The sound produced when striking the bell cymbal with a drumstick is a distinctive high-pitched ping sound with a long sustain.
The name bell cymbal is suggestive both of its tone, which is distinctly bell like, and also the earliest examples, which were made by drummers cutting down a larger cymbal (often one damaged at the rim) so that only the bell of the cymbal remained.
Bell cymbals vary greatly in profile.
A cup chime is a bell cymbal used as pitched percussion.
Sets of cup chimes are used as melodic percussion.