A Look at the Finest Bell & Ross Watch of All-Time

watch on arm

Yesterday alone I slammed the face of my Apple watch on the rounded edge of my granite countertop on my kitchen island twice. Two times; luckily it did not scratch, crack or break the face of my watch. I’d be crushed, because I’d then have to sit around and wonder if I met my steps goal for the day, how many minutes I actually exercised at the gym and I’d have to do things like use my iPhone to send texts and check my emails. It would have been just awful. That was yesterday. I promise you I drop my watch, bang it on the rails of the treadmill at the gym, sweat on it and really make a mess of it on the daily; so imagine if I had a watch that costs anywhere from $130,000 to $170,000 depending on where you get it, if it’s new or if it’s coming from a collector.

A Bell & Ross BR 01 Tourbillon Rose Gold watch with its amazing square face and its delicate attention to detail is gorgeous, but it’s a bit impractical for someone like myself to wear on a daily basis. It’s gorgeous; do not mistake that fact. It’s one of the finest watches ever created by Bell & Ross, and it’s one that everyone should have in their collection provided you can afford to spend the price of a small starter home on a watch. I really won’t like to you, either; I cannot believe this French watch company has only been around for less than a quarter of a century. I mean, I’m older than the entire brand yet it’s worth so much more to me (my husband says this is not true, by the way; but he doesn’t want to be a single parent to four little kids so he probably has to say things like that).

watch

Bell & Ross was launched in 1992 when I was only 9-years-old. Bruno Belamich is a fabulous designer, so he made the decision to partner with someone who is more fabulous at business; Carlos A. Rosillo. Together, they came up with the concept to create this brand of fine French watches. The average price of a Bell & Ross is nowhere near the price of the BR 01 Tourbillon in rose gold, but it is up there hovering around $4,000 for the typical watch. What’s unique about this brand is that they fancy themselves pilots in a way that they design all their watches to look more like the cockpit of a plane than an actual watch. I need only to tell time, the date and how many steps I’ve walked on mine – I’m simple – but I get that it’s something of a statement piece.

And let’s be honest; there is nothing like the statement, “I have so much money in the bank I can walk around with a base model Ferrari on my arm,” to really get tongues wagging. We’re not talking about the entire company so much as this one beautiful watch, though. It might not be your idea of the most amazing watch created by the brand, but that’s the beauty of the free world, right? We all get to think what we get to think and that’s the end of the discussion – unless you’re me and you get to write about it and shove your opinion down the throats of anyone in the world.

Regardless, this is one amazing watch. It’s made of 46mm 18k pink gold along the case – but it’s not a watch for ladies. Gentleman, don’t allow the pink gold part to fool you into thinking this is a feminine watch. It is anything but. The carbon fiber dial is accompanied by a manual winding tourbillon with 120 hours of power reserve to brag about. It’s got a trust index, a power reserve indicator and it comes with a regulator. What we love most, however, has nothing to do with the not-so-simple technology and everything to do with the strap.

watch side

It’s alligator; black alligator, to be precise. Growing up in Florida where alligators run rampant, get under our vehicles from time to time and cause us to be late when they are crossing the road between the Gulf and the river when we’re on our way to our favorite local restaurant, I don’t mind seeing an alligator on my wrist or my feet – or carried in my hand. This watch is everything.

It is a limited edition in the pink gold, which is why it is significantly less than the other models with a different casing. We love it, however. As expensive as it might be, it’s a nice watch for a gentleman with careful hands and a little more grace than myself who is able to keep from slamming the face into things that might break it. I imagine it might cost just a fraction more to replace or fix than my little old Apple Watch.

Written by Tiffany Raiford

Tiffany Raiford is a lifelong Floridian, wife to my high school sweetheart and mother of four littles (two girls and boy/girl twins...no, they are not identical and yes, I'm sure). My kids love to whine, so I love to wine. My loves include nap time, bed time, date night, travel and evenings and weekends when my husband is home because he handles all diaper changes.