This Fan-Favorite Modern Pilot’s Watch Gets a Space Shuttle-Worthy Redesign

The newest entry in the Bell & Ross X series updates the ultra-versatile BR-03.

Close-up of a wristwatch with a blue dial and blue rubber strap. The watch features a square stainless steel case with visible screws at the corners, a crown on the right side, and a date display showing the 27th to 29th. The dial includes the text "AUTOMATIC CHRONOMETER 100M/325FT" and a prominent number 6. The strap has vertical cut-out details.

By Brad Lanphear

Published September 17, 2025

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Updated September 17, 2025

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Few modern watch brands have established a design language as concrete and unmistakable as Bell & Ross.

Even a watch as experimental and creative as the BR-03 Astro is immediately recognizable as the Parisian watchmaker.

Square stainless steel wristwatch with a blue dial and blue perforated rubber strap, featuring white hour markers and hands, placed alongside watchmaking tools including tweezers, a loupe, and a mechanical watch movement. — The BR-X3 applies an ultra-modern filter to the brand’s aeronautical instrument theme.

The foundation of Bell & Ross’s design ethos is its signature rounded-square case with four exposed screws and the influence of aeronautical instrument panels.

For the most part, that influence looks to airplanes from the late twentieth century, but the Experimental series of BR-X watches takes an ultra-modern approach to pilots’ tools.

The newest addition is the BR-X3, which applies the watchmaker’s keen eye for progressive engineering to the fan-favorite BR-03. Its standout feature is a three-tier stacked plate dial that creates a futuristic look pulled from a sci-fi space station.

Square-shaped Bell & Ross wristwatch with a black dial, white numerals, and markers. It features a black rubber strap with ventilation holes and a silver buckle. The watch face includes a date display on the right and a power reserve indicator on the left, with the text "Automatic Chronometer 100M/328FT" at the bottom center. The case has four visible screws at the corners. — The BR-X3 comes in steel with blue detailing on a three-tier stacked plate dial.

The BR-X3 launches with two references: a brushed stainless steel case with blue detailing on the dial and bezel, and a bead-blasted titanium case with matte black detailing on the dial and bezel.

Stacking plates

The BR-X series debuted in 2014 with the skeletonized BR-X1 chronograph, followed by the skeletonized BR-X2 with a tourbillon and micro-rotor in 2018.

In 2022, Bell & Ross took a completely different approach with the BR-X5, which featured a sleek, ultra-modern dial with a power reserve indicator and date window.

Square stainless steel wristwatch with a blue dial and blue rubber strap, worn on a wrist with a white long-sleeve shirt. The watch face features large numerals at 9 and 12, multiple subdials, and a detailed minute track around the edge. — The BR-X3 has the same square 41mm case as the BR-03.

The BR-X5 elaborates on its predecessor’s dial layout by redesigning the power reserve indicator to be symmetrical to the elongated date window and changing the sub-dial from round to vertical.

It also adds depth with a three-piece stacked dial. The base is coated in either sunray blue or matte black varnish, topped with a framing structure in a rhodium-plated or bead-blasted finish.

The complex dial structure is capped by an oversized chapter ring with a 60-minute track and cutouts to accommodate the large applied hour markers, which are rhodium-plated on the steel reference. The ring is coated with more radiant blue or matte black varnish.

The steel reference has a sunray blue varnish dial plate with rhodium-plated detailing.

Bell & Ross

The indices, 12 and 6 hour markers, hour hand, minute hand and power reserve hand are inlaid with green-glowing Super-LumiNova X1.

Brilliant blue and dark titanium

Bell & Ross introduces the BR-X3 with two references that create vastly different impressions. There is a brushed steel case that demands attention with a blue-coated aluminum bezel ring and radiant blue varnish topped with rhodium-plated details on the dial.

Square-shaped wristwatch with a black dial and white numerals, featuring a black rubber strap and a matte gray case secured by four screws at the corners. The watch is worn on a wrist with a medium to dark skin tone, against a black background and black clothing. — The black reference is much lighter, thanks to a titanium case.

Conversely, there is a stealthy titanium case with a charcoal-gray bead-blasted finish accented by a matte-black DLC coating on the bezel ring and crown guard. The dial has a matte black base and chapter ring, separated by a bead-blasted frame.

Both references come on Bell & Ross’s perforated tapered rubber strap with a pin buckle that matches the case. The strap befits the ultra-modern tool watch aesthetic and the watch is 100m water resistant.

The BR-X3 is powered by the same COSC-certified in-house BR-CAL.323 automatic movement as the BR-X5. It has a 70-hour power reserve and is visible through the exhibition caseback.

Square stainless steel watch back with visible automatic movement through a circular transparent window. The watch back is secured with four screws at the corners. Text around the window reads "CHRONOMETER - CALIBRE MANUFACTURE - SWISS MADE - AUTOMATIC - STAINLESS STEEL - 100M/325FT." The watch model number "BR-X3 3500008" is displayed on a small black plate at the bottom. The watch strap is blue with elongated ventilation holes. — The COCS-certified BR-CAL.323 movement is visible through an exhibition caseback.

Bell & Ross has secured a reputation as one of the most respected luxury tool watch brands through its mid-century design language and artistic expression. The BR-X5 proves that the French watchmaker also has a talent for modern tool watch design.

Availability and price

The Bell & Ross BR-X3 is available now from Bell & Ross for $7,200 with a steel case and $8,300 with a titanium case.

Bell & Ross continuously expanded the BR-X5 line as recently as earlier this year, so this is likely just the beginning for the BR-X3 line.

Bell & Ross

Bell & Ross BR-X3

Specs

Case Size	41mm
Movement	Bell & Ross BR-CAL.323
Water Resistance	100m

$7,200 at Bell & Ross

About the Author: Brad Lanphear is an associate editor at Gear Patrol covering watches and style. Before joining the publication, he previously wrote for Heddels and Men’s Health. Now, he’s on a never-ending quest to find the perfect pair of Japanese denim.