# New to Ball watches...and I have a few questions.



## marzen (Jun 15, 2008)

Other than micro tritium tubes, what makes Ball watch so special? I am trying to understand this brand name within horological history.
Movements are all modified or stock ETA which can be found in much inexpensive watches. Sure, casing is where its at. But I do not believe Ball is in SUPERIOR group. Definitely good. Then why do you guys buy Ball watches? I am sincerely curious as to whether I am missing something here.


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## samanator (Mar 8, 2008)

While it sounds like your mind is made up here are somethings to consider: 
Ball watch has one of the most colorful history back to the hay day of US Railroad watches. The US was the watch making leader in the early part of the previous century. Ball established what evolved into the COSC standard for watches as part of the fix for the RR time keeping standards. Ball's watches finish and designes are on par with competitors form Omega and Breitling some of which also have ETA based movements. Ball watches are priced considerably lower than these brands. Ball was the first to offer over 25mci (but less than 100mci) T licensed watches. No one does GTLS lume better. Ball also has many uniquely modified movements such as the Orbital which has a switch to disengage the rotor to provide improved shock resistance. The Engineer Hydrocarbon series have a distinct look that no one else has. Ball regulates all the non COSC watches in-house at three positions and most owners see it in the accuracy of their watches. 

All non-Swatch brand Swiss watches will need to have their own movement soon so in-house should be quite common in a few years. Ball has that project underway. I can continue on but this is good for now.


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## jhon (Aug 19, 2009)

Why did I buy a Ball watch? My Hydrocarbon is the only watch that I know that gives me the combination of unique good looks, comfort, accuracy, fantastic lume and most importantly durability and toughness (the use of double strap pins being a good example.)
I didn't buy it for it's heritage, though it's nice to know there is some history behind the name.


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## MountainMike (Jun 16, 2006)

samanator said:


> While it sounds like your mind is made up here are somethings to consider:
> Ball watch has one of the most colorful history back to the hay day of US Railroad watches. The US was the watch making leader in the early part of the previous century. Ball established what evolved into the COSC standard for watches as part of the fix for the RR time keeping standards. Ball's watches finish and designes are on par with competitors form Omega and Breitling some of which also have ETA based movements. Ball watches are priced considerably lower than these brands. Ball was the first to offer over 25mci (but less than 100mci) T licensed watches. No one does GTLS lume better. Ball also has many uniquely modified movements such as the Orbital which has a switch to disengage the rotor to provide improved shock resistance. The Engineer Hydrocarbon series have a distinct look that no one else has. Ball regulates all the non COSC watches in-house at three positions and most owners see it in the accuracy of their watches.
> 
> All non-Swatch brand Swiss watches will need to have their own movement soon so in-house should be quite common in a few years. Ball has that project underway. I can continue on but this is good for now.


Michael,

What you have quoted above are the precise reasons why I bought a Ball, to be exact, Engineer II Chronometer Red Label (43mm) as my first automatic watch. Omega and Breitling are overpriced...

Cheers,
MountainMike


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## nimbushopper (Nov 3, 2007)

Very well stated! My EHC has been running perfectly for about 5yrs now and still runs within COSC specs(even though its not chronometer rated). Ball watches have a unique look that so far have not been imitated, and the 24hr lume is perfect.


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## veeman (Jul 6, 2011)

By no means an expert, there are very few watches that "currently" use a completely inhouse movement.

A prior post that I found interesting:

https://www.watchuseek.com/f2/list-brands-using-eta-movements-20458.html

All of the brands that do are more expensive than Ball. The most well known brand, Rolex, is an order of magnitude more expensive than Ball. Other than a few models that contain gold, Ball models range from slightly over a thousand to four thousand.

Within the realm of swiss automatic, there are very few watch brands which are noticeably cheaper. Most are the same or more expensive. The only swiss automatic brands that I know of which can compete favorably with Ball on pricing are Hamilton, Oris, and Tissot (I'm sure there are others) and these brands do not use non ETA inhouse movements. No one would say that these brands are better quality than Ball in terms of durability or workmanship.

A few reasons to like Ball other than lume (which is a major selling point) and what others have not already said: being part of a relatively rare club can be a source of joy/pride, has the american railroad as its source of history and heritage which is a plus if you are american and take pride in american ingenuity, has models which tie in to specific sources of pride which may be relevant (i.e. cleveland express, ohio, grand central), and almost all their models look good with both bracelets and straps which easily change up the look of a watch preventing boredom.


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## MountainMike (Jun 16, 2006)

veeman said:


> By no means an expert, there are very few watches that "currently" use a completely inhouse movement.
> 
> A prior post that I found interesting:
> 
> ...


Very well said!!!

Cheers,
MountainMike


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## Dana Mills (Mar 21, 2012)

OP - to me, watch guys have many similarities to car guys - not all car guys are the same and not everyone appreciates cars for the same reason. I look at a Mercedes Benz E-class and see superior engineering, unprecedented use of technology, combination of luxury, sport and sophistication. Others see an overpriced German car that is no different than a Toyota Camry, just another 4-door sedan. Then others see a wanna be car that can't compete with the likes of Bentley, Aston Martin, etc. If someone were to ask me "what makes Mercedes so special? Why would I spend the money on one when they're nice but not in the elite class?" My response would be "you shouldn't - if you have to ask then the car simply isn't for you." Those of us who own BALL watches do so for a multitude of reasons. Some of which may be rooted in the technical side of the watch (e.g. use of tritium, craftsmanship, etc), others may like the brand for more subjective reasons (e.g. unique styling, cool history, American roots). If you're really intrigued my best advice would be to go see/try on/touch some of the models. You'll walk away with a strong feeling either way.


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## timefleas (Oct 10, 2008)

I didn't buy a Ball for its history--didn't know or care about it at the time, though over time I have learned to find it interesting, but not all that impressive, particularly from the 1920s to about 2000 or so--quite lackluster to me. What Ball offers to me is a good bang for the buck--the movement works well, the tritium tubes on my model are great, the construction is robust and can stand up to just about anything, and the design is just unique enough to have something of a personality of its own. It isn't the best brand there is, but it is well above average. I will always have at least one Ball, if nothing else, to see what time it is when I go to a movie.


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## Thomas Miko (Oct 25, 2011)

samanator said:


> While it sounds like your mind is made up here are somethings to consider:
> Ball watch has one of the most colorful history back to the hay day of US Railroad watches. The US was the watch making leader in the early part of the previous century. Ball established what evolved into the COSC standard for watches as part of the fix for the RR time keeping standards. Ball's watches finish and designes are on par with competitors form Omega and Breitling some of which also have ETA based movements. Ball watches are priced considerably lower than these brands. Ball was the first to offer over 25mci (but less than 100mci) T licensed watches. No one does GTLS lume better. Ball also has many uniquely modified movements such as the Orbital which has a switch to disengage the rotor to provide improved shock resistance. The Engineer Hydrocarbon series have a distinct look that no one else has. Ball regulates all the non COSC watches in-house at three positions and most owners see it in the accuracy of their watches.
> 
> All non-Swatch brand Swiss watches will need to have their own movement soon so in-house should be quite common in a few years. Ball has that project underway. I can continue on but this is good for now.


Some thoughts:
(1) I don't understand why the other watch brands don't come out with at least one dive (or other) watch that has tritium tubes (in all the right places!). As I have ranted about on my watch blog, Luminox has some good designs in quartz "beater" models, but the higher up in price they go, the more design flaws they have. They just can't seem to get it right. Their one automatic ETA movement watch has all the features that I want in a Swiss, automatic, tritium watch, but it is butt ugly. There is a lot of discussion on vaious WUS forums about whether or not you can wear this watch or that watch with a suit and tie, but that Luminox automatic cannot be worn with a suit & tie.
(1a) Doxa has one tritium watch that I chose not to buy because a la Luminox, they left out something important. In the case of Doxa, they didn't put tritium on the second hand, because they felt that it would deviate from "the Doxa look", which to me was just idiotic. So of course, they will probably never come out with a new tritium tube watch, because the old one was unsuccessful, but they don't understand that if they had put tritium on the second hand, they probably would have sold a boat load more of those watches. (Luminox makes similar mistakes when it puts nothing--or even worse, really cheap lume that crumbles off after a couple of months onto the rotating bezel of fairly nice watch designs). 
(2) Despite not owning one, I think that Ball's designs have a distinct design that is recognizable, distinct, and not an homage to some other brand. And they look good.
(3) Let's be honest: like Hamilton, the Ball Watch Company of today is the Swiss remnant of what was originally an American company that did not survive the Japanese quartz wave, but like Hamilton, the Swiss owners of Ball had the good sense to keep the old, recognizable designs that were distinct to their brands.
(4) This is not a negative per se, but it appears to me that the Swiss have taken a cue from Japanese watches e.g. the Seiko Orange Monster and have really improved the lume on their high-end watches. I am stunned by how well my Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean stays bright and legible all night long. This is a disincentive for those thinking of buying a tritium watch, especially those seeking to avoid the radiation.
(5) What radiation? Even the old, unsealed tritium watches were harmless, but with the new manufacturing process for the sealed tubes, neither the employees at the watch factory nor the customers wearing these "radioactive" watches are getting any exposure. Period. Still, the stigma of using a radioactive material to make a watch glow in the dark is still out there in a general public that does not have enough information. This probably takes a bite out of Ball's sales. I firmly believe that other sealed titium markers could be manufactured that are just as bright as the current tubes, but have more esthetically pleasing shapes. I don't understand why Omega and Rolex don't re-invent the wheel, and make new, leak-proof markers with tritium sealed inside. In other words, watches that look like their old designs, but very cleverly hide tritium sealed inside the markers, all manufactured in a way that satisfies the regulatory agencies, and the alleviates the fears of the employees at the watch factory, along with the watch repair guy at the mall...


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## Thomas Miko (Oct 25, 2011)

Besides everything else in my long rant, I forgot to point out the obvious: Ball has the brains to use movements with the day of the week. I wish that was more common on more watch brands and models.


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