Man, Bell&Ross is going strong this year. I love the Military Ceramic BR 01 style beast now called the BR 03-92 with military band and I’m kind of liking the new series in chrono and three-hand form. I guess people were tired of having a big square thing on their wrists and wanted something more delicate.

What you do know will hurt you. As a long-time lover of larger than life watches, I was pleased when Steinhart nee Debaufre released a line of watches to rival Bell & Ross’ attempts at recreating old-timey airplane dial. As I’ve mentioned many times before, Bell & Ross watches are obscenely huge and obscenely expensive so to find a watch that mimics – but does not totally copy – the B&R style for not much money excited that bargain-hunting watch-lover in me.

Sadly, however, I think this taste of paradise will make the average watch-lover desire a B&R even more, a sad state of affairs for someone who is trying to avoid spending $5 grand or more on a stinking watch.

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Bell & Ross sends another one down the pipe with the Phantom edition. This standard issue BR 01 Instrument — the automatic one with three hands — has low visibility pips and digits that light up like the sun in the dark. I’m not sure about the overall readability, but the idea is cool. Again — B&R is essentially carving out its own path in the mid- to high-range watch market and I’m very impressed. Gotta get me one.

Bell & Ross

Man, I’m really liking this new Sinn chrono.

The 757 is 43mm and considered a Pilot´s watch. The bezel can be turned clockwise and anti-clockwise which is not typical for divers watches due to safety regulations. Case and bezel are tegimented. The bracelet for the 757 will be tegimented, too. The watch is water resistant up to 20 bar (200 meters) and the price of this watch is approx 1270 Euro. (Thanks to U Turn).

Sinn Factory Tour [Fratellowatches.com]

I had been meaning to write about this new B&R monster but never got around to it. Not much is known about this super duper Bell and Ross aviator boat anchor/jet pilot blinder, but it apparently has a thrust indicator. Why? Who knows.

If its a Grand Complication it traditionally should have about 6 different features. We shall see.

Top Secret Design Revealed! The Bell & Ross BR 01 Grand Complication [THE WATCHISMO TIMES]

Mmmm… tasty. A new B&R. This is an ETA base caliber, probably a 7750, with 42 hour power reserve. It costs about $3,500, which actually isn’t that bad, and looks like a monster.

TimeZone: Industry News: N E W M o d e l – Bell & Ross Chronograph Aeronavale [TimeZone]

When Velociphile says something is better than the Breitling Navitimer, I’d tend to believe him. This hot little manual wind from Sinn has a great movement is is considerably cheaper than anything Breitling has to offer. Plus, it’s busy without looking cluttered.

The Sinn 903 is a better Navitimer for those in the know. Despite now being based only on the ubiquitous 7750, it beats the Breitling hands down as it stays true to the tool watch ethic at a sensible price. In comparison the Breitling Navitimer is an overpriced lifestyle product and, frankly, jumped the shark a while back.

Sinn 903 H2 – The Coolest 903 of Them All [Velociphile's Journey into Watches]

It’s not an IWC, but it’s close enough. The Vendoux is an inexpensive automatic aviator with a certain flair all it’s own. No real pedigree – the folks at Vendoux.nl sell this thing for $200 – but it’s sufficiently big and attractive so more power too ‘em.

Yes, the watch is big! It’s funny, you see a watch pictured on the internet and its stated dimensions are 46mm (for example), yet you cannot picture the watch being that big in person. This watch was like this for me. The info said it was 46mm, but it just did not look that big. But, it is! When I first took it out of the box I had expected the watch to weigh more than it does, it’s actually quite light for its size (approx. 90 grams). But. I liked it right away, especially after it was on my wrist! It had the look (and size) I wanted without being an outright knock-off.

Review of the Vendoux Sorento [PMWF]

As I constantly reiterate, China needs to get on the ball when it comes to watchmaking. Here is a step in the right direction. The Fitya is the watch worn by one of China’s own cosmonauts. It has a Miyota movement and a certain over/under-the-top look that grates on the eye. Nice quality, though.

Ever since the Omega Speedmaster gained cult status for being the watch certified by NASA for the Apollo program, and being the first and only watch on the moon, there is great interest by collectors for any model that has been in space. Obviously the manufacturers know this, and often use the fact as an argument to sell more watches, and raise the status and popularity of the brand.

The same goes for the Fiyta company. They don’t sell their watches outside of China as far as I know, but I was lucky enough to be able to pick one up during one of my lay-overs in Shanghai. It was for sale in high street watch dealer that sold several of the big Swiss brands, and the Fiyta was definitely one of the cheaper watches at 700RMB which at that time equaled about US$200.

Fiyta Chronograph [PilotsWatch]

Just got an email from the fine folks at Breitling announcing two intriguing new models.

The Flying B model is the latest offering in Breitling’s successful timepieces tied with Bentley fine automobiles. The name is an allusion to Bentley’s winged B logo and the watch features a jumping mechanism in which the hour hand is replaced with a disc at 12 o’clock. The watch is powered by a selfwinding Breitling Caliber 28B, officially chronometer certified by the COSC.

While the Flying B aspires to a certain stately mechanical elegance, the Airwolf goes in the opposite direction. In addition to Breitling’s fine mechanical pieces, they also produce serious pieces of electronic time keeping and the Airwolf provides all the features serious pilots need: alarm, 1/100th of a second chronograph with split and add times, countdown, dual timezone with independent alarm, UTC and perpetual calendar. As a child of the eighties, I do have to groan a bit at the name of this model since it brings back bad flashbacks of Stringfellow Hawke and Dominic Santini. But at least with this name, maybe you’ll get that cool howling sound (featured every time the television helicopter roared through the clouds) when you move your arm.

Both watches seem like worthy additions to the Breitling line. Obviously, they’re very different models for very different purposes. So pick up both of them today. The Flying B is perfect for a soothing cruise to your country manor and the Airwolf is the tool you need when screaming across the horizon in your F-16… activities that are an integral part of every WWR day.