Being heavily biased towards chronograph watches, I am almost in love with the mirror-polished Bell & Ross Vintage Original BR 126 Officer Chronograph replica watch. Offered in a refined mid-sized body, the watch brings you relatively clean, easy to read dial and a slightly modified Swiss made automatic movement.
Just like the rest of the family, the BR 126 Officer Chronograph comes equipped with a standard-issue ETA 2894 chronograph movement. Based on the well-known ETA 2892 ebauche with an add-on chronograph module, the modified version of the caliber features a “historic” bi-compax dial layout.
The Swiss watch maker Bell & Ross has just updated its popular range of vintage-styled aviator watches with the new Officer series, which includes a BR 126 chronograph and a BR 123 three-hands model.
Why “historic”?
While overwhelming majority of contemporary bell & ross vintage original br 126 copy watches usually come with a tri-compax layout featuring three small totalizers for hours, minutes and small seconds while reserving the “big” central second hand to play the role of a chronograph second hand, most timekeepers from 1930’s-40’s were equipped with only two totalizers: one for seconds and one for minutes.
Although I would steel prefer to buy the Bell & Ross Vintage Original BR 126 Chronograph with its dull satin-brushed case and ivory-white dial, the Officer edition is still a good choice for those craving for a military-style timepiece that can still be worn with a black or a very dark gray business attire.
Thanks to this combination, the watch sports a well-balanced, clean look that greatly enhances its legibility and still doesn’t look too plain and simple.
The BR 126 series uses particularly this approach to time representation: there is a 60-second sub-dial at 3 o’clock and a 30-minute totalizer at 9 o’clock. And that is good.
My only major complaint here is the small date window, which is positioned between 4 and 5 o’clock indexes. With the round shape of the window it just begs to be moved 22 degrees clockwise to balance B&R’s encircled “&” logo. Perhaps, the designers were forced to leave the date window as it is in order to keep the cost of the watch as low as possible.
Photos: Bell & Ross
Bell & Ross Vintage Original BR 126 Black Officer Chronograph watch specification:
Price range: N/A, around €3000
Movement: Base ETA 2894 caliber, 37 jewels, automatic, 28,800 vph, 28 mm diameter, 6.1 mm height
Complications: Chronograph, small date
Power reserve: 47 hours
Case material: Stainless steel
Bezel material: Stainless steel
Bezel shape: Round
Case size: 41 mm
Case height: N/A
Dial: Black
Numerals: Arabic
Hands: Steel
Water resistance: 100 m
Strap: Black alligator with polished finish steel folding buckle
Crystal: Sapphire, AR-coated, domed
Case back: Transparent
Note: Besides the “black” model pictured on the photos above, there is also a version with a “silver” dial, but that one is not as visually impressive. However, it can appeal to persons who feel that the typeface used by Bell&Ross watch replica makes the Vintage series dangerously close to Panerai watches.