The BR 01 Compass watch is faithful to the Bell & Ross philosophy, taking its inspiration from aircraft cockpits where each instrument is a reference point in terms of readability, reliability and performance. following the BR 01 Radar, the watchmakers at Bell & Ross turned their attention to another cockpit instrument display, the navigation compass. Bell & Ross has borrowed this tool’s precise, instantaneous display mode and adapted it to a watch: the BR 01 Compass.

the appeal of the BR 01 Compass is its method of reading the time inspired by the compass. similar to how the original navigation instrument is read, the time on the BR01 Compass is displayed by a fixed mark under which the hours and minute numbers file past. this unique way of telling time is amazingly simple and fun to use.

The dial is comprised of two independent concentric discs with 12 hour and 60 minutes graduations, respectively.
A vertical white line under the crystal is used to tell the time by reading the large hour numeral and the small minute number from the top down.
The bezel outlines two windows divided by a bar symbolizing the horizontal plane.

• the upper window is devoted entirely to telling the time.
  
• the lower tinted window reveals the full rotation of the discs.

design and producing the BR 01 Compass was a true technical challenge requiring a concerted effort by the company’s finest watchmaking engineers.

• to counterbalance the weight differential generated by using discs instead of hands, Bell & Ross has created ultra-light discs that do not impinge on either the power reserve or the accuracy of the watch. Both discs are distortion-proof to avoid even the smallest risk of friction. specific materials and new techniques had to be developed to meet these dual challenges.
  
• An adjustment to the nearest micron ensures constant disc parallelism during rotation. Ensuring the accuracy of the watch required all the expertise of master watchmakers.

By offering a totally new display, the new BR 01 Compass is taking the bold gamble of going against the flow of traditional time telling. Unlike a fixed graduation with hands turning above it, the graduations turn underneath a fixed mark. With this ground-breaking model, Bell & Ross is putting its name on a true original.