The BR V2-92 Military Beige

From Bell & Ross -

Courtesy of Bell & Ross

This one for me is pretty special.  It combines a lot of different Bell & Ross elements together and unites them into one comprehensive piece.  Looking at it gives me the feeling that the designers at Bell & Ross climbed inside my emotional memory bank and tapped into 3 key visceral memories and combined them into my ideal watch.

Memory number one is the idea of a diver style watch that DOES NOT have a black dial.  As a (decidedly) younger man, I was very partial to diver style watches, but to be honest?  EVERYONE had a black or even a blue dial.  I wanted something different, but could never really find one that fit the bill.  White was nice enough, other colors while intriguing felt a little "too" different.  Around that time, I was a regular habitué of Seregin's in San Francisco, and the legendary Francis Z was the resident watch nerd.  You could count on Francis to find that piece that had that extra little something, and it bears mentioning that he is the man that coined that now infamous phrase amongst the watch cognoscenti -

            The Shit That Killed Elvis!

Francis was a devotee of one specific flavor of Bell & Ross, and that would be the beige dial.  He was not averse to other color dials for other brands, but for him beige was what made Bell & Ross tick.  Francis walked me through several trades, upgrades, and was my wife Wendy's accomplice when she bought a watch for me for Christmas one year that required Francis to use some truly remarkable acting skills.  Following that we were friends, bonded by an action that was born of kindness.  Francis's favorite watch was this one -

Courtesy of Bell & Ross

The BR 123 Original.  Wendy and I had moved to Santa Barbara from San Francisco and I had returned back for a business visit and popped into Seregin's only to be informed that Francis had passed away after a brief but intense battle with cancer.  I'd like to think that the BR 123 was with him when he left for his next adventure.  Suffice it to say, he would have loved the BR V2-92 Military Beige.

So that is two.  Emotional trigger number 3?  It's gotta' be the strap!

Courtesy of Bell & Ross

To quote my friend Francis?  It IS the Shit that Killed Elvis!  There is more to this third emotional element, but that dear reader is a story for another day ; )

You can certainly get this time machine with a stainless steel strap if that is your inclination, but for me the strap just pulls the whole thing together quite nicely.

So a sincere thank you to Bell & Ross for reminding me about why I love watches.

Here are the pertinents, straight from the source -


Movement: calibre BR-CAL.302. Automatic mechanical.

Functions: hours, minutes, seconds and date.

Case: 41 mm in diameter. Satin-polished steel. Bi-directional rotating steel bezel with anodized black aluminum ring and 60-minute scale. Screw-down crown. Sapphire case back.

Dial: beige. Black painted numerals and indices. Metal skeletonised Super-LumiNova®-filled hour and minute hands

Crystal: ultra-curved sapphire with anti-reflective coating.

Water-resistance: 100 metres.

Strap: elastic canvas strap or satin-polished steel bracelet.

Buckle: folding for metal bracelet.

The ARCEAU Grands Fonds

From Hermès Horloger 

Courtesy of Hermes

The basic watch design of the watch dates back to 1978 when Henri d’Origny brought forth the Arceau.

The movement is the Manufacture Hermès H1837 movement, which is mechanical, self-winding (that's automatic to you).

Courtesy of Hermes

What really sets the ARCEAU Grande Fonds apart is the dial.  The dial is described by  Hermès as glass mosaic.  

Courtesy of Hermes

Per Hermès, each dial takes a minimum of one month to create.  Per the release, there will be a grand total of 6 of these created, so if it's in your wheelhouse, don't dawdle ; )

The case is of white gold and measures 41 mm in diameter.

Here are the pertinents, straight from the source -

Limited and numbered edition of six

MOVEMENT
Manufacture Hermès H1837 movement Mechanical self-winding, crafted in Switzerland Diameter: 26 mm
Thickness: 3.7 mm
Power reserve: 50 hours
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour / 4Hz Functions: Hours, minutes

CASE
Shape / size: Round, 41 mm diameter Material: White gold
Glass: Anti-glare sapphire crystal and case-back Water resistance: 3 bar

DIAL
Glass mosaic

STRAP
Sapphire blue alligator

The 206 St Ar

From Sinn -

Courtesy of Sinn

Hours, minutes, seconds, day, date and chronograph.  But this one goes a little bit further.  Water resistant to 300 meters, rotating bezel, and perhaps the coolest bit?  Ar-Dehumidifying Technology!
For more about that, check the factoids here -
https://www.sinn.de/en/Ar-Dehumidifying_Technology.htm

Courtesy of Sinn

Here are the pertinents, straight from Sinn -

• Case made of stainless steel, polished / satinized
• Electroplated black dial
• Tested based on European diving equipment standards and certified by DNV GL
• Pressure-resistant to 300 m diving depth (30 bar), certified by DNV GL
• Ar-Dehumidifying Technology enhances functional reliability and freedom from fogging
• Captive diver's bezel with minute ratcheting
• Sapphire crystal glass in front
• Transparent back made of sapphire crystal glass 
• Low pressure resistant

• Mechanical Movement
• • The information on the mechanical movement corresponds to the current production situation in Frankfurt am Main. Due to technical changes, it may happen in individual cases that stock items of our sales partners deviate from this information. (further Information)
  • Valjoux 7750
  • Self-winding mechanism
  • 25 bearing jewels
  • 28,800 semi-oscillations per hour
  • Seconds stop function
  • Anti-magnetic as per DIN 8309

• Case
• • Case made of stainless steel, polished / satinized
  • Sapphire crystal glass in front, anti-reflective on both sides
  • Transparent case back made of sapphire crystal glass, anti-reflective on the interior
  • Case back screw-fastened
  • Crown screwable
  • Meet the technical requirements for waterproofness, as set out in standard DIN 8310
  • Pressure-resistant up to 300 m diving depth (= 30 bar), certified by DNV GL
  • According to the technical demands for the diving norm DIN 8306
  • Tested based on European diving equipment standards EN 250 / EN14143 and certified by DNV GL
  • Low pressure resistant

• Functions
• • Hours, minutes, subsidiary seconds
  • Date display
  • Day of the week display
  • Chronograph
  • Diver’s bezel with minute ratcheting and luminous key mark

• SINN Technologies
• • Ar-Dehumidifying Technology enhances functional reliability and freedom from fogging
  • Push-pieces with D3-System
  • Captive bezel

• Dimensions and Weight
• • Case diameter: 43 mm
  • Band lug width: 22 mm
  • Case thickness: 17 mm
  • Weight without strap: 95 gramme

• Dial and Hands
• • Electroplated black dial
  • Indices coated with luminescent colour 
  • Hour, minute and second hand coated with luminescent colour

• Warranty
• • 3 years