Bell & Ross
Introducing Grail Watch 4: Bell & Ross × Alain Silberstein Black Ceramic Trilogy
Bell & Ross
Introducing Grail Watch 4: Bell & Ross × Alain Silberstein Black Ceramic Trilogy
On behalf of everyone involved in the creation of the watch, we want to say a massive thank you to the watch fam.
Not to be dissuaded, I replied that some of the greatest albums ever recorded are the result of musicians with very distinct and even contrasting styles. Indeed, it is the dynamic tension between them that results in something truly transcendent. I used Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane’s historic studio album from 1963 as my primary example (though Jay-Z and Linkin Park’s 2004 masterpiece Collision Course also comes to mind). The collaboration between Hartman, the king of ballads, and Coltrane, the maestro of cool jazz, resulted in one of the greatest works of American music. As Rosillo was a huge fan of this same album, he replied with a smile, “Now I understand. But we have to see if Alain and Bruno can get along artistically.”
A Perfect Lunch
Cut to a few months later at the stunning restaurant in Paris’ Saint James, a hotel and private club also known as Rosillo’s second living room, for the very first time, two of horology’s greatest designers met each other. It was extraordinary to see how quickly and immediately they became friends. Over the course of the meal, Rosillo and I quietly marveled as the pair began sketching the blueprint of the collaboration.
Says Silberstein, “It was Bruno’s idea to take the very essence of each of our design languages and pare it down to its barest elements. Because of this, we immediately decided to make the three watches in black ceramic because of the purity of the black case and dial, which would serve as a canvas for the primary colors of my hands. For me, this was perfect because I had always made black watches in the past but never in ceramic, which is the only truly scratch-resistant material. I was delighted that I would finally have my ceramic watch.”
Says Silberstein, “The BR 01 was an act of design brilliance. The idea of taking inspiration from an aviation instrument panel and transporting this iconography to a wristwatch resulted in one of the most important watches of the era. Indeed, when I was designing the iKrono back in 2009, I was so captivated by the BR 01, I had to pay particular attention not to be too directly inspired by it.”
When the lunch was finished, all four of us looked at the numerous possible watches that had been designed and realized that something very special had been created. Says Silberstein, “At first it was daunting, because I kept asking myself how can I possibly improve on the genius of what Bruno had already achieved? But he was so encouraging that, at some point, designs came very naturally.”
Adds Rosillo, “It was really like watching two musicians improving on each other’s compositions!”
Today, that time has arrived. It fills me with happiness to guide you through the three timepieces that comprise this collaboration. All three watches use the BR 03 case, which at 42mm × 42mm is significantly smaller than the original BR 01’s 46mm × 46mm. This is in deference to the fact that collective tastes have shifted back to more classical dimensions. At 42mm × 42mm without lugs, the BR 03 is the perfect size for any wrist and effortless to wear. All three watches also use black ceramic for their cases and are fitted with black rubber straps.
Grail Watch 4: Bell & Ross × Alain Silberstein BR 03-92 Klub 22
The time-only model is the purest expression of the collaboration between Silberstein’s and Belamich’s design philosophies. On a pure matte black ceramic case and jet-black dial, we see the hands transform from functional objects into massive oversized geometric forms evoking a sense of playfulness, optimism and humor.
Grail Watch 4: Bell & Ross × Alain Silberstein BR 03-92 Marine 22
The diver model expresses Silberstein’s most daring new interpretation of his design language while still retaining its functional utility as a submersible timepiece. Says Silberstein, “I wanted the watch to feature the high visibility of the luminous hour and minute hands and bezel, so that it would function perfectly as a diving watch even if it happens to be an engagingly artistic timepiece.”
This timepiece therefore features the very first use of Silberstein’s “Maxi” hands, a blue circular hand with a massive luminous plot for the hours, and a huge red triangle inlaid with luminous material for the all-important minute hand that provides a reading for elapsed dive time. Silberstein and Belamich also worked extensively on a two-tone ceramic bezel with the last 20 minutes of the insert colored red and featuring a full set of 20-minute markers with luminous indexes. Says Silberstein, “Traditionally, decompression stops at different depths take five minutes, and so we wanted to optimize the bezel to provide an easy reading for this.”
Grail Watch 4: Bell & Ross × Alain Silberstein BR 03-94 Krono 22
The chronograph model is the watch for both visual maximalists and those who love the functional advantages of a timepiece capable of timing events. It has a total of five of Silberstein’s famous Bauhaus inspired hands, the same red circle for the hours and blue arrow for the minutes, but now the yellow S-shaped hand serves as the chronograph seconds indicator.
Powering the watch is an automatic chronograph movement with date, the caliber BR.CAL-301. It is priced at USD 6,700 and will be made in 100 examples.
I hope you will enjoy wearing these three watches as much as we loved creating them for you. On behalf of Silberstein, Rosillo and Belamich, I want to thank all of you for taking the time to read this article.
Tech Specs
Grail Watch 4: Bell & Ross × Alain Silberstein BR 03-92 Klub 22
Movement: Self-winding caliber BR.CAL-302; 42-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds and date
Case: 42mm × 42mm; black ceramic; water resistant to 100m
Dial: Matte black; Super-LumiNova filled indexes
Strap: Black rubber; additional black fabric
Price: USD 4,400
Availability: Numbered and limited edition of 200 pieces; watches 1 to 50 will be sold in a special box set comprising all three watches of the trilogy
Grail Watch 4: Bell & Ross × Alain Silberstein BR 03-92 Marine 22
Movement: Self-winding caliber BR.CAL-302; 42-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds and date
Case: 42mm × 42mm; black ceramic with two-tone dive bezel; water resistant to 300m
Dial: Matte black; Super-LumiNova filled indexes
Strap: Black rubber; additional black fabric
Price: USD 5,600
Availability: Numbered and limited edition of 100 pieces; watches 1 to 50 will be sold in a special box set comprising all three watches of the trilogy
Grail Watch 4: Bell & Ross × Alain Silberstein BR 03-94 Krono 22
Movement: Self-winding caliber BR.CAL-301; 42-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, chronograph and date
Case: 42mm × 42mm; black ceramic; water resistant to 100m
Dial: Matte black; Super-LumiNova filled indexes
Strap: Black rubber; additional black fabric
Price: USD 6,700
Availability: Numbered and limited edition of 100 pieces; watches 1 to 50 will be sold in a special box set comprising all three watches of the trilogy
For enquiries, please email [email protected].