Swiss watchmaker Bell & Ross looked to the cockpit of an airplane when digging for inspiration for their latest creation. The result is the BR 01 Compass, a timepiece which shows time similar to how the navigation instrument is shows direction. The time on the BR 01 Compass is displayed by a fixed mark under which the hours and minute numbers file past. The lower tinted window reveals the full rotation of the discs. This watch is special, as it offers a totally new display and goes against the flow of traditional time telling.

The BR 01 Compass will be limited to only 500 pieces, so don’t expect it to be available for much longer.

More images after the jump.

Bell & Ross pay homage to the aviators of the 1940’s with the release of their Vintage Original and Vintage Heritage lines. With the choice of two Swiss movements — automatic hours, minutes and seconds version (BR 123) and a chronograph version (BR 126) — how can you go wrong? The Vintage Original line pulls from watches worn by aviators in the 1940’s and is available in a black or beige dial variety.

The Vintage Heritage line will surely be the one turning our heads as the natural leather strap works well with the matte-black case. The beige-colored hands prove Bell & Ross’s ability to deliver with such great attention to detail.

More images after the jump.

Watchmaker Bell & Ross has taken its entire collection online for the European market (for now). Selectism explains that, “Rather than offering a small selection online, they have dropped more than 300 models for purchase. CEO Carlos A. Rosillo described the Bell & Ross online boutique as an “important strategic step as part of the brand’s ongoing goal of offering the best service to its clients.”

Look for us to be able to get our hands on the good sometime in 2010.

From Bell & Ross‘s Ceramic Collection comes the limited edition Phantom Black watch. Smaller, sleeker, smarter, the BR-S Ceramic watch is an “elegant interpretation of the professional BR 01 instrument. We’ll leave the numerical specs out, and talk aesthetics. It’s got precision movement, which is equates to amazing accuracy. The all black, luminescent dial is really a standout, and for this reason, it’s only going to be available in limited quantities in this “Phantom” series.

Bell & Ross has launched an iPhone App that allows you to download different BR01 watches to be used as wallpapers or as a watch skin that shows in the B&R application. It also helps you to locate the nearest retailer. 

This is just the beginning for the application as in the future, it will offer different watch designs and enhanced features. 

Download the B&R app here.

The fine folks at NOTCOT got a hands-on look at Bell & Ross’s BR 01-92 Carbon, a watch that takes carbon fiber and compresses it into a block and then molds it into a beautiful timepiece. The 01-92 Carbon embodies everything you’d expect from the Swiss watchmaker so start saving or if you don’t need to, then we suggest you reserve one as soon as humanly possible. 

It was recently announced at Basel, but it’s yet to hit the site as it’s not set to release until November of this year. 

More images after the jump.  

Men.Style has turned us on to Bell & Ross’s latest creation. A few months ago, Bell & Ross created the Instrument BR 03 Type Aviation watch, specially made for the French Air Force. Now, the watchmakers gone retro with their new Instrument BR Heritage, which takes its stylistic cues from forties-era military cockpits and instrument panels and features a blasted-steel case finished with a carbon-powder coating. 

Detailed image after the jump.