumiNova®-filled numerals
Metal skeletonised Super-LumiNova®-filled hour and minute hands
Strap
Carbon-effect calfskin or satin-polished steel
Buckle: folding. Satin-polished steel
Edition
Limited edition of 999 pieces
Model: BR 03-94 R.S.19 Limited edition, REF. BR0394-RS19/SRB
Movement
Calibre BR-CAL.301. Automatic mechanical
Functions
Hours, minutes, small seconds at 3 o’clock
Date
Chronograph: 30-minute counter at 9 o’clock, central chronograph seconds
Tachymeter scale on the flange
Case
42 mm in diameter
Satin-finished polished steel
Crystal: sapphire with anti-reflective coating
Bi-directional rotating bezel with anodised aluminium insert
Water-resistance: 100 metres
Dial
Carbon fibre
Metal applique Super-LumiNova®-filled numerals
Metal skeleton Super-LumiNova®-filled hour and minute hands
Strap
Perforated black rubber and ultra-resilient black synthetic fabric
Buckle: pin. Satin-polished steel
Edition
Limited edition of 999 pieces
Model: BR-X1 R.S.19 Limited edition, REF. BRX1-RS19/SRB
Movement
Calibre BR-CAL.313
Automatic mechanical
‘X’-shaped upper bridge
56 jewels, 28,800 vph
Skeleton chronograph
Functions
Hours, minutes, small seconds at 3 o’clock
Skeletonised date at 6 o’clock
Chronograph: 30-minute counter at 9 o’clock, central seconds
Tachymeter scale on the flange
Case
45 mm in diameter
Titanium and ceramic with rubber inserts
Rocker push-buttons
Case-back with opening in tinted sapphire crystal, centred on the balance
Crystal: sapphire with anti-reflective coating
Water-resistance: 100 metres
Dial
Skeleton dial
Metal applique Super-LumiNova®-filled numerals
Metal skeleton Super-LumiNova®-filled hour and minute hands
Strap
Perforated black rubber
Buckle: pin. Steel with black rubber over-moulding
Edition
Limited edition of 250 pieces
Model: BR-X1 Tourbillon R.S.19 Limited Edition, REF. BRX1-CHTB-RS19/SRB
Movement
Calibre BR-CAL.283
Hand-wound flying tourbillon
Mono-pusher column wheel chronograph
282 components, 35 jewels, 21,600 vph
4-day power reserve
Functions
Hours and minutes
Chronograph: 30-minute counter at 11 o’clock, 60-second counter at 1 o’clock
Power reserve indicator at 9 o’clock
Flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock
Case
45 mm in diameter
Satin-polished titanium and matt ceramic with rubber inserts
Rocker mono-pusher
Sapphire case back with anti-reflective coating
Crystal: sapphire with anti-reflective coating
Water-resistance: 100 metres
Dial
Skeleton
Metal applique Super-LumiNova®-filled indices
Metal skeleton Super-LumiNova®-filled hour and minute hands
Strap
Perforated black rubber
Buckle: pin. Steel with black rubber over-moulding
Edition
Limited edition of 20 pieces
