# Anyone had lume replacement done by Ball?



## GregNYC

I remember hearing a representative of Ball say that they would support the tubes in the watches. Meaning that if/when the lume fades, they would replace those tubes for free. 

Has anyone ever had the lume replaced? Thanks!

--Greg


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## samanator

GregNYC said:


> I remember hearing a representative of Ball say that they would support the tubes in the watches. Meaning that if/when the lume fades, they would replace those tubes for free.
> 
> Has anyone ever had the lume replaced? Thanks!
> 
> --Greg


Not exactly how I remember it, plus the posts are up in the reference area. Ball said they would have the materials when it was needed for replacement. No specific cost was ever given, but it was never stated as free except under warranty. Cost is dependent on the watch as would be expected. Contact Ball for pricing.


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## ~tc~

There are a couple people who have had entire dials replaced, including all the lume, and while I can't remember the exact cost, it was shockingly reasonable.


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## GregNYC

OK, thanks. I totally don't mind paying, as long as the replacements are available.


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## nz_strabo

The Ball owner's manual also supports this: "However, the brightness of H3 micro gas lights will deteriorate over the years, but *can be restored by replacing with new **dial*"


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## watchnbuy

nz_strabo said:


> The Ball owner's manual also supports this: "However, the brightness of H3 micro gas lights will deteriorate over the years, but *can be restored by replacing with new **dial*"


replace whole new dial?
or replace jz it tube?


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## j-san

I wonder about the dial vs. tubes replacement. For example, if I had a first gen Night Train and wanted to keep the original look, is that possible or will Ball turn it into a "modern" Night Train?


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## morrison2951

If/when I need Gen I Night Train tubes, I sure do want to keep the original tube lay out. 

IMO it's still the best Ball offers even after all these years.


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## gossler

I was just quoted $50 USD to replace 3 hands on my EM II Diver. So... it does not seem too bad.


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## timefleas

gossler said:


> I was just quoted $50 USD to replace 3 hands on my EM II Diver. So... it does not seem too bad.


Does that include the disassembly and reassembly of the watch, in order to actually get at the t-tubes? And once an old watch has been opened up (old enough to have the tubes replaced), most folks would have the watch given a complete service. I have rarely heard of anything less than $300 (not counting tube cost) to do that--and, most folks would not just re-tube the hands, but the hour markers as well, making a typical basic replacement in the neighborhood of 15 tubes, which, using your math, would come to about $250 (5 x 3, so 5 x $50), plus assembly/reassembly, to make complete re-tubing _starting _in the ballpark of $500 for the most basic of Ball watches, and with some having as many as 75 tubes--pretty sure in just about no scenario will re-tubing be as little as a $50 expenditure....


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## gossler

Again I agree with you in all aspects of your comment, My watch has 50ish tubes!! I believe I might just buy a new watch.

The parts are$50 USD ( for three hands), being as my watch is 7 years old, and because i had a small accident (and now the minute hand hits the inner rotating bazel slightly) I will have it fully serviced. I was quoted around 170+ tax USD for it (Ball authorized service center, in Mexico City) which does not seem too bad.



timefleas said:


> Does that include the disassembly and reassembly of the watch, in order to actually get at the t-tubes? And once an old watch has been opened up (old enough to have the tubes replaced), most folks would have the watch given a complete service. I have rarely heard of anything less than $300 (not counting tube cost) to do that--and, most folks would not just re-tube the hands, but the hour markers as well, making a typical basic replacement in the neighborhood of 15 tubes, which, using your math, would come to about $250 (5 x 3, so 5 x $50), plus assembly/reassembly, to make complete re-tubing _starting _in the ballpark of $500 for the most basic of Ball watches, and with some having as many as 75 tubes--pretty sure in just about no scenario will re-tubing be as little as a $50 expenditure....


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## DaveSa

I just had this done to my Engineer Hydrocarbon. It is 11 years old and was running about 2 minutes slow per day. I knew it was time to get it serviced, so when it went in I asked for an estimate for changing the dial, and the hands.

The dial was $155 and the hands were $72. As someone mentioned you still have to pay to have the work done, which for me was part of the full watch service.

I had a few questions - like are the parts or the packaging dated? No they are not I was told. Gun sights are all laser marked with the month and year of production in tiny letters so you know how old the product is and when it needs to be replaced.


How are the parts produced? Are the tubes added when a part is ordered or are they added when the part is produced and then potentially stored for months or years until the part is needed.

We don't know, and while they tried to get an answer to this question they could not.
So I took the risk and ordered both the dial and the hands. I just received the watch back a few days ago. The hands are nice and bright, unfortunately the dial is significantly dimmer than the hands now.

I have an email in to the folks at Ball service to see what they can do. Did the dial actually get changed? Did they mix up the dials? Or did I get a replacement dial almost as old as the one they took out - so far I don't know.

The watch is running well and keeping great time again. Glad to have it back.


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## morrison2951

Hmmm.... keep us posted on the answers to your inquiries. 

I may have an issue even letting them ever do any tube work on my Gen I Night Train.


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## DaveSa

Well, I heard back from Ball service. They said they could not compare my old hands to my old dial... I asked for more detail and the explanation I received is that when a dial or hands are changed the old parts have to be returned to Ball. It seems the process is to remove the tubes from the dial and hands and the tubes go in one container and the other parts are packaged separately. 

The only option I was given was to return the watch and have it sent to Switzerland and have Ball evaluate if the dial meets their standards for brightness. Timing for that is 2+ more months. I decided to do that, as I want it to be right and I paid for the new dial so I could have bright tubes again.

I will report back in the Fall when I get it back


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## samanator

DaveSa said:


> Well, I heard back from Ball service. They said they could not compare my old hands to my old dial... I asked for more detail and the explanation I received is that when a dial or hands are changed the old parts have to be returned to Ball. It seems the process is to remove the tubes from the dial and hands and the tubes go in one container and the other parts are packaged separately.
> 
> The only option I was given was to return the watch and have it sent to Switzerland and have Ball evaluate if the dial meets their standards for brightness. Timing for that is 2+ more months. I decided to do that, as I want it to be right and I paid for the new dial so I could have bright tubes again.
> 
> I will report back in the Fall when I get it back


This makes total sense since you need to remember the tubes are licensed and controlled items. On the second part you did not provide any pictures after the replacement to evaluate, but it is your money so you must be satisfied. Did you consider the brightness is also relevant to the tube color?


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## DaveSa

I just heard my watch is back from Switzerland. Unfortunately, Ball stated the dial is "within spec" and are not willing to do anything for me. 

I have to say the folks at Ball USA did a good job in facilitating the return, and that their communication has been excellent. I will be happy to have it back and let it get some wrist time. 

In regard to Michael's post above I am very familiar with tritium tubes, and I am aware that different colors of tubes have different levels of brightness. All colors are less bright than green. I am comparing my dial to how it was before and after the replacement. I am also comparing it to my other two ball watches which are currently 7 and 8 years old. Once I get the watch back I will try to get pictures of all three so that others can see what I do. 

My advice - do NOT do a dial replacement unless a tube is broken. I will not do another dial replacement on any of my Ball watches. I will now evaluate and value them based on a 12.5 year half life of tritium. If I had to do it all over again I would definitely not spend the $155 for a "new" dial. Of course, your mileage may vary. Mine is just one experience, but at 11.5 years old mine may be one of the first


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## john.6

DaveSa said:


> I just heard my watch is back from Switzerland. Unfortunately, Ball stated the dial is "within spec" and are not willing to do anything for me.
> 
> I have to say the folks at Ball USA did a good job in facilitating the return, and that their communication has been excellent. I will be happy to have it back and let it get some wrist time.
> 
> In regard to Michael's post above I am very familiar with tritium tubes, and I am aware that different colors of tubes have different levels of brightness. All colors are less bright than green. I am comparing my dial to how it was before and after the replacement. I am also comparing it to my other two ball watches which are currently 7 and 8 years old. Once I get the watch back I will try to get pictures of all three so that others can see what I do.
> 
> My advice - do NOT do a dial replacement unless a tube is broken. I will not do another dial replacement on any of my Ball watches. I will now evaluate and value them based on a 12.5 year half life of tritium. If I had to do it all over again I would definitely not spend the $155 for a "new" dial. Of course, your mileage may vary. Mine is just one experience, but at 11.5 years old mine may be one of the first


I wonder if sending any watch back to Switzerland is worth the trouble, If you see the Ball Swiss headquarters it is a small building shared with the other members of the Asia Commercial Holdings group
Juvania, Wakmann and Accord watches. Who is there on the technical side ? I dealt with them over broken watch head torx screws for my NEDU and ended up getting new ones made myself. Are Ball a company that outsources their production and therefor cannot offer bespoke services to customers or do they actually have any type of dedicated Ball production or service facility ? 
My Ball watches are fantastic quality considering the prices I paid but the company seems very vague on what it can offer a customer.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/R...239441ef!8m2!3d47.0911291!4d6.8054129!6m1!1e1


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## timefleas

john.6 said:


> I wonder if sending any watch back to Switzerland is worth the trouble, If you see the Ball Swiss headquarters it is a small building shared with the other members of the Asia Commercial Holdings group
> Juvania, Wakmann and Accord watches. Who is there on the technical side ? I dealt with them over broken watch head torx screws for my NEDU and ended up getting new ones made myself. Are Ball a company that outsources their production and therefor cannot offer bespoke services to customers or do they actually have any type of dedicated Ball production or service facility ?
> My Ball watches are fantastic quality considering the prices I paid but the company seems very vague on what it can offer a customer.


A whole lot of speculation and innuendo. If you look over the many many threads here, I think you will see few problems with Ball repairs, customer service, and the like. Yes, there are some problems, as there are with any brand, but nothing that stands out as a real problem area. Ball has generally been straight forward with folks that needed repairs, and the repairs were done in pretty much the same manner as one would expect from any good watch brand--they take time, cost money (if off warranty) and so forth, but that is the nature of the game. In what building the repairs are done, and where that building is located, I think, matters very little in the grand scheme of things.


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## john.6

timefleas said:


> A whole lot of speculation and innuendo. If you look over the many many threads here, I think you will see few problems with Ball repairs, customer service, and the like. Yes, there are some problems, as there are with any brand, but nothing that stands out as a real problem area. Ball has generally been straight forward with folks that needed repairs, and the repairs were done in pretty much the same manner as one would expect from any good watch brand--they take time, cost money (if off warranty) and so forth, but that is the nature of the game. In what building the repairs are done, and where that building is located, I think, matters very little in the grand scheme of things.


This is about lume replacement, one of the main selling points of Ball is the Tritium gas tubes. Knowing whether or not they have their own service people that can do this is important to me considering I had to have parts made for my watch, and dealing with Ball in the Middle east, UK and Switzerland was disappointing and yes a company that is very ambiguous about it's business matters to me.


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## timefleas

john.6 said:


> This is about lume replacement, .....


I am sorry, I was misled by the fact that in your post, you discussed broken torx screws, and thus, I assumed the topic had been expanded to general servicing issues.

I do, however, stand by my basic point--you have provided no real evidence of how or where Ball servicing is done (for lume replacement or other repairs), and simply noting the existence of a shared facility does nothing to suggest any answers in any direction. While I have had disappointments with the watch industry, particularly with Anonimo at the top of the list, Panerai next and then IWC--after more than 50 Ball watches that have passed through my hands, I have never had a situation which I would term a "problem" with either their service or their product--any issues that have arisen have been dealt with professionally and adequately, where I too am dealing with them "at a distance."


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## john.6

timefleas said:


> I am sorry, I was misled by the fact that in your post, you discussed broken torx screws, and thus, I assumed the topic had been expanded to general servicing issues.
> 
> I do, however, stand by my basic point--you have provided no real evidence of how or where Ball servicing is done (for lume replacement or other repairs), and simply noting the existence of a shared facility does nothing to suggest any answers in any direction. While I have had disappointments with the watch industry, particularly with Anonimo at the top of the list, Panerai next and then IWC--after more than 50 Ball watches that have passed through my hands, I have never had a situation which I would term a "problem" with either their service or their product--any issues that have arisen have been dealt with professionally and adequately, where I too am dealing with them "at a distance."


''you have provided no real evidence of how or where Ball servicing is done'' That is the question I am asking because I don't know.


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## DaveSa

I just received my watch back. As requested, I have tried to capture how the watch looks to me in a darkened room. Notice how the second hand and the GMT hand look. The GMT hand is orange, which is normally dimmer than green. 

Thanks


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## Herman65

Hi 
I just purchased a pre-owned Hydrocarbon Magnate and the lume is already dim. I didn't realize it when I bought the watch. How much was it total for dial replacement and servicing? Is it feasible? I love the look and feel of this watch.
I sent in an inquiry to Ball service center and will hear back monday (closed on weekends) hopefully. I have the NM1096A version. I think it is around 8-9 years old. Pretty mint too. Thanks for your help.


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## timefleas

Do you have other tritium watches? Ball tritium tubes on watches such as the Magnate are not overwhelmingly bright to begin with (I owned all three of the original dial colors--white, blue, and black). They are subtle at first, but after a while very legible, but never as bright as Superluminova when first switching from light to dark. Many folks who buy Ball for the first time are disappointed by the lack of the intensity at first glance. 

If you check the threads here carefully, there are at least two members who had their tubes replaced by Ball, and had reported favorably. I personally used the Bonding Co. in Hong Kong for mine (I replaced thirteen tubes because a watchmaker had actually broken two in a botched overhaul)--the nice thing about Bonding is that they let you choose whatever colors you want to replace the old tubes (some are more intense that others).


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## watchnbuy

do they hv the tube in different shape? such as round? or ,maybe 3,6 9 wording shape?



timefleas said:


> Do you have other tritium watches? Ball tritium tubes on watches such as the Magnate are not overwhelmingly bright to begin with (I owned all three of the original dial colors--white, blue, and black). They are subtle at first, but after a while very legible, but never as bright as Superluminova when first switching from light to dark. Many folks who buy Ball for the first time are disappointed by the lack of the intensity at first glance.
> 
> If you check the threads here carefully, there are at least two members who had their tubes replaced by Ball, and had reported favorably. I personally used the Bonding Co. in Hong Kong for mine (I replaced thirteen tubes because a watchmaker had actually broken two in a botched overhaul)--the nice thing about Bonding is that they let you choose whatever colors you want to replace the old tubes (some are more intense that others).


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## RMUSE

Ball USA charged me $50 to do one tube back in Jan. They only had two choices for color. Good thing it was the 12:00 one so it didn't matter.


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