Bell & Ross BR 01 Cyber Skull Bronze

About two years ago I did a quick review on the black ceramic BR01 Cyber Skull. An impressive timepiece which carries an in-house movement that was specially made for this timepiece. For 2023, Bell & Ross release another limited edition Cyber Skull, but this time, crafted in Bronze. In addition to the material, Bell & Ross did some updates which includes the Skull design and the use of a new caliber which now has openworked wheels for the barrel and openwork bridges on the back.

Just like the original, this new BR01 Cyber Skull Bronze is limited to only 500 pieces worldwide.

The overall design of the case remains the same as the previous Cyber Skull, which features a futuristic design with geometric lines and sharp edges that were inspired by the F 117 stealth aircraft.

The case measures 45 mm in width and 13.7 mm in thickness. The bronze case has a combination of satin and polished finish but since this is Bronze, with time it will eventually form a patina coating around the case. So each piece of this series will be unique in their own right.

An important thing to point out is that the caseback swell as the pin buckle, have been crafted with a different bronze. These pieces use aluminum bronze which is better tolerated by the skin.

Although is a big timepiece, the large rubber strap does a very good job to keep this timepiece in place. And thanks to the flexibility of this black strap, the timepiece feels very comfortable on the wrist.

Under the sapphire crystal, is the modern faceted skull now plated in rose gold. Unlike the Cyber Skull of 2020, this one has an openwork design for the balance wheel and the left eye is open, exposing some of the wheels of the in house movement. But one thing that remains the same as previous Cyber Skull, is the lower jaw that moves up and down when you manually wind the movement.

Under the hood, this unique pice is using Bell and Ross caliber 210. This manual movement works at 4 hertz and when fully wound, it can keep ticking for up to 50 hours. The cool thing about this movement, is that the wheels and other components have been setup to follow the shape of the skull.

The timepiece has a water resistance is rating oft 50 meters, so the timepiece could get wet but it’s not recommended for swimming.