BR 03 PATROUILLE DE FRANCE QUARTZ

The reference brand in Aviation watches was chosen by the armée de l’Air et de l’Espace (French Air and Space Force) to become the official watchmaking partner of the patrouille de France. Patrouille de France is the French Air and Space Force’s official aerobatic display team, created in 1953. Its mission is to represent the French Air and Space force abroad, acting as an ambassador for French aviation and for France itself. Considered as one of the most precise and aesthetic acrobatic flying team in the world, the patrouille de France has flown around the world with grace and elegance for more than 67 years. Every year it continues to impress and move new generations of spectators.

The armed forces’ requirements and specific demands pushed manufacturers to go even further regarding reliability, readability and functionality. Each parameter —case diameter, special functions, waterresistance, day and night readability, legible indexes, oversized numerals, precision, autonomy, shock and temperature resistance, anti-magnetic cases, rotating bezels— becomes a key factor when a military institution chooses a watch. The life as a military or civilian pilot is punctuated by time. During aerial shows, the pilots travel at speeds of between 300 and 800 kilometers per hour and are spaced just two to three meters apart. At these speeds, the slightest error could be fatal. Every second is critical to the pilots. Time is a crucial factor in allowing maneuvers to be executed flawlessly in complete safety. Their watch is the essential tool for piloting and mastering this millimetric time. Bell & Ross worked closely with the pilots and designed a chronograph which is perfectly adapted to their operational needs, the BR 03-94 PATROUILLE DE FRANCE.

This limited-edition is made available to the public. The dial of the BR 03-94 PATROUILLE DE FRANCE proudly and elegantly bears the patrouille de France insignia. The circle represents the cohesion of the operational unit and its ability to tackle every aspect of a situation. The gold of the emblem’s background is a color widely used in military insignia. The nine jet silhouettes evoke nine Fouga Magister (former patrouille de France’s aircraft before the Alpha jet) and represent their signature aerial display formation also known as the “Concorde”. The tricolor banner which wraps the logo symbolizes the French colored smoke and acrobatic evolutions of the flying team, “ambassador” of the French Air and Space Force. More than just a logo, this emblem is highly symbolic and depicts the values embodied by the pilots that are accuracy, reliability, discipline, control along with solidarity and humility. In partnering the patrouille de France, Bell & Ross associates itself with these values, and join them as an ambassador for excellence in French aviation. The patrouille de France logo is printed at the bottom of the dial and also engraved on the case back.