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A LIMITED-EDITION watch to commemorate a top French team’s participation in this year’s Formula One World Championship is set to be launched in May and was announced ahead of the season-opening F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix happening this weekend.
Every year, French luxury watch company Bell and Ross creates special edition timepieces for Alpine, one of the teams battling it out this weekend to win the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Last year, the company introduced the BR 03-92 A522, starting at approximately €4,000 (BD1,600), which integrated the Alpine colour scheme and driver requirements into a sophisticated and bold design, complete with glow-in-the-dark numerals to make it easier for drivers to read in daylight or dark conditions.
The Bahrain Jewellery Centre (BJC), which has been in partnership with Bell and Ross for more than two decades, has a number of select models in their collection.
Further details about the upcoming Bell and Ross F1 watch were not available at this time.
“F1 is all about time – the best way to assess the performance of race cars is through timing,” Bell and Ross general manager Fabien de Nonancourt told GulfWeekly, during a pre-season testing tour around the Alpine garage at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).
“This makes precise timing extremely important for the races. For example, if you want to change the tyres, you need to calculate exactly how much time you have, so you can exit in front
of the other cars.”
F1 Alpine team technical director Matt Harman, and almost all the engineers in the Alpine garages wear Bell and Ross watches while monitoring the race, replacing tyres in the pit stop or providing support services.
Alpine driver Esteban Ocon, who was in high spirits ahead of the race weekend, also relies on his Bell and Ross to keep him on time in the fast lane.
Beginning in 2016, Bell and Ross’s partnership with Alpine has seen a limited-edition model released for every F1 racing season, with only 999 units having been manufactured of last year’s edition.
Fabien himself entered the field of luxury watches because of his lifelong passion for F1 racing.
“I was passionate about luxury goods and especially about things with mechanisms behind them,” he added.
The Frenchman has worked in the watch industry his entire career, starting with a 13-year stint at Tag Heuer, followed by his 13 years at Bell and Ross.
While the watches with their trademark circle-in-square layout are designed in France, their parts are fabricated by several manufacturers and put together by hand in Switzerland.
“The BR 05 collection is a best-seller, both worldwide and in Bahrain, and is available in BJC multi-brand boutiques,” BJC marketing and operations manager Noushad Abdul Hameed explained.
“We are looking forward to increase brand visibility in the island and we plan to have more Bell and Ross watches in stores in Bahrain.”
BJC general manager Iqbal Dhanse added: “It was a great occasion for us to invite our clients and media to the paddock to experience the Alpine F1 team pre-season test 2023 under the banner of Bell and Ross.”
Fabien added that Bell and Ross had targeted other countries in the region but is going to focus more on Bahrain.
When asked whether the brand’s watches are a popular investment item, Fabien said customers buy timepieces because they love to wear them.
He added that fans often come together to share their love for Bell and Ross.
“There is a strong community of fans, and several fan associations in France, Malaysia and Japan,” he added.
To learn more, follow @bahrainjewellerycentre, @bellrosswatches and @alpinef1team on Instagram.
