# My BELL & Ross br01-94 phantom



## Spoon (Nov 20, 2007)

It took me awhile to get descent pics of the watch becasue it is just soo difficult to take pics of the phantom. guess it is the combination of dark lume and black case and the lack of descent photographic equipment. Most of the pics ive seen on the net do not quite capture the dynamic spirit of the phantom and actually portray them as black hunks of carbon, no wonder many people are surprised when seeing one for the first time. The first time i saw a good one was the picture of DNE who captured the elusive phantom under good light. had to use a fast lens and slow shutter speed. hope you enjoy the pics as much as i did taking them.

ive had this watch for almost a week and all i can say is that it is a real controversial piece. you either love the watch or you hate it. there is no middle ground. i for one love the watch and a lot of my peers feel the same way. at first they only have seen the phantom on photos and on the net and dismissed the watch altogether but seeing it in the flesh is quite a different thing.

it has a different vibe and its not for everyone. imho the watch has great contrast when there is a lot of light and as the light fades so does the contrast. The lume is a very subtle dark grey and this is very prominent under the sun. the lume takes a long takes little time to charge and glows a bright dark iridescent green that quickly loses its charge. at night time it is quite difficult to read without some source of light closeby. under the dark it takes a fraction of a longer to read but readable nonetheless. this could possibly be the biggest turn off to others but i knew well firsthand what i was purchasing.

The lume application on the dial is quite dfferent from the other models as their are actually some gradient distortions on the surface of the hands. i guess this has somethng to do with the lume applied. there has to be some trade-offs with creating a dark grey lume that actually glows. this is quite forgivable. the index markers and LTD and BELL & ROSS logo look sooo clean and perfect, one of the best applications of these marks compared to the other models.

the pvd seems toprate. i say seem becasue i have had another pvd bell and ross for several months and it is virtually scratchless. i have hit it quite a few times but on flat surface so it has not been real world tested yet. compared to other watch pvd applications this is certainly one of the better ones.

the eta movement is keeping good time i am only getting a 2 second a day discrepancy and expect the watch to stabilize more in the next couple of days.

everything else is top notch and what would youwould expect. Quality and craftsmanship are topnotch. i cant beleive the compliments i have gotten so far, a few negative ones but you cant please everybody. the most important is that i am pleased and i have the watch i have always wanted.

Til the next B& R!


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## poison (Nov 8, 2007)

That is the singular watch which grabs my attention most. I LOVE it, but I'm not sure I could live with its quirks. I'm very jealous, though. Wear in good health!


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## Spoon (Nov 20, 2007)

poison said:


> That is the singular watch which grabs my attention most. I LOVE it, but I'm not sure I could live with its quirks. I'm very jealous, though. Wear in good health!


i agree, i learned to appreciate the watch more if i do not use it everyday. certainly too much as an everyday watch


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## mthwatch (Mar 27, 2008)

Spoon! Great review.....another beautiful phantom! Any word on the U-boat phantom??


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## Spoon (Nov 20, 2007)

mthwatch said:


> Spoon! Great review.....another beautiful phantom! Any word on the U-boat phantom??


yes it is going to the chopping block


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## Aqua Spearo (Oct 10, 2007)

well im jelous! IMO, thats is one of the must have watches of the decade... its clearly the BR01 to own, high in demand and limited to 500 pieces. Im sure its going to be worth quite a bit one day. 




I was always under the assumption that B&R invented the phantom dial look, but I just learned recently that Hublot had done this first.


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## Spoon (Nov 20, 2007)

Aqua Spearo said:


> well im jelous! IMO, thats is one of the must have watches of the decade... its clearly the BR01 to own, high in demand and limited to 500 pieces. Im sure its going to be worth quite a bit one day.


i agree that is why i had to own one. imho this is close to becoming a cult piece, hopefully i will remain happy with this one for awhile



Aqua Spearo said:


> I was always under the assumption that B&R invented the phantom dial look, but I just learned recently that Hublot had done this first.


yup hublot started the look but i beleive that br took it to the next level and fits the case more than the one of hublot.


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## WatchFan56 (Jul 2, 2008)

cool BR


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## Spoon (Nov 20, 2007)

some pics of some strap changes of late: heres a yellow one.


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## Spoon (Nov 20, 2007)

and a brown one


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## pablo7 (Feb 9, 2008)

Very nice peice.....I bet pictures do not do it justice.


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## BreaknecK (Nov 14, 2008)

This is a lovely piece. Great photos by the way. The yellow strap is actually quite....strapping! I don't think I can deal with the lack of legibility in the dark though. Not for that price. I love the look of phantom watches in general but I am not sure that all struggle with legibility in the same way you describe. Still a nice watch though, to be sure.


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## Inko-Koumori (Jan 6, 2010)

stunning, especially with the yellow strap


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## Fabricioab (Jan 6, 2010)

Wow, the yellow bracelet was incredible!

Congrats!


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## Stonechild (Aug 21, 2009)

Holy k-rap, great pic's. Thanks for the review.

jay


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## BreaknecK (Nov 14, 2008)

I think this is a great piece, and you took some great photos. The phantom issue is the big one for me though. I think in the end, I (most) would be better served getting a piece that is visible at all times. I speak from my own experience here of course. That doesnt detract from the beauty (physically) of that B&R though.


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## Spoon (Nov 20, 2007)

unfortunately will have to let the watch go, due to unforseen reasons. i feel so bad.


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## WatchAdct (Jan 25, 2010)

Oh no! I was just about to say how beautiful it is. What happened?


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## Spoon (Nov 20, 2007)

WatchAdct said:


> Oh no! I was just about to say how beautiful it is. What happened?


i cannot indulge in this sort of hobby anymore. we moved to a new apartment and need furniture. its a shame, this was my grail piece


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## TimeWarped (Jan 31, 2010)

I thought the ACTUAL BR would have PERFECTLY aligned, if not symmetrical screws, and ONLY homages or replica had the quirky topsy turvy screws.


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## Crmsnraider (Jun 23, 2010)

TimeWarped said:


> I thought the ACTUAL BR would have PERFECTLY aligned, if not symmetrical screws, and ONLY homages or replica had the quirky topsy turvy screws.


 Your thought is actually not the case for the most part


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## WatchDutchy (Apr 13, 2021)

Spoon said:


> some pics of some strap changes of late: heres a yellow one.


Love the yellow strap!


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