From the Vikings of the first millennium to the paratroopers of the Second World War, via the pirates of the 17th and 18th centuries, the skull has always been very present in war-related symbolism. Suffice it to say that at dawn on 6 June 1944, during the Normandy landings, the paratroopers of the American 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions emerged from the night wearing on their overalls an insignia showing a skull and these words: 'death from above'. The Skull watch series from Bell & Ross pays tribute to these emeritus soldiers of incredible courage. The BR 01 Cyber Skull, in particular, revisits the art of the skull watch: its design abandons the vintage register usually associated with the Skull (as in the models presented in the past by the House), to anchor itself in a more modernity. Usually skull watches, like the aforementioned Skull family from Bell & Ross, are quite traditional. The new BR 01 Cyber Skull, on the other hand, wants to mark a break in terms of style, opening a new page. Its highly avant-garde design propels this iconic series directly into the future. With its cut sides and sharp edges, this new Bell & Ross model features an angular silhouette reminiscent of certain fighter planes qualified as invisible: its case is in fact modelled like the fuselage of an F-117 Nighthawk fighter jet. Breaking with the vintage style in force until now, the BR 01 Cyber Skull also adopts an angular design reminiscent of Japanese origami, the ancestral art of folding paper. The lines of the sharp edges play with the light, just as the mirrored glass dial and ceramic skull reflect it. Enclosed between two layers of sapphire crystal, the skull with its screwed-in bones and animated jaw seem to float, a phenomenon amplified by the facetted, hornless case middle, also made of matt black ceramic (dimensions: 45 x 46.5 mm). Only by turning the watch is the "key to the mystery" revealed through the sapphire crystal back. In addition to displaying the hours and minutes, the movement animates the skull's jaw, which opens and appears to giggle when the spring is wound. Set into the imposing volume of the case, the rubber strap is stamped with the inscription 'BR'. The movement used is the BR-CAL.208 calibre, mechanical with manual winding. Limited edition of 500 pieces. Price: 9,900 euros.
