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First live pics and initial thoughts - the new Bell & Ross BR 03-92 reps

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scottie83

Active Member
21/10/11
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First live pics and initial thoughts - the new Bell & Ross BR 03-92 reps

Initial thoughts: an excellent first run and accurate enough for all but the most discerning B&R aficionados. Hopefully V2 will get us all the way there.

Pros
  • Built quality is great
  • Thickness is correct, unlike the old version which was based off the 03-94 chrono case
  • PVD finish is spot on
  • Color of the military dial seems correct (although I've never seen it in person)
  • Rubber strap is very close to gen, the (&) logo is slightly funky
  • Engraving text and serial numbers are spot on. The engraving depth might be a tiny bit less than gen.

Tells

  • As we've all discussed the top case is copied from the ceramic, so the bezel is pretty noticeably too big
  • As a result of the incorrect bezel, the dial is made smaller causing the hands copied from the gen PVD version too long as they
  • Watch supposedly has double AR, and it is slightly blue at certain angles. Gen is single inside colorless AR
  • On the "Carbon Orange" the dial has a matte finish, which is the way the ceramic dials are being produced, the gen PVD watches have a different finish that is a bit deeper black and less reflective of light. It's less noticeable on the green dial of the military type
  • Lume is OK on the dial and very bad on the hands.
  • Lume is green on the dial and hands, which is incorrect for all square B&Rs (except the phantom and commando which should be a deep, dark green. All others should be teal blue on the dial and hands.
  • Dial numerals have less of a painted feel than the gen does, I think there's just less lume applied so it doesn't have the 3D effect that the gen does (nitpicking on this one)
  • The shape of the buckle is slightly off, which is strange because I believe it was spot on last time. PVD seems a bit shiny on the buckle.
  • Date seem to be slightly off from the bottom of the numbers being flat. Slightly skewed to the right on both watches.

9AF5115C-8C1C-4AAE-8FFE-CCE63D86B4EC_zpstbtyiwvc.jpg


Pics of the rep and my gen to show the blue AR around the crystal of the rep and the noticeably larger bezel:


Crown is decent but just seems a bit off


Engraving is spot on
E4DBF2A8-F77F-4491-865F-7B5DB2F5E53F_zpsmxk9zvc0.jpg


Funky shaped (&) on the back of the rubber strap
2778CAE7-4B6D-4C30-81BC-B540C33E1A71_zpsxh4tv9x5.jpg


Update with a lume pic (iPhone exposure makes it look much better than it really is). As you can see, the minute hand lume has much less glow.

6E68CE83-7606-49ED-8875-C3DA2D1CDCCA_zps5jlk8wkl.jpg
 
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scottie83

Active Member
21/10/11
475
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Another update, GEN strap tools work but them screws themselves have a bit smaller diameter. The were a nightmare to get out (at one point I thought they might have been faux tubes with springbars). I felt like I was going to strip the screw, and even when I got one screw out, I needed to leave the tool and and bang it against the table to get it out.
 
optical

optical

Renowned Member
31/1/10
848
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great write up mate thanks, really appreciate it!
Is the crown screwdown on the reps or just push in?
 
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If you see Kay

Put Some Respect On My Name
26/1/09
3,128
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First live pics and initial thoughts - the new Bell & Ross BR 03-92 reps

Lug profile still appears to be off. Case also appears to be a tad thick, contributing to the wrong shaped lugs.
 
W

walkingcloud

Renowned Member
10/7/12
989
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Would you recommend the black/white? I've been contemplating purchasing this. Thanks!
 
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renoz

Active Member
25/5/12
462
1
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Nice review and pics.
ii think the flaws won't stop the BR frustraded we were to buy it.
better with flaws (not even big ones) than nothing.
can you confirm lug size? Still 22? To order velcros meanwhile the post man arrives...
 
M

mini-mad

You're Saying I Can Sell?
7/5/12
81
16
8
France
Thanks for the great review and pics guys!

Could you take the watch's measurements to see how close to gen it is?
 
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jamztio

I'm Pretty Popular
10/1/12
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First live pics and initial thoughts - the new Bell & Ross BR 03-92 reps

Nice Scottie. Is your 03-92 Heritage sold yet? Haha.
Anyway, I'm really interested in the Military version but it seems the dial has a bit grainy look to it while I believe the gen is smooth. Can you confirm if the dial is a bit grainy?


*Sent from my fingers using my head*
 
barth

barth

Put Some Respect On My Name
5/10/12
3,482
106
63
Nice stuff guys !

Love'em on the canvas strap, Scottie.
 
S

scottie83

Active Member
21/10/11
475
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First live pics and initial thoughts - the new Bell & Ross BR 03-92 reps

Yeah, my gen heritage sold.

I wouldn't say the military dial is grainy, but it's he same matte material of from the black version. It's the same thing I mentioned about these versions having the dial finish from the ceramic which is more matte than the old PVD ones were. To me, it's less noticeable on the military.

The lugs are 24mm like gen. (Doesn't come with tools so you'll need to get them off eBay/Amazon)

Gotta say I'm a bit disappointed they didn't bother to even put a branded rotor on. The same Miyota in the new BR123 is pretty nicely decorated and costs the same. While this has a closed case back, it's still a nice feature to have.
 
J

jamztio

I'm Pretty Popular
10/1/12
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Thanks Scottie. Might get the Military now and also waiting for the ZF Golden Heritage.


*Sent from my fingers using my head*
 
optical

optical

Renowned Member
31/1/10
848
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i wonder if they are not putting o-rings in, or if your one happened to miss one due to por QC... is there o-rings in the crown and stem?
 
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SWISSTIME

Horology Curious
27/9/15
19
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As you may have seen on my recent thread I am looking for a BR-01 version in BLACK of this type of quality. Just a couple of questions from someone new to the site...............(1) What sort of price range will these sell for ?..................(2) Will they be only available from one or two vendors or will they be widely available from suppliers in time ? Any information appreciated.
 
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GrapeJam

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8/12/14
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Looks fantastic on the canvas strap! Wow!

The bezel bothers me though, so I'll sit out until round 2 or 3 [emoji16][emoji16][emoji16]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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renoz

Active Member
25/5/12
462
1
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SWISSTIME said:
As you may have seen on my recent thread I am looking for a BR-01 version in BLACK of this type of quality. Just a couple of questions from someone new to the site...............(1) What sort of price range will these sell for ?..................(2) Will they be only available from one or two vendors or will they be widely available from suppliers in time ? Any information appreciated.
Click to expand...

No BR01 atm
1- check TD site or send mail. Around the $280 more or less depending from TD
2- even if picture not TD website all can get the same normally


GrapeJam said:
The bezel bothers me though, so I'll sit out until round 2 or 3 [emoji16][emoji16][emoji16]
Click to expand...

They just started again, i think they are not going to buy a new mold any soon...
and once you will want to buy it, it will be out of production... ;-)
 
G

GrapeJam

I'm Pretty Popular
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renoz said:
They just started again, I think they are not going to buy a new mold any soon...
and once you will want to buy it, it will be out of production... ;-)
Click to expand...

I hope not! i'm counting on BR gaining a bigger following here and then buying in at the end :sFun_mischieviousbi
 
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