Transparency has long bedevilled Swiss watchmaking as far as standards, costs and corporate structures go, but watchmakers have no trouble pushing admirably see-through efforts. While BaselWorld 2017 did not see greater openness from the brands, there were a few fascinating watches that leave the impression that sapphire is going to be the carbon of the next few years. Bell & Ross has been mining this vein for some time now, with no less than two watches built on this narrative, the newest of which is the c.
The entire case of the BR-X1 is in sapphire, specifically five corundum blocks for the case back, middle, top and bumpers, and held together with those very visible screws. The extreme transparency here means the manufacture calibre BR-288 is visible from every angle.
There is a lot to take in with this manual-winding movement, including the trademark X-shaped bridges, and the particularities of the one-minute flying tourbillon as well as the intermediate wheel. Bell & Ross has taken great pains to point out the special construction of that intermediate wheel, which sports teeth in an entirely new shape; the advantages of it are in managing friction and optimising tight tolerances.
Such beauty comes at a price, of course. It reportedly takes days to carve out the various case components for a single watch. This is likely achieved by diamond-tipped tools in an industrial setting, so leave aside all thoughts of craftspeople toiling away at blocks of sapphire crystal with chisels and the like. This sort of endeavour is a technical challenge that is simply impossible to execute without contemporary means. A limited edition of eight worldwide, the watch indicates hours and minutes, relegated to a sub-dial at the top.
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