This sensational new Bell & Ross tourbillon puts time in the back seat

Bell & Ross says time-telling takes a back seat for its latest creation, a stunning new tourbillon with a square and fully skeletal case.

Called the BR-X3 Tourbillon Micro-Rotor, the watch is limited to just 25 pieces and priced in the UK at £79,000. Reinventing the brand’s iconic square case design, the new watch uses steel and sapphire to create a case that showcases the movement within more than the actual time.

Small wonder Bell & Ross has taken this approach, given how the watch is driven by the new BR-CAL.389 movement, which is unusually slim for a flying tourbillon, thanks to its micro-rotor layout. This configuration sits the rotor within the plane of the movement instead of above it, facilitating automatic winding while keeping height to a minimum.

The movement is mounted to a steel middle section that is sandwiched between a sapphire crystal front and sapphire case back. The case measures 40mm in diameter and is just 9mm thick, thanks to the micro-rotor design. Bell & Ross has kept the time discreet, using a small, simple circular dial installed off-centre at the two o’clock position, while the steel chassis and flying tourbillon, the latter at the half-past-five o’clock position, are the headline acts of the BR-X3.

Further setting this watch apart is how, instead of the skeletal elements being the usual latticework of other such watches, the BR-03 uses a strictly defined grid of vertical and horizontal lines that echo the square case shape. The result is a clean, architectural aesthetic that differs to the more chaotic lines of other skeletonised watch dials.

Bell & Ross said of the watch: "In this exceptional piece, reading the time takes a back seat to another narrative: that of the movement itself, which becomes the absolute protagonist."

A lack of colour is a common theme across Bell & Ross watches, and here the same is true, with only the red rubies of the movement standing out from the BR-03’s various shades of grey.

Water resistance is 50 metres and the watch is presented on a grey alligator strap with steel folding clasp. It’s not quite the most expensive Bell & Ross ever made – although it sits significantly above where the brand tends to operate, and demonstrates how the company isn’t afraid of trying something new.

Limited to 25 pieces, the Bell & Ross BR-X3 is priced at £79,000 / $99,000 and is available to pre-order now ahead of delivery in December.