BASELNEWS 2011A watch with a grand complication: Bell & Ross BR Minuteur Tourbillon
Bell&Ross haute horlogerie watches are coveted by men for whom time is a true passion, not just a tool. Bell&Ross’ objective when designing the BR Minuteur Tourbillon was to offer these aficionados an exceptional, ultra-sophisticated measuring instrument, a watch that in and of itself combines all the brand’s watchmaking know-how.
Like every Bell&Ross watch, the BR Minuteur Tourbillon is first and foremost a measuring tool, focusing on readability, functionality, accuracy and reliability. Stemming from a desire to combine a timing function with independent reading into a high-precision mechanism, it incorporates four watchmaking complications around a main timepiece:
• Tourbillon
• Timer with Flyback
• Power Reserve Indicator
• Independent Small Second
Opting for performance
Clearly visible in the 6 o’clock position on it the carriage of the main timepiece, the tourbillon is the quintessence of precision. The role of this most august of watchmaking complications is to accurately compensate for measuring differences caused by gravity when the watch is in the vertical position.
The simplicity of the time display controlled by the tourbillon cannot overshadow the sophistication of the mechanism that is only alluded to by the transparent display. The tourbillon of the BR Minuteur has utilized all the skills of both the brand’s in-house engineers and top Swiss master watchmakers to meet the challenge of these mechanical laws of physics.
Opting for functionality
The BR Minuteur Tourbillon provides various items of information with remarkable readability:
• The large Clock on the right of the dial, operated by the tourbillon, gives information about the time.
• The independent Timer, displayed by a second, dual graduation clock, is on the left of the dial. It measures all time intervals from a chosen moment. Its concentric double indices represent 60 minutes and tenths of hours markers. This segmentation is extremely advantageous for those professionals who calculate the length of their assignment in tenths of an hour mode.
The Timer is fitted with a Flyback function, a system for quickly resetting to zero with an instant relaunch, a very useful tool for measuring successive time intervals.
Two additional counters are located above and below the Timer:
• A power reserve indicator gives the remaining operating time on a three day scale. Independent small seconds.
Choosing materials
The BR Minuteur Tourbillon owes its sophistication to the quality of its movement, its accuracy and its performance, but its unique design is an equally attractive feature. Technology is brilliantly illustrated in its case through the carbon fiber of the dial and the aluminium of the movement bridges which provide extra strength. Its angle rib structure also helps in maintaining its integrity. The DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) titanium version of the Instrument is ultra-lightweight and very strong. Trimmed in pink gold, the BR Minuteur Tourbillon is synonymous with high technology and elegance.
To the delight of enthusiasts of rare, high-performing time instruments, Bell & Ross has achieved a lofty goal by taking a calculated
risk: to combine the precision of a major watchmaking complication with a professional instrument.
All informations about the watch fair: BASELWORLD