The popular fake Bell & Ross V2-94 & V2-92 Garde-Cotes watches celebrate the males and females of the globe’s some branches of the Coast Guard who do just that, with a pair of sporty and capable replica watches that look and feel as though they’re readily up to the task.
So, till now, if the V2-92 and V2-94 Garde-Cotes editions look greatly similar to the recent vintage-inspired V1-92 & V2-94 Bellytanker capsule watches that’s OK – Bell & Ross replicas meant to do that. The ‘Vintage’ collection has a consistent design intent and aesthetic, which has proven to be quite popular for the French brand, so naturally we have no way to see some more color treatments to the original three monochromatic options introduced earlier this year. 
Each measuring a more traditional 41mm, both the V2-92 and the V2-94 come in much smaller than Bell & Ross’ square-shaped 46mm BR 01, whose instrument panel inspiration has become a symbol of the brand. And thanks to the one-two punch of a slim profile and a trendy, vintage-inspired aesthetic, the conservative silhouette works especially well on a wide variety of wrists too.
At the asking price for the replica Bell & Ross though, you do begin to see subtle embellishments typical with fake rolex watches of this cheap price point: stuff like beveled hands, a sloping date window cutout and recessed sub-dials on the chronograph. You also gain a very generously domed sapphire crystal, and an exhibition case-back which bears a somewhat non-specific Coast Guard motif that also slightly obscures a clear look at the finishing on the movement within.
Both Garde-Cotes variants are available on either a traditional brushed 3-link bracelet, or a smooth, tonal grey rubber strap that fits the grey dials. Both are not the most exciting option – especially considering how this sporty aesthetic could really come to life on the wrist once complemented with a little more color, like an orange NATO or black waterproof leather with contrast stitching. Besides, the flat grey straps seem to call undue attention to the 22mm lugs.
Different from the Bellytanker variants though, is how the Garde-Cotes take on a much more assertive and sporty modern feature, simply by taking a dip in a fresh coat of paint to shed the faux-vintage aesthetic.
The chronograph gets one additional detail exclusive to the Garde-Cotes, not found on the other Vintage-series watches: a pulsometer in the aluminum bezel insert for measuring a patient’s heart rate, rather than the more commonly found tachymeter scale. Therefore, how practical this would be in a crisis situation is probably open for debate.
