Sometimes all it takes is a new color scheme to grab our attention. Be it a black and white panda dial or a yellow gold case, changing a watch’s color can give it an entirely new personality and wearability. So is the case for Bell & Ross’ new blue version of its flagship BR 03-93 GMT. For a timepiece with such close ties to aviation — whether you’re referring to this particular BR model or GMTs in general — the radiant blue dial looks like its meant for racing through terminals, lounging at airport bars waiting for your flights to be announced, and sitting in window seats as the watch’s two-tone blue-gray bezel harkens the skies on the other side of the stretched acrylic viewports.
For Bell & Ross, the travel watch has been part of its repertoire since the debut of the BR 03-51 GMT Titanium in 2007. The brand itself has been taking inspiration from flight instruments since 2005 when its BR models first showed us how cool a square case with a circular bezel/dial could be.
The BR 03-93 GMT was redesigned in 2021 for better clarity with the addition of a larger red GMT hand for instant deciphering of the second time zone and the SLN White 10 X1 lume for low light visibility. Likewise, the 24-hour bezel has a different color for daytime and nighttime hours. On top of the beautiful air travel aesthetic, the 42mm stainless steel case boasts 100m of water resistance and houses the BR-CAL.303 automatic movement with 42 hours of power reserve.
This isn’t the company’s first GMT in this colorway; the BR V2-93 GMT existed in blue as far back as 2020. However, the 03-93, with its own aviation instrument-inspired configuration, is much riper for this exact blue iteration. Adorned with a blue Nappa Soft calf leather strap featuring two-tone stitching, the BR 03-93 GMT Blue is available to pre-order from Bell & Ross for $4,200.
