Watch What-If: Luxury Swiss Star Wars Watches Replica Buyers Guide

Watch What-If: Luxury Swiss Star Wars Watches Watch What-If

Watch What-If: Luxury Swiss Star Wars Watches Watch What-If
The fundamental modern elements that Bell & Ross has worked to the watch include the selection of rising minute increments for its Arabic hour markers, the pilot-watch-inspired hand configuration currently typical in the “Classic” collection, along with the date window, which could have worked better placed at 3 o’clock, or even left off the dial altogether, instead of concealed between other numerals. Among the most interesting contemporary features is at the size of the crown– while many classic watches did have smaller tiles compared to those found on watches today, the proportion of case to crown on the BR V1-92 Military actually looks smaller and subtler compared to those vintage pieces. This design choice might have been to accentuate further the view’s historic inspirations, but it’s certainly unusual for a timepiece evoking older models to miniaturize, rather than expand, any elements.As previously mentioned, this watch isn’t based on any particular model, but rather puts its focus on bringing together many intriguing historical details to generate a modern yet vintage-appearing piece. Whether or not this type of re-interpretation is desired or not is a question of personal preference, but on aesthetic worth alone the BR V1-92 Military is, to me, a fascinating watch. The piece also represents, together with a number of other bits in the third generation of this new “Vintage” set, an increasing interest by mainstream watchmakers to cater to the expanding market of retro-hungry customers. It seems the trend is no longer restricted to long-established players like Omega and Longines, or startup independents like Nezumi, but is expanding to all corners of the market seeking to ride this wave of horological nostalgia while it lasts.

There are some Bell Ross Watches Official Website Replica collections which use essentially the same basic case design but in various dimensions (and each having various versions). The BR 01 is a wrist-eclipsing (for me, anyway) 47mm, the BR 03 like the one reviewed here’s 42mm, and the BR S is 39mm. The BR X watches are Bell & Ross’ “Experimental” collection which also utilize some variant of the square instance but with generally more elaborate constructions, avant-garde layouts, and haute complications (hands-on illustration here with the Bell & Ross BR X2 Tourbillon Micro-Rotor). The Bell & Ross instance is immediately identifiable as such, however the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver can also be only a serious-looking dip watch. It further manages to play the portion of a bold-wearing luxury sport watch with a competitive presence — and at precisely the exact same time, it looks meaningful and down-to-earth, or so the wearer doesn’t seem like he is desperate for attention. Ultimately, despite that boldness and presence, its size and measurements somehow keep it amazingly wearable. At least, these have been my impressions while wearing it.

Star Wars fever is back this year, as later in 2015, the popular science fiction movie franchise sees its seventh film with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We recently learned that Nixon from California will be producing some exclusive Star Wars watches, and it is no secret that many modern, avant-garde luxury watches were inspired by story universes such as Star Wars and Star Trek. To that end, we wanted to see what it might be like to have Star Wars watches produced by some of the more popular and “mainstream” luxury Swiss watch makers – which is the subject of this installment of “Watch What-If.”

Once again, the art and concepts are by Niklas Bergenstjerna – who worked with us to create these five fantasy Star Wars watches by Swiss watch brands you know. The idea is that the characters who inspired these watches might very likely actually wear them (if either were to exist). I hope that these fit into the almost religious “Star Wars canon.” Here are words directly from Mr. Bergenstjerna:

Omega Jedi-Master Watch: Yoda

Above, you’ll find a minimalistic classic watch for Jedi Master Yoda, that is ceramic and made to last for a very long time. No fuss, just the time in the Jedi-Master watches. Less is more. Though, an additional digital ”wood-cord-watch” is useful when leaving Dagobah for other places in the universe. The crest of the Jedi Council and Yoda’s personal crest are on the dial, and there is a classic Yoda quote on the bezel.

It is, in my estimation, a great achievement in balancing different design components and themes in addition to boldness and wearability. “Balance” is a word that I kept returning to if considering various aspects of the Bell & Ross Type Watches Replica BR 03-92 Diver. The result is a sound, refined dive watch having a look and personality quite unlike any other I know of, and it’s just plain fun to wear.No matter how great, satisfying, or first a new watches are, a genuinely “iconic” model is something most watch brands won’t ever be able to convincingly claim — from its very nature the term can be accurately appropriate to only a restricted variety of watches. I attempt to avoid even using the word, but I believe lots of watch fans will agree that Bell & Ross’ square-cased, aviation-themed watches based on the dashboard tools of old planes will qualify. The design is closely correlated with and suspended in air, but Bell & Ross has branched out to lots of different styles or genres with the square case as the foundation. While the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver could get lost among so many different variations on the theme, taken alone it’s successful as a compelling dive watch.

A really superior sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating can occasionally appear to even “sharpen” the dial elements, to my eyes. The Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver includes a 2.85mm-thick flat crystal with great AR coating offering a crystal clear view of the dial that’s designed to be legible to start with. The applied hour mark, sloped chapter ring, and date window at 4:30 using a black date wheel to match the dial colour all help give a feeling of interest and depth that I always appreciate.Clearly, I’m bullish on the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver. It was among the funnest recent watches I’ve had the opportunity to use for an extended period of time, and I can not actually say I could discover any actual complaints about it. There are a couple of things that I can think of, however, that Bell & Ross can do to further sweeten the deal. To begin with, ceramic bezel inserts are more scratch-resistant, and are becoming practically standard nowadays, which makes aluminum inserts begin to feel less superior. Second, it’s possible to have 300m water resistance on a watch using a display caseback, and that would increase the value, interest, and user experience for the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver. The good caseback, though, is likely also valuable for protecting the movement from magnetic fields. Last, adding something in the motion section, like COSC certification, for instance, would farther kick it all up a notch. Every one of these things would probably also be reasons to improve the purchase price, of course.The Swiss automatic movement inside is the perfectly appropriate, reliable, and common Sellita SW300-1 (“BR-CAL.302”). Power reserve of 42 hours, operating at 4Hz… you understand the specs. The screw-down crown has been coated with rubberized and easy to grip with a solid and smooth-as-butter winding feel. I like the rubber on the crown, but I wonder how rubber components such as this on watches can hold up over time. The strap can be rubber, is comfortable and soft, and has a suitably giant steel buckle.
Watch What-If: Luxury Swiss Star Wars Watches Watch What-If
Considering that many dive watches are mainly used today to tell the time on dry land, I’ve often felt that the deemphasized hour palms found on several are kind of a sacrifice of real-life usability for the sake of being taken seriously as a “genuine” diver. Section of the ISO standards, however, stipulate that the second hand should be more legible than the hour hand since the minutes are more crucial when diving. For the Bell & Ross Watches Malaysia Replica BR 03-92 Diver, legibility is not hampered from the orange lume for the hour hand, but it’s really deemphasized in the dark using a (much) fainter glow while every thing else (hands and mark) shines bright green using Super-LumiNova. Also familiar — and demanded for dip watch specifications — is the unidirectional rotating bezel. It’s a 60-click one in the case of this Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver with an aluminum fit, and it’s somewhat stiff to twist but using a solid sound and feel. Bell & Ross also notes the BR 03-92 Diver’s shock immunity to specialist specs, and the thicker caseback and soft iron cage help to make the watch anti-magnetic into ISO 764 standards. The angular crown guards are just another durability-emphasizing feature. Even though Bell & Ross hasn’t supplied the official measurements, as a dive watch, this is going to be considerably thicker than other BR 03 cases together with the dominant bezel, thicker caseback, and thicker sapphire crystal. And it’s about as significant as it looks. There’s no sensible reason that the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver case needs to be square, but because it works so well in the end, there is also no reason it shouldn’t be, right?

A very good sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating can sometimes appear to even “sharpen” the dial elements, to my eyes. The Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver has a 2.85mm-thick flat crystal with great AR coating offering a clear view of the dial that is designed to be legible to start with. The applied hour mark, sloped chapter ring, and date window at 4:30 with a black date wheel to match the dial color all help give a sense of interest and depth that I always appreciate.Clearly, I am bullish on the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver. It was among the funnest recent watches I’ve had the chance to use for an extended period of time, and I can’t actually say I can discover any actual complaints about it. There are a couple of things I can think of, but that Bell & Ross can do to further sweeten the offer. First, ceramic bezel inserts are more scratch-resistant, and are getting to be practically standard these days, which makes aluminum inserts start to feel less superior. Second, it is likely to have 300m water immunity on a watch using a display caseback, and that would increase the value, interest, and consumer experience for your Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver. The solid caseback, however, is probably also valuable for protecting the movement from magnetic fields. Last, adding something in the motion department, like COSC certificate, for example, would further kick up it a notch. Every one of these things would likely also be reasons to improve the purchase price, of course.The Swiss automatic movement indoors is the perfectly appropriate, reliable, and typical Sellita SW300-1 (“BR-CAL.302”). Power reserve of 42 hours, working at 4Hz… you know the specs. The screw-down crown has been coated with rubberized and easy to grip with a solid and smooth-as-butter twisting feel. I like the rubber onto the crown, but I wonder how rubber elements like this on watches will hold up with time. The strap is also rubber, is soft and comfortable, and includes a suitably giant steel buckle. I like rubber straps but wonder exactly what the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver would look like on a steel bracelet.

Held from the pragmatic case, which itself features a solid caseback and miniaturized crown, is a vintage-inspired, curved sapphire crystal which resembles the acrylic crystals of yesteryear. Beneath this is the view’s detail-packed dial with a B-Uhr pilot-style triangle in the 12 o’clock place, a red inscription toward 6 o’clock position for “Army Form,” and artificial patina accents throughout. The timepiece has an outer minute track with large printed indices and Arabic numerals rising in increments of 5 in every hour mark, with a subtle, spherical date window at the 4:30 position hiding in plain sight. Powering the watch’s different hand configuration is the automatic Caliber BR-CAL. 302, which is based on the Sellita SW-200, and stores a 38-hour power reserve. The item is currently available online and through boutiques worldwide, priced by the brand at $1,990. Among the clearest historically based details, you will observe the stainless steel case with easy satin-finishing, sized at 38.5-mm — that can be at least 5 mm larger than the WWII-era watches it seems to be paying homage to, but still a dimension relatively restrained in comparison with the typically huge watches created by the brandnew You will also observe the pilot’s-watch-style 12 o’clock hour marker, a feature first developed in the late 1930s on German B-Uhr pieces and which locate their modern descendants in the large Pilot and Mark XVIII from IWC, the Stowa Flieger Klassik, and several other watches. The last major vintage-inspired attribute is in the tiny red inscription toward the base of the dial, a detail which was more prevalent in later, post-war military watches like the Heuer-developed Bundeswehr 1550 SG (image above, via FratelloWatches) discussed within our coverage of this 1950s-derived Junghans Meister Pilot. In all, the modern watch appears to be borrowing key features from ancient pilots watches such as the B-Uhr and Mark 11 (picture below), while also taking on other army watch influences like people from the “Dirty Dozen” WWII bits and later military chronographs.

Bell & Ross Death & Star Pocket Watch – Darth Vader

Classic timepiece for an elderly villain, so Darth Vader gets a pocket watch. The watch has a Force detector, just in case your own abilities should fail. Design is inspired by the Death Star.

Watch What-If: Luxury Swiss Star Wars Watches Watch What-If

Hublot Big Bang Bounty Hunter – Boba Fett

A bold digital daily beater for the bounty hunter in need of keeping deadlines. Boba Fett would approve. The symbols in the center and the upper left corner are from Boba Fett’s armor: a Mandalorian crest and skull.

Watch What-If: Luxury Swiss Star Wars Watches Watch What-If

 Blancpain Naboo Watch – Queen Amidala

Queen Amidala’s make-up was the inspiration for the overall white design with details in red. The Naboo royal crest is in the center of the dial, along with details in lace.

Though probably best known for its cheaper, instrument-inspired pilot and field watches, French watchmaker Bell & Ross continues to assert itself as much more than a one-trick pony, using the most recent addition to its BR-X “Experimental” assortment: the crazy Bell & Ross BR-X1 Skeleton Tourbillon Sapphire.Standouts in this sometimes divisive collection have contained that the stealthy forged carbon BR-X1 (hands-on) and also the more exotic Bell & Ross BR X2 Tourbillon Micro-Rotor Automatic watch (hands). With its micro-rotor and ampersand-adorned flying tourbillon, the BR X2 was a step nearer to this newest invention not least since it had been something of a sapphire sandwich. The new Bell & Ross BR-X1 Skeleton Tourbillon Sapphire is like a functional hybrid of both — but with a twist, as it uses the BR-X1 case constructed from five, quite carefully carved sapphire blocks.The Bell & Ross BR-X1 Skeleton Tourbillon Sapphire is a whole hell of a long way for a new whose humble beginnings started with instrument watches (recall B&R’s watches used to be fabricated by German instrument watch master Sinn), but a journey that has gotten considerably more impressive since the Experimental line continues to find interesting ways to visually and technologically push the envelope. Sapphire crystal is more or less scratch-proof, but its hardness has made it especially difficult to work with in anything apart from very simple contours. Technology and techniques have significantly improved in recent decades, however, with more completely sapphire-cased watches, as well as costs for them starting to come down like using the Hublot Big Bang UNICO Sapphire (hands-on) – though they tend to remain more infrequent and expensive even than precious metal instance watches.
Watch What-If: Luxury Swiss Star Wars Watches Watch What-If

Zenith Star Pilot Parsec – Han Solo

A transparent Zenith “modern” pilot watch with a Han Solo quote. Parsec meter subsidiary dial is for racing, and no need for a crown, since it’s adjusted by touch on the right side of the case. Large asteroid crater dial and Rebel Alliance strap.

Niklas Bergenstjerna is a freelance graphic designer and watch lover based in the south of Sweden. niklex.com