Bell & Ross was founded in 1993 by Carlos Bosillo and Bruno Belamich. The partners wanted to base their company off of a unique idea: “function shapes form.” The watchmakers worked in partnership with Sinn, a highly-qualified manufacturer of dashboard meters. The watch company launched a chronometer that was accepted by the United States Air Force and NATO. The French Bomb Disposal Squad also adopted the chronometer. The most notable designs from Bell & Ross are the Space 1 and the Hydromax.
In 1994, the watch company released a timepiece that was designed for space missions called the Space 1. This was the first automatic chronometer that was worn in space by German Reinhart Furrer during his Spacelab mission. The Space 2 followed the Space 1 and included a bi-directional steel bezel with a sapphire crystal. These watches became extremely popular among pilots and astronauts.
The watch company invented a Bell & Ross Bomb Disposal Type in 1996. This model was specifically designed for the French Security Services. The timepiece featured an anti-magnetic case and included the precision needed for bomb disposal operators.
The Hydromax is one of the watch manufacturer’s most well-known products, which was released in 1997. The Hydromax was designed for deep underwater activities, and it set the abyssal world record for water resistance up to 11,000 meters, and the watch was inducted in the Guinness Book of World Records for this accomplishment.
The company launched the Space 3 in 1998. The Space 3 was exclusively designed for astronauts. This watch featured a telescopic winding crown, which was known as the T-Crown system. The T-Crown system allowed the winding crown to be assimilated within the depth of the titanium or brushed steel casing.
In 2001 the watch company released the Function line of watches. This line of watches featured traditional style with contemporary analog and digital display. The digital display allowed users to see a second time zone, the date, chronograph, a timer, and an alarm.
In 2002, Bell & Ross partnered with Swiss watch manufacturer Vincent Calabrese to create the Vintage 123 Heure Sautante. The watch featured an automatic movement and was the first watch to include a jumping hour hand with a power reserve indicator.
Bell & Ross released the Mystery Diamond watch in 2003. This watch was exclusively designed for women and included a floating diamond that turned between the crystal and dial to display the time. The watch included a stainless steel watch casing with a sapphire glass face and back. The steel bezel featured 136 diamonds and was water-resistant up to 50 meters.
In 2005, Bell & Ross launched the BR 01 line of watches. These watches were designed to mimic the shape of a cockpit instrument from an aircraft. The Bell & Ross Aviation Br 01-94 Carbon Fiber Chronograph watch was a limited edition watch that featured a square carbon fiber case. The watch included a carbon fiber dial with Arabic numerals. The watch manufacturer also released a limited edition BR 01-92 Airborne II that included a black dial with a skull shaped casing. The BR 01-92 Airborne II also featured sword-shaped hands and was water-resistant up to 100 meters.