Most square watches are just round movements shoved into rectangular cases. It’s watchmaking’s worst-kept secret, the horological equivalent of putting a round peg in a square hole and hoping nobody looks too closely. Bell & Ross has been guilty of it themselves, plenty of times. But the BR-X3 Micro-Rotor is something genuinely different.
The case middle is the movement. Not “houses” the movement, not “contains” the movement. The steel plate that forms the square case also serves as the structural base for the calibre’s bridges. Case and movement are one unified piece. It’s a three-part construction: that central steel plate, a sapphire crystal on top, and a sapphire crystal on the bottom. That’s it. You can see straight through the thing from both sides.
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Mondrian on your wrist (and they’re not shy about saying it)
Bruno Belamich, Bell & Ross’ Creative Director, has namechecked Piet Mondrian and Charlotte Perriand as direct inspirations here, which is a bold pair of references to throw around. But he’s not entirely wrong. The semi-skeletonised movement uses vertical and horizontal bridges that intersect in a deliberate grid pattern. It reads less like a traditional skeleton watch and more like a piece of architectural draftsmanship.
The finishing backs it up. Bridges are brushed, mainplates microblasted, bevels hand-polished. Everything plays with light differently, but the palette stays monochrome: steel and grey throughout. There’s a restraint to it that you don’t always get from brands reaching for the “art watch” label.
Where last year’s tourbillon went, this one simplifies
This is the second piece in the BR-X3 line. Last year’s Tourbillon Micro-Rotor was the full Haute Horlogerie statement, with a visible tourbillon cage and off-centred time display. The 2026 Micro-Rotor strips that back. Central hands, a traditional balance wheel, no tourbillon. Bell & Ross’ argument is that Haute Horlogerie doesn’t need complication to qualify, and they’re making a reasonable case.
The micro-rotor is the key technical choice. Instead of a full-size oscillating weight sitting on top of the movement (blocking your view of half the mechanics), the rotor is integrated within the calibre’s own thickness. It still winds the movement automatically, but the whole package stays at 9mm thick and leaves the architecture completely visible from above. The in-house BR-CAL.390 runs at 29 jewels with a 48-hour power reserve.
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Two hands, no seconds, and that’s the point
Time display is hours and minutes only, via two photoluminescent hands with Super-LumiNova X1 BGW9 lume. No seconds hand. Bell & Ross wants you to read the passage of time through the visible oscillation of the balance wheel instead. It’s a romantic idea, and completely impractical for actually knowing what second it is. But practicality isn’t really the brief here.
The 40mm BR-03 case with its four signature corner screws keeps the proportions familiar, but the sapphire and skeleton construction puts it firmly in the “statement piece” category. The grey calfskin strap with faux alligator texture is a sensible pairing that doesn’t try to compete with the dial for attention. Water resistance is 50 metres, which means it’ll survive a splash but you’re not taking this anywhere near actual water if you’ve got any sense.
DMARGE’s Two Seconds
Bell & Ross has been slowly climbing toward being taken seriously as a manufacture house, and the BR-X3 line is where that ambition lives. At 99 pieces, availability will be essentially non-existent, but the real significance is what it says about where the brand is heading. They’ve built a square watch that actually needs to be square. That’s harder than it sounds, and more interesting than most of what we’ll see come out of Watches and Wonders this month.
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Specifications
| Reference | BRX3M-MR-ST/SCA |
| Movement | Calibre BR-CAL.390, proprietary automatic with micro-rotor |
| Jewels | 29 |
| Power Reserve | 48 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes |
| Case | 40mm wide, 9mm thick, satin-finished and polished steel |
| Dial | Skeletonised, rhodium-plated, microblasted and polished |
| Hands | Rhodium-plated, Super-LumiNova X1 BGW9 (blue glow) |
| Crystal | Anti-reflective sapphire (front and back) |
| Water Resistance | 50 metres |
| Strap | Grey calfskin with faux alligator texture |
| Buckle | Folding, satin-finished and polished steel |
| Limited Edition | 99 pieces |
| Price | $149,000 |
