Bell & Ross BR 05 Chrono Patrouille de France automatic blue dial steel bracelet 42 mm

The excellence of French pilots

Bell & Ross and the Patrouille de France renew their collaboration with the creation of an exceptional chronograph: the BR-05 Chrono Patrouille de France. This watch, the fourth in the partnership, pays tribute to the elegance and precision of the French Air Force and Space Force's acrobatic aerobatic formation.

As soon as the planes of the Patrouille de France appear in the sky, the public is fascinated. The elite unit of the French Air and Space Force, which recently celebrated its 70th anniversary, is one of the world's best-known aerobatic formations. It has built its reputation on the excellence of its team members, chosen from among the best fighter pilots. A symbol of performance and precision, the Patrouille de France is an ambassador for French wings, embodying the know-how of the French Air Force and Space Agency. The new BR-05 Chrono Patrouille de France pays tribute to this elite unit and celebrates the union of skills.

A partnership of heart and values for Bell & Ross

Intimately linked to the world of aviation, Bell & Ross has, since its origins, developed watches designed as the transposition to the wrist of the on-board instruments found in aircraft cockpits. This expertise is the legitimate basis for the partnership of heart and values forged in 2021 with the Patrouille de France. “The Patrouille de France and Bell & Ross share a number of strong common values, notably rigour, surpassing oneself and a spirit of cohesion. This partnership signals the commitment of one of the world's most precise and aesthetic acrobatic formations, the Patrouille de France, to Bell & Ross, the benchmark watchmaker in the world of aviation. As a partner since 2021, this collaboration rewards the brand's legitimacy and expertise in the field of watchmaking,” emphasizes Carlos Rosillo, co-founder of Bell & Ross. Equipping the Patrouille de France is an honor for Bell & Ross.

An instrument designed with and for pilots

Bell & Ross, keen to meet the needs of professionals, has designed this new chronograph in close collaboration with the pilots of the Patrouille de France. The close ties and frequent meetings with these experts enabled the watchmaker to create a high-performance watch tailored to their specific requirements. “Pilots are always consulted in the creation of watches, and the company's primary aim is to meet the needs of these men and provide them with a tool at the service of their mission,” recalls Bruno Belamich. The BR-05 Chrono Patrouille de France is not an operational timepiece. In military parlance, it's more of a “prestige” piece of equipment. This timepiece, issued in a limited edition of 500 pieces, is intended to pay tribute to the elegance of the pilots and the overall unity of the Patrouille de France.

A symbolic dial

From the light blue flight suits to the tricolored smoke that accompanies aerial evolutions, colors are an integral part of the Patrouille de France's prestige. Bell & Ross has appropriated the unit's color codes and transposed them to its new BR-05 Chrono to celebrate the squadron's elegance. The galvanic sunray dial is adorned with the sky-blue hue of the pilots' flight suits, while the flange and center of the counters opt for a darker blue. More legible, this blue is also the color of aircraft fuselages. The silhouette of the Alphajet, the emblematic machine of this formation, appears as a counterweight at the end of the chronograph seconds hand. Refined and varied finishes, alternating satin-finished, polished, matt, shiny or sunrayed surfaces, highlight the volumes of the architecture. Metallic numerals, indexes and hands are photoluminescent for perfect legibility by day or night. In flight, every detail is important. The most significant is, of course, the unit badge. The BR-05 Chrono Patrouille de France proudly bears the squadron insignia, with the aircraft executing the delicate “Diamond” aerobatic figure. A logo also engraved on the back of the watch, on the sapphire crystal revealing the movement.

Engine side

The BR-05 Chrono Patrouille de France reveals a particularly luminous blue highlighting its assets with a counter at nine o'clock indicating the chronograph seconds and another at three o'clock displaying the minutes. The heart of this watch is the BR-CAL.326 calibre, a mechanical chronograph movement with automatic winding. This movement, with a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz), offers a power reserve of over 60 hours. It is equipped with an aperture date display with quick corrector for the date, positioned at 4:30, and incorporates a cam-operated chronograph system.