Bell & Ross releases a one-off version of its BR 01 Cyber Skull Sapphire ONLY WATCH  in partnership with ONLY WATCH 2021, a biennial charity auction of luxury timepieces sold for the benefit of research on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Since 2009, Bell & Ross has released skull and crossbones themed watches, and for this Cyber Skull Sapphire Only Watch version, the Maison utilises a high-quality material made of corundum, an aside of alumina (AI203) that takes millions of years to form. The fully transparent case, is made completely of 3 blocks of sapphire, and another 6 blocks for the three-dimensional faceted skull dial, and its facets were created by using the same method jewellers use to cut precious stones: with the help of a machine that utilises diamond powder to grind its surface down. If you’re wondering how the orange colour was achieved, the back of the skull is metallised on its back to give it its orange effect. Oh, and if you’re wondering why orange, well that wasn’t something that was random either, because it pays tribute to its heritage, as the colour was favoured due to its contrast and high level of legibility on aeronautical instruments. At the same time, it is also the colour of  ONLY WATCH’s emblematic logo, making this the true mark of a Bell & Ross and ONLY WATCH collaboration in equal parts.

Turn the watch over, and you’d see a special engraving on the back, for ONLY WATCH, as well as the hand-wound BR-CAL.209 calibre: the beating heart of the watch right under the watch, thus making the skull appear as if it’s floating within the anti-reflective transparent sapphire case. And if you have a thing for dark humour, the built-in automaton movement activates the skull’s jaw when winding up the spring, bringing the skull to life, and you can watch it laughing at you.

Paired with a matching translucent rubber strap, this exclusive 45mm timepiece will be auctioned off at the ONLY WATCH charity auction hosted by Christie’s on November 6 2021.

Images courtesy of Bell & Ross