After using Super LumiNova for the numerals, indexes, hands, and dial of previous models, Bell & Ross is now going even further with the BR-X5 GREEN LUM and its innovative composite material: LM3D. The biggest challenge of this new approach? Combining innovation with a photoluminescent material and high-end design in the BR-X5 line.
Visibility has always been a key goal for every design of Bell & Ross, inspired by aeronautical instruments. Launched in 2017, all watches in the LUM collection explore the possibilities offered by luminescence, providing superior brightness and maximum readability, day and night.
The LUM collection created in 2017
Whether in an airplane cockpit or on a diver's wrist, the central challenge of any watchmaking instrument has always been a display that glows in the dark to ensure the best possible readability. Since the 1930s, various luminescent materials have been used to coat the hands, numerals, and indexes of timepieces intended for professionals, starting with the military, whether pilots or combat divers. With tritium and radium having been abandoned due to radioactivity, Super-LumiNova is today the predominant material for luminescence.
While all watches in the Bell & Ross collections display the time even in the dark, some models go even further. This is the case with the brand's LUM watches, which directly reference luminescence. Bell & Ross launched its LUM line in 2017 with the BR 03-92 HOROLUM, followed a year later by the BR 03-92 NIGHTLUM, both featuring exceptional luminescence on the numerals, indexes and hands. In 2019, the BR 03-92 FULL LUM was launched, this time with a dial entirely covered in Super-LumiNova, with a contrast effect that highlights key elements for maximum readability.
The year 2020 saw the first appearance of the BR 03-92 GREY LUM, which emits a particularly intense green glow reminiscent of runway lights, followed by the BR 03-92 Diver FULL LUM, whose dial features different shades of light green and pale yellow luminescence. In 2021, the torch was passed to the vintage limited edition BR V2-94 FULL LUM, which presents the same double light effect. Finally, in 2022, the BR V2-92 FULL LUM is born, taking up the ultra-luminescent dial in a 3-hand version.
BRX5, the expanded manufacture collection
Continuing the brand's aeronautical heritage and iconic visual signature "a circle in a square", the BR-X5 adds a new chapter in 2022 to the Bell & Ross BR 05 range launched in 2019. Through its design, style and technical characteristics, the BR-X5 stands out as a top-tier BR 05: the BR-CAL.323 caliber, a prestigious manufacture movement designed by Kenissi, takes the BR-X5 collection to the heights of precision with a power reserve of approximately 70 hours, while the architecture of its multi-component case prioritizes purity and radicality, strength and lightness. Today, Bell & Ross completes its high-end line with its new model, the BR-X5 GREEN LUMIn both its concept and its design, the piece reflects the desire to innovate and dare to be different.
The BR-X5 with a luminescent case Bell & Ross has chosen to go further and explore a new creative path. To date, the concept of luminescence has been applied to the hands, numerals, indexes and dial of the models, on this new watch, it is the 41 mm case that glows in the dark in a spectacular way, with a composite material developed especially for Bell & Ross: LM3D. For the first time, the Maison's manufacture collection is venturing onto the planet LUM.
A limited concept series
For the structure of this new version of the BR-X5, lightness is first played out in the multi-component case, which alternates LM3D and grade 2 microblasted black DLC titanium in a multi-layer assembly. Cut from a block of DLC-coated grade 2 titanium, the case housing the mechanism is inserted between two shields made of photoluminescent composite material, LM3D, composed of quartz fibers that diffuse a powerful green luminescence. In the dark, the entire case lights up, highlighting the dial indications: hours, minutes, seconds, date and power reserve. Beyond its watchmaking function, with this innovation, the new limited series BR-X5 GREEN LUM of 500 pieces reaches the rank of a unique conceptual art object of its kind.
Technical specifications
Bell & Ross BRX5R-LUM-TC/SRB
Mouvement : caliber BR-CAL.323. Manufacture. Self-winding mechanical. Power reserve of approximately 70 hours. Features : hours, minutes and seconds. Date window at 3 o'clock and power reserve indicator at 9 o'clock. Housing : 41 mm wide. 12,80 mm thick. Grade 2 microblasted titanium container with DLC (diamond-like carbon) finish. Green luminescent fiberglass composite upper and lower plates. Fixed grade 2 microblasted titanium bezel with luminescent composite bezel plate. Screw-down crown and crown protector in grade 2 titanium. Grade 2 microblasted titanium caseback with anti-reflective smoked gray sapphire crystal. Caseback with oscillating weight. Dial : matte black. Applied indexes filled with black varnish. Skeletonized hour and minute hands coated with Super-LumiNova®. Black flange with 60-minute graduation and green transfer. Glass : sapphire with anti-reflective treatment. Sealing : 100 meters. Bracelet : black perforated rubber. Loop : folding clasp. Steel with DLC (diamond-like carbon) finish. Limited edition : 500 pieces.
Patrick Koune
