Sinn has been a favorite modern brand of ours for some time.  Their watches are high end tools, built to exacting German standards and have classically-industrial designs.

But what happens when a German watchmaker makes watches for a French brand using an iconic vintage Swiss design?

The Bell & Ross by Sinn Chronograph!

With only a quick glance at this cool timepiece you'd be forgiven for thinking you're looking at a vintage Heuer Reference 2446 Autavia from the 1960s. It features a 40mm steel case with block lugs,  a luminous black matte dial with stylized Arabic indices, barrel pushers, a winding crown at 3:00, and a 60-minute timing bezel encircling a domed acrylic crystal - all classic Heuer hallmarks.

But with a closer look you'll see a left-justification on the subsidiary registers and a framed date window on the right - a quick indication that this isn't a hand-cranking Autavia, but rather a Valjoux 7750 powered automatic chronograph mechanism! Other differentiators include white painted luminous syringe hands, a screwback case, and two lines of text on the dial that give the game away.

Now before you go out cry foul play, its important to recognize that Sinn was once a key partner of Heuer - functioning as a supplier, casemaker, distributor, and service center for Heuer's best-known military watches, the Ref. 1550 Bundeswehr chronograph. Sinn's involvement with Heuer was deep, and one could argue they had a right to certain elements of Heuer's success.

This particular watch was produced for the French brand Bell & Ross in the early 1990s before they took off (sorry!) as the go-to marque for instrument style aviation watches. It has all the hallmarks of neo-vintage design, including an awesome creamy patina throughout, and tells an awesome story that spans nearly half a century of watchmaking history!