FREQUENT FLYER

Bell & Ross is celebrating 20 years of its iconic circle within a square, a design born from the BR-01, this year. We sat down with co-founder Carlos Rosillo to reminisce.

- DANIEL GOH

This year represents an important anniversary year for quite a few brands. However, where most are celebrating a milestone year since the founding, Bell & Ross, on the other hand, are celebrating a milestone year for the creation of a new collection. This year marks the 20th anniversary since the very first BR-01, but they might as well be celebrating the 20th birthday of Bell & Ross because it was the BR-01 that arguably set the DNA for the brand moving forward. This iconic circle within a square design, inspired by the cockpit gauges of an aircraft, is the legendary impetus that set Bell & Ross on the path to the success it enjoys today.

I remember when they celebrated their 10th anniversary of the BR-01 and they unveiled a couple of special editions for that collection, inspired no doubt by the original timepiece. This year, 10 years since that celebration, the iconic design remains, but there is no special BR-01 in sight. Instead, what is being celebrated are the watches that were inspired by the BR-01. The evolution of this genesis collection, so to speak. In Watches & Wonders Geneva earlier this year, we saw the BR-03, which is basically a smaller version of the BR-01 offer a new skeleton movement, custom made in collaboration with Sellita and then the BR-05, which takes the base design of the BR-01 and introduced more sophistication for the more urban watch enthusiasts, was also served in a smaller, thinner case.

To better understand where Bell & Ross stand today, and what their plans might be for the next decade, we managed to snag one of the co-founders of the brand, Carlos Rosillo, while in Geneva, to sit down and have a quick chat with us.