TimeOut

 

 

Bell&Ross BR-03 Diver Lum Outline (Ref: BR03A-D-OL-CE/SRB), as there’s always room for something with TRON-like lume. The ceramic case is so very comparable to the Tudor Black Bay. So are the prices of both. Tudor is METAS, with B&R meeting the current ISO 6425 standard. Very silky smooth winding of the new B&R and easy to set thanks to having what is essentially the latest iteration of Sellita’s highly-regarded SW300-1 Swiss mechanical movement with date function and 54 hours of power reserve. Some real-world observations: Under active backlight, the circa 2021 Panerai 1888 with the X1 lume very much shows that the just-released Bell&Ross with new X2 lume is very good, but in this color / type falls a bit behind the Panerai’s X1. On the other hand, the X2 lume looks much, much crisper, with sharper lines and more ‘brightness control’. 

Something no one said in their review (that I can recall) is that Bell&Ross’ BR-03 Diver Lum Outline uses normal springbars (fat body, long pin) and not the hex bolt bar setup as on the company’s very first 42mm BR03 ever made (versus 46mm of that time) with ETA movement, I purchased from my AD in December 2006 (BR 03-92 with s/n ~1000). The old 03-92 metal case is thinner and lighter than the new BR-03 Diver Lum Outline ceramic (~11mm steel versus ~13.5mm ceramic). Sorry, I'm too lazy right now to weigh them both, though I’d guess 30% heavier for the larger ceramic Diver Lum Outline . 

Love the new BR-03, and the price is virtually the exact same as the Tudor. Both are ceramic, yet the B&R also has date function. B&R outlines versus Tudor filled in lume, square case versus round. B&R ISO 6425 versus Tudor METAS. Sadly, neither has a matching ceramic bracelet option. Tudor’s 200m versus Panerai 1888 300m and B&R 300m. Love the feel of the rubber bit on the B&R’s crown, feels quite nice. Panerai TRON (1118) lume blast versus Bell&Ross TRON Outline. 

Perhaps it’s the reason we have two wrists. 

 As always, in he end what really matters is that you… 

Enjoy your time. 

 

PS: The older B&R mesh strap only had one side with Velcro, the new one has both sides with adjustable Velcro. 

GO!

After 5 minutes above.


And after ~20 minutes below. 

Under active blacklight below

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