Offered in a limited edition of 999 pieces is the new BRV2-94 Bellytanker Bronze from Bell & Ross. It is an automatic chronograph in a 41mm bronze case with a screw-locked crown and pushers. The name Bellytanker derives from that of an aerodynamic racing car built in the 1940s on the basis of the emergency tank of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter. The latter was 'sewn' onto the chassis of a Ford Model T and fitted with a V8 engine. The car was equipped with a 23-litre fuel tank and a 3-speed gearbox. The BRV2-94 from Bell & Ross has a black dial with applied geometric and Arabic numeral hour markers, luminescent skeleton hands and two additional contrasting gold-plated counters for the chrono minutes (at 9 o'clock) and small seconds (at 3 o'clock). The sapphire crystal protecting the dial is heavily domed and anti-reflective. Finally, the bronze bezel has an aluminium ring with an engraved tachymeter scale. Animating it is the calibre BR-CAL.301, a mechanical self-winding movement (based on ETA 2824). A small curiosity: the counterweight of the chronograph seconds hand recalls the profile of the delta wings of the Dassault Mirage fighter plane, produced by the French company Dassault Aviation. The watch is water-resistant to a pressure of 10 atmospheres.
Data sheet
Casediameter 41 mm. CuAI7Si2 bronze. Bronze bezel CuAI7Si2 graduated with anodised aluminium insert and tachometer. Screw-down crown and push-pieces. Sapphire back.
DialBlack. Applied metal numerals and hour markers. Hands skeleton metal hours and minutes filled with Superluminova.
MovementCalibre BR-CAL.301. Automatic mechanical.
GlassUltra-bombed sapphire with anti-reflective coating.
FunctionsHours, minutes, small seconds at 3 o'clock. Date display. Chronograph. 30-minute counter at 9 o'clock, chronograph seconds at centre.
Waterproof10 atmospheres (approx. 100 metres).
Strap: black in calfskin.
Buckledéployante. Polished-satin bronze CuAl7Si2.
