Watch manufacturer Bell & Ross has designed collections of timepiece instruments that pay tribute to five key periods in aviation history and the technological breakthroughs that occurred from the 1900s to the present day.

Consistently upholding respect for: primarily, the military specifications from which Bell & Ross watches borrow their strict guidelines and high readability, functionality, precision and waterproof standards. Secondly, for the codes passed down from each period that are conscientiously updated to create modern timepieces that are modern, yet faithful to those that inspired them.

The VINTAGE collection’s new SPORT HERITAGE line of watches pays special homage to the 1960s, a period of intense creativity and numerous innovations. This period also saw the creation of Dassault’s famous Mystère- Falcon 20, the best business jet of its time.

TWO OUTSTANDING MANUFACTURERS JOIN FORCES

Dassault Aviation is another story about heritage. The excellence of the Falcon business jets is the result of the company’s groundbreaking technology in designing and manufacturing fighter jets. In the early 1960s, Dassault worked on the development of a small, twin-engine, 10-seat business jet, the Mystère 20. The jet made its maiden flight on the 4th of May 1963 and immediately became the commercial success known as the Falcon. This was the first chapter in an amazing saga that continues to this day, with the Falcon 7X generation business jets and the delivery of Dassault’s 2,250th Falcon. 

Bell & Ross, the benchmark in aeronautical watches, shares Dassault’s values of innovation, quality and reliability. It became only natural for both great companies to team up to celebrate the Falcon’s 50th anniversary and launch the Bell & Ross VINTAGE SPORT HERITAGE. To mark the celebrated jet’s 50th anniversary, Bell & Ross has created two limited edition timepieces: the VINTAGE FALCONS.

THE VINTAGE SPORT HERITAGE LINE

The VINTAGE line’s spirit recalls the 1960s era of civil aviation and the decade’s sports watches. Its HERITAGE style embodies the period in its details:

• Sand-colored hands and numerals reproduce the aged look of period watches

• The round, classically shaped, polished steel case features a bulging, anti-reflective sapphire crystal, adding modern technology to the crystal’s authentic shape

• A bezel marked with 60-minute graduations, and the contrast of time information on the dial, enhance readability. 

Bell & Ross has created two complementary models: an automatic BR 123 version, with hours, minutes, seconds and date; and a BR 126 chronograph version.

The FALCON watch pays homage to its namesake’s 50th anniversary, featuring all the hallmarks of the VINTAGE SPORT HERITAGE line and stands out due to:

• The brown dial and brown leather wristband, which enhance its authentic vintage spirit

• The Falcon’s outline, silk-screened on the dial at 6 o’clock

• The elegant «50 ans du Falcon» logo on the back, which appears in its metallic form on a sapphire glass background.

Both VINTAGE FALCON models (BR 123 and BR 126) come in Limited Editions of 500 each. They will be available only in exclusive Bell & Ross boutiques and e-shops.

THE BIRTH OF A NEW CLASSIC

With the launch of the VINTAGE SPORT HERITAGE line, Bell & Ross pays tribute to a period and to a legendary airplane, by designing watches with simple and pure lines, faithful to the codes of the VINTAGE collection.

Functional and timeless, these new models illustrate with elegance two of Bell & Ross’ favorite worlds: aeronautics and precision. 

Marcel Dassault liked to say that ‘a beautiful plane is a plane that flies well’. Likewise, Bell & Ross embraces the philosophy that the beauty of an object, no matter how sophisticated it is, can never match the logical culmination of its primary function.