The fourth edition of the Bell & Ross cigar series arrives with a specific limitation: 150 pieces, a Macassar ebony box, and a partner company whose factory in Faverges has been in operation since 1924. This isn’t just a stylistic exercise—it’s all about the materials.
A series that’s anything but a smoke-and-mirrors show
Bell & Ross’s Edición Limitada line is not a recent whim. It began in 2006 with the BR Vintage 126 XL, a rose gold chronograph limited to 99 pieces, presented in a humidified case designed to hold fifty cigars. The WW1 Edición Limitada followed in 2015—with the same production limit, this time featuring a red gold case and a curved brown dial. In 2022, the BR-05 Chrono Edición Limitada slightly increased the production run to 250 pieces, featuring a Maduro color palette. The BR-05 Chrono S.T. Dupont rounds out the series with a limited run of 150 pieces and introduces a first: a true manufacturing partner.
S.T. Dupont isn’t known simply for its reputation. The Faverges-based manufacturer is one of the few European workshops that still masters the art of Japanese lacquer—a process of layering and drying that requires precise humidity control with each coat. This craftsmanship briefly crossed paths with watchmaking in the early 2000s, before the company refocused its business on lighters and accessories. The BR-05 Chrono marks the return of this expertise to a watch dial.
42 mm, sunburst brown, two sub-dials
The watch itself: a 42-mm automatic chronograph in stainless steel. The dial, featuring two sub-dials, has a brown sunburst finish whose play of light varies depending on the viewing angle—an effect achieved through radial guilloché engraving under a clear coat. The hour markers, numerals, and hands are gold-plated and treated with a photoluminescent coating. As an alternative to the version with an integrated steel bracelet, an alligator-style brown leather strap with a gradient finish is available.
What sets this piece apart from the rest of the series is the triptych. The case, crafted from Macassar ebony—a wood with pronounced grain that is particularly hard and requires specialized tools to prevent splintering when cut—opens to reveal an interior lined with Spanish cedar. This second type of wood is not merely decorative: Spanish cedar naturally regulates humidity, slows the aging of tobacco, and repels certain insects. The interior houses the watch, a Ligne 2 lighter engraved with both emblems and featuring a brown gradient lacquer finish that echoes the watch face, and a cigar cutter with a matching finish.
Sidebar — The Box in Numbers: Macassar ebony for the outer case. Spanish cedar for the interior compartment, which can hold up to fifty cigars. Ligne 2 lighter: steel and gold finishes, with a lacquered plate crafted by the Faverges workshops. Numbered edition, 150 pieces.
Two Companies, One Philosophy
Carlos Rosillo, co-founder of Bell & Ross, and Alain Crevet, president of S.T. Dupont, share, in their own words, “a demanding sense of artisanal craftsmanship.” This convergence is not merely rhetorical: it is rooted in a shared challenge—small production runs, challenging materials, and deadlines that the industry no longer tolerates. Faverges lacquer and Bell & Ross’s Swiss watchmaking operate in niche production sectors where craftsmanship still takes precedence over automation.
The question raised by this collaboration isn’t about the cigar. It’s about what two French brands create when they decide to slow down together.
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