Bronze as a material has a deep history of use within diving applications thanks to its resistance to saltwater corrosion, high strength, and durability. It’s commonly found in things like valves and fasteners, but it has appeared in higher profile items like helmets and of course, watches. That said, in the watch game it’s a far more modern advent, really only gaining popularity in the past 15 to 20 years, and that generally comes down to one quality that’s a little tougher to control for, and that is the patina process. The bronze alloy found in watches is generally composed of 92% copper and 8% tin, and it means that every case will age differently depending on the conditions it’s been exposed to. For many, this is the core appeal of a bronze watch. With the BR 03 Black Bronze Diver, Bell & Ross provides their own translation of the material in their classic square architecture.
This is not the first bronze watch from Bell & Ross, and it’s not even their first bronze diver, for that matter, but it is the first to pair it with an all black dial and bezel, a combo with a unique charm that has a bit of history. As finished here, the BR-03 Black Bronze gives a rich warmness that leans toward the appearance of gold, a quality that may only last a short span of its life, of course. Bell & Ross have a tendency to surprise with color combinations or even how they present time at all, and if you ask me, this is when the brand is at its best. A black and bronze colorway feels tame, almost benign in comparison. Yet, somehow it works pretty well in a square frame.
The BR-03 is a 42x42mm square, meaning it’s a bit large, but the effective lug to lug is quite short. This makes for a slightly odd experience on the wrist, but one that works reasonably well once you’ve acclimated. Still, this is a watch that makes a statement and a part of that is through its size and shape. This is a 300 meter diver, though thickness is kept relatively in check at 12.3mm thanks to the flat crystal and low profile bezel assembly. There’s not much shape to the underside, however, so it will wear as flat as it looks.
The dial is straightforward, with round hour indices that sit between the bath tub style indices at the cardinal positions set upon a black lacquer base. A discreet date aperture is placed at 4:30 with a disc that’s been color matched to the dial. The hour markers get gold surrounds in keeping with the warm theme set by the tone of the case. There is a peculiar hour hand at work here, shaped like a literal arrow with the triangle tip fully outlined. I’d be keen to see a design that treated the shape as a singular piece, but this helps the otherwise generic dial design stand out on its own.
Inside sits a Sellita SW300-1 base movement that Bell & Ross calls the BR-CAL.302-1. The whole thing is fit to a textured black rubber strap, but I suspect this is a watch that would work quite well on a third party leather strap. It does ship with a second black synthetic strap as well. The watch is priced at $5,500, which is slightly more than a 43mm Tudor Black Bay Bronze will run you with Tudor’s own chronometer grade movement inside. But if you prefer your divers in square form, Bell & Ross continues to have you covered. Bell & Ross