WristWatch Magazine #18 | Page 55

Bell & Ross took the extraordinary step of imaging its own concept sports car, from which it draws inspiration for its own line of driving-friendly watches. B runo Belamich—the “Bell” in Bell & Ross—is one of the most creative personalities in the watch industry, a designer whose interests run far beyond the wristwatch. From time to time, Belamich engages in a project outside the world of high-end horological design. When he does this, he’s looking to see what discoveries he might make to further his efforts at Bell & Ross. The latest of these is AeroGT, an automotive-design concept that will never see the road or the track. It exists solely as a proposition of what a Bell & Ross automobile would look like were the company to pivot unexpectedly and produce a sports car. A super car inspired by aviation, the AeroGT is a perfect expression of Bell & Ross’s deep aeronautical roots. Unsurprisingly, the car has the streamlined bodywork of a fighter jet. “Every year, in order to create new models, I need new sources of inspiration,” Belamich says. “Following the success of our B-Rocket motorbike in 2014, I wanted to go even further and design a Bell & Ross car. The aim was to produce a car that can ‘hold its own’, even amongst automotive professionals. The AeroGT Concept Car was the starting point for the creation of a new pair of watches inspired by the automotive world—the BR 03 AeroGT models. The openworked, auto-inspired BR 03 AeroGT. 2016 | WRISTWATCH 55