Let’s imagine that you were a brand born in a cockpit and were an ace at aviation-inspired watch designs, what should you do? Why you’d design a plane absolutely! And that’s exactly what Bell & Ross have done. With short, broad wings placed nearly at its tip and a single-seat cockpit set as far back as possible, the latest contemporary bird was designed to compete at the Reno Air Races – an extreme aviation speed competition set on the edge of the Nevadan desert. 
To commemorate this flight into the world of aviation, the Bell & Ross replica has also introduced two brand-new limited-edition watches encouraged by the decorative elements of the BR-Bird. Let’s imagine that you were a brand born in a cockpit and were an ace at aviation-inspired watch designs, what should you do? Why you’d design a plane absolutely! And that’s exactly what Bell & Ross have done. With short, broad wings placed nearly at its tip and a single-seat cockpit set as far back as possible, the latest contemporary bird was designed to compete at the Reno Air Races – an extreme aviation speed competition set on the edge of the Nevadan desert. To commemorate this flight into the world of aviation, the replica Bell & Ross have also introduced two brand-new limited-edition replica watches encouraged by the decorative elements of the BR-Bird. Limited to 999 pieces and dubbed the BRV Racing Birds, the pair – including a three-hander, and a chronograph – sport the colors and aesthetic of their high-flying inspiration. White dials are highlighted by hints of orange and grey, and the font for the blue Arabic numeral hour markers is taken straight from the onboard counters of the BR-Bird. With another reference to flight instrumentation found in expanded date windows that now show an extra numeral on either side. Just as on previous versions of the BRV, stainless-steel cases remain sized at 38.5mm for the time and date only BRV1-92, and 41mm for the BRV2-94 chronograph, with its blue bezel displaying a tachymeter scale. There are the same self-winding mechanical movements inside – the 38-hour BR-CAL.302 for the BRV1-92 and the 42-hour BR-CAL.301 for the BRV2-94. While orange central seconds hands now show the silhouette of the BR-Bird on their tail, as do the solid stainless-steel case backs. I have a soft spot for the luxury replica Bell & Ross limited editions. I feel like the fake watches are an opportunity for the design team to really let loose with bright vibrant colors, compared with their familiar mix of black-and-white. And full credit to them for taking their favorites of all things aviation to new sky-high limits.