iW Magazine Fall 2019 | Page 76

PREMIER iW Interview: Carlos Rosillo, CEO and co-founder of Bell & Ross WHY CREATE THE ENTIRELY NEW COLLECTION BR 05? WHAT WAS YOUR GOAL? The goal was to develop an intermediate model between the square - our utilitarian icon - and the round – which is universal and generic. With this new line in mind, we did not want to create a city watch, but a Bell & Ross watch made for the city. The BR05 is the subtly square watch for the city. IN WHAT WAYS DOES THE BR 05 DESIGN FIT IN WITH THE BELL & ROSS APPROACH TO WATCHMAKING? The inspiration comes from our iconic model, the BR03, which takes its essence from aeronautical cockpits. As a complementary collection and thus still very Bell & Ross, we are keeping our core codes that are the iconic case with a circle in a square, the iconic graphics on the dial with its 12-6-9 figures and the four screws. It is what I consider an evolution of this icon. In the BR05 DNA, there is a piece of dashboard. WHO ARE YOU APPEALING TO WITH THE NEW DESIGN? It is a modern watch. So we can easily imagine a young urban man who works in a suit and rides a bike appreciating items with a singular design. It is the ideal timepiece for the man-about-town eager to face the challenges of modern life and in control of time and his destiny. 76 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | FALL 2019 WHAT WERE THE PRIMARY CHALLENGES YOU FOUND WHEN CREATING THE COLLECTION? The main challenge is to maintain the brand’s fundamentals while innovating constantly. We are evolving in a market where novelty is necessary. The difficulty lay in respecting the proportions and volumes: to design a 40mm case with a mechanical movement and open the dial to emphasize readability. WHY SUCH A DISTINCTIVE STRAP? The new BR05 is a perfect blend between our iconic square model and a type of watch in which the case merges with the bracelet to create a compact and harmonious whole. The arc of the curve allow the components to be perfectly aligned and ensures the bracelet can adapt seamlessly to any wrist. All of this makes the BR05 a jewel. WILL BR 05 REPLACE ANY EXISTING COLLECTION? No, it is indeed the missing link between our two existing collections and case shapes. The round shape is inspired by the history of aviation and the past, and the square for its radical form and for professional use. We wanted to create a watch with the iconic Bell & Ross case and to merge it with a steel bracelet. The idea was to move from the professional world of the extreme to the urban landscape, a transition from the off-road to the on-road.