Thursday, June 28, 2018

Bell & Ross – BR-V RACING BIRD Edition


ll & Ross VINTAGE BR-V RACING BIRD Automatic Steel Limited Edition

A NEW 
WATCHMAKING ADVENTURE 
TAKES TO THE SKIES

As the Bell & Ross design studio unveils the BR-Bird, a flying machine that features spectacular lines, two new Racing Bird watches inspired by this aircraft have become the symbols of the brand’s passion for aviation and creativity.

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The Bell & Ross adventure started in a cockpit with watch designs that were directly inspired by flight instruments and the golden age of aviation. This journey continues to this day on the wrist, naturally, but now it also returns to the skies on the wings of the BR-Bird.

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While the on-board instruments set the standard for legibility, precision and reliability, the entire history of aviation serves as a powerful inspiration for Bell & Ross.

This area of research has helped the brand create incredible machines rooted in the quest for speed and performance.

B-ROCKET


In 2014, Bell & Ross developed the B-Rocket, a retro-futuristic concept motorcycle, streamlined like a jet plane.

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This two-wheeled wonder pays tribute to the very finest experimental aircrafts produced by the US aviation industry in the fifties and sixties.

AÉRO-GT

In 2016, the brand took the same approach with the Aero GT.

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The watchmaker created an avant-garde aircraft-inspired supercar, with astonishing performances.

BELLYTANKER

In 2017, it was time for a new and exceptional racing car to take to the stage.

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With a tapered shape reminiscent of the drop tanks used by the fighter jets of the 1940s and four narrow wheels, the Bellytanker returned once more to the world of wheeled machines fighting to break land speed records at the Great Salt Lake in Utah.

BR-BIRD

With machinery both technically and stylistically inspired by the world of aeronautics, bringing together pioneers both past and future, the B-Rocket,

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AeroGT and Bellytanker have been the source of inspiration of exceptional limited edition watches. Today, it is the BR-Bird‘s turn to take to the skies for a new adventure in aviation and watchmaking.

BELL & ROSS HAS DESIGNED ITS PLANE

After designing racing cars inspired by aeronautical shapes, Bell & Ross has now designed a plane of its own! It should come as no surprise that it is a high-speed plane capable of competing in the Reno Air Races in record-breaking style.

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Every year in Reno, Nevada, at the edge of the American desert, the scene is set for the most extreme speed competition in the aviation world.

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Created in 1924, this event brings together aircrafts flying at full speed and at very low altitude, on a closed circuit delineated by 10-metre-high pylons.

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To have a chance of prevailing in this competition, considered to be the most beautiful air racecourse in the world and of achieving phenomenal public success, the pilots need to be as daring as they are dexterous. And they need a machine with exceptional power, aero dynamism and maneuverability.

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The BR-Bird, brainchild of Bruno Belamich, Bell & Ross’s co-founder and creative director, fits the bill.

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An ultramodern single-seat, propeller-engine aircraft, built entirely of high-tech material (graphite, fiberglass, titanium and aluminum alloy), the BR-Bird is powered by a V12 Rolls Royce developed on a Merlin base (names that have legendary status in aviation, particularly thanks to the legendary English Spitfire).

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While its cockpit is placed as far back as possible, evoking the high speed of dragsters, its short but broad wings, placed very far forward, hark back to the Comet DH.88, Hughes H-1 and the Bugatti-DeMonge 100P of the 1930s, but also the famed P51 Mustang of the 1940s. Its Y-shaped empennage ensures maneuverability, while making it immediately recognizable.

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With its meticulously designed shape and its powerful aesthetic, the BR-Bird belongs to the world of speed, forging a bond between aviation history and future technology.

ENGINE
RR V12-60NG (Based on Rolls-Royce Merlin)
POWER : 4300 ch
SIZE
LENGHT : 9.5 m
WINGSPAN : 10.31 m
HEIGHT : 1.66 m
WEIGHT : 2080 kg (without pilot and liquids)
PERFORMANCE
MAXIMUM SPEED : 909 km/h (Mach 0.73)
MAIN MATERIALS
48% COMPOSITE (carbon and fiberglass)
24% ALUMINIUM
24% TITANIUM
4% OTHERS

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TWO WATCHES INSPIRED BY THE BR-BIRD

This identity of speed and performance is evident in the design of the three-hand and chronograph Racing Bird watches. These timepieces share their aesthetic choices with the racing aircraft designed by the Bell & Ross studio, particularly the color code: The dial is white, like the fuselage of the plane. The numerals, bezel, chronograph counter and strap are blue, like the empennage and decorative elements tracing the aerodynamic lines of the BR-Bird.

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The central second hand, details on the dial and lining of the leather strap are orange, like the color highlighting the most important information on the flight instruments. The timer is grey, reminiscent of the chequered flag used in speed competitions, like the Bell & Ross logo on the wings and flanks of the aircraft.

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On the dial, the numerals use the same typography as the on-board counters, and the date window shows three numerals –a direct reference to flight instrumentation. The final touch is the silhouette of the aircraft on the case back and at the base of the second hand (on the three-hand version) and the second timer (on the chronograph version). With a 38.5 mm steel case for the BRV1-92 and a 41 mm for the BRV2-94, both versions are powered by a self-winding mechanical movement.

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With their graphic design and style, these limited edition BRV1 and BRV2 Racing Bird watches are starting a new chapter in a saga that weaves together Bell & Ross and aviation history, performance, extreme professionals… and passion.

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Technical Specifications

Collection: VINTAGE

Model: BR V1-92 RACING BIRD Automatic Steel 38.5mm 

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Ref: BRV192-BB-ST/SCA

Limited Edition of 999 pieces.

Movement
Calibre BR-CAL.302
.
Automatic mechanical.
Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds and date at 3 o’clock.
Case
Diameter: 38.5 mm
Satin-polished steel.
Screw-down crown and push-buttons.
Sapphire case-back.
Water-resistance: 100 metres.
Dial
White.
Blue painted numerals.
Metal skeleton Superluminova®-filled hour and minute hands.
Crystal: ultra-curved sapphire with anti-reflective coating.
Strap
Blue calfskin with orange lining.
Buckle: pin. Steel.

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Technical Specifications

Collection: VINTAGE

Model: BR V2-94 RACING BIRD Chronograph Automatic Steel 41mm

Limited Edition of 999 pieces.

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Ref: BRV294-BB-ST/SST
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Limited Edition of 999 pieces.

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 Ref: BRV294-BB-ST/SCA
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Movement
Calibre BR-CAL.301
.
Automatic mechanical.
Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds and date at 3 o’clock.
Chronograph: 30-min timer at 9 o’clock, central chronograph seconds.
Case
Diameter: 41 mm
Satin-polished steel.
Steel bezel with anodised blue aluminium ring and tachymeter scale.
Screw-down crown and push-buttons.
Sapphire case-back.
Water-resistance: 100 metres.
Dial
White.
Blue painted numerals.
Metal skeleton Superluminova®-filled hour and minute hands.
Crystal: ultra-curved sapphire with anti-reflective coating.
Strap
Satin-polished steel.
Buckle: folding. Satin-polished steel.

Limited Edition of 999 pieces.

#WatchBeyond

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Press Release - 2018
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www.facebook.com - Bell Ross
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www.Bell&Ross.com

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

OMEGA – SPEEDMASTER Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 Black Ceramic Edition


OMEGASPEEDMASTER Moonwatch Chronograph "Dark Side of the Moon" Apollo 8 Black Ceramic Limited Edition

THE SPEEDMASTER 
"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" 
APOLLO 8

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In 1968, the Apollo 8 crew became the first humans to ever see the dark side of the moon. 50 years later, OMEGA has produced this incredible chronograph in tribute to that mission.

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As well as having a skeletonised dial, this collectable watch is remarkable for its specially decorated version of the famous Moonwatch calibre 1861.


THE MOON ON YOUR WRIST
Celebrating 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission

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Presented on a perforated black leather strap with yellow rubber through the middle, this Speedmaster’s unique design remains true to Apollo 8’s pioneering spirit. The entire watch is produced in sleek black ceramic and the dial has been expertly skeletonised to reveal a blackened movement inside. Most impressively, the movement has been laser-ablated to produce realistic imagery of the lunar surface.

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Apollo 8 orbited the moon 10 times over 20 hours during its mission. A major human achievement.”

The Apollo 8 was the first manned mission to the moon, entering lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, December 24th, 1968. Astronauts Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders held a live broadcast from lunar orbit, in which they showed pictures of the Earth and moon as seen from their spacecraft. They ended the broadcast with the crew taking turns reading from the book of Genesis.

THE COLOURS

The chronograph hands are varnished yellow, while the watch's tachymeter scale and crown are filled with white Super-LumiNova. The Speedmaster and Tachymetre words also appear in yellow.

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The dial-side of this watch is a light shade with a landscape full of craters to represent our view of the moon’s surface from Earth.

THE CASE

The watch is in a black ceramic case measuring 44.25 mm in diameter, Omega has again embraced its popular “Dark Side of the Moon” innovation, producing the entire watch in black zirconium oxide ceramic.

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The dial-side is a somewhat lighter shade almost graphite grey to represent our view of the moon’s surface from Earth, the chronograph hands are varnished yellow, while the tachymeter scale and crown are filled with superluminova.

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THE CASEBACK

Around the transparent caseback, the words "WE'LL SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE" reference Jim Lovell’s final words spoken to ground control just before Apollo 8 travelled to the far side of the moon.

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The caseback delves into the dark side of the moon that only astronauts get to see. It’s also a perfect view of the Calibre 1869 inside.

“The Calibre 1869 is a specially decorated version of OMEGA’s famous Calibre 1861.

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For 34 minutes there would be no way of knowing what happened. During that time the 247-second LOI (lunar orbit insertion) burn would take place that would slow down the spacecraft from 5758 to 3643 mph to enable it to latch on to the Moon’s field of gravity and go into orbit.

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If the SPS engine failed, Apollo 8 would whip around the Moon and head back for Earth on a free-return trajectory (á la Apollo 13); during one critical half minute if the engine went out the spacecraft would be sent crashing into the Moon.

Available in stores from September 2018, the watch will cost $ 9,750 USD

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Links to more details.
omegaforums.net
speedmaster101.com
chronomaddox.com
www.speedywatches.com

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Model Speedmaster Moonwatch Chronograph
"Dark Side of the Moon" Apollo 8
Black ceramic on leather strap
Ref. 311.92.44.30.01.001
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www.NASA.gov
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www.facebook.com - Omega
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www.OmegaWatches.com