# Anyone receive a similar email from a Ball employee recently



## bmfang (Feb 12, 2016)

I was rather surprised to get this in my inbox tonight. Is this legit?

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## timefleas (Oct 10, 2008)

Gee...what do you think? For me, poor mangled English grammar is usually an indication that all is not what it pretends to be...


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## Elkins45 (Aug 4, 2013)

Well, if they are Swiss then English is probably not their first language.


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## MarkingTime (Aug 6, 2013)

I came here to post the same question. Doesn't seem legitimate. Wonder what they are up to?

The address used is [email protected].


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## surfuz (Jul 2, 2017)

Well congrats, your opinion matters. 

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## mplsabdullah (Jan 21, 2015)

I suggest you send over your full name, birth date and address along with a blank check. Sounds like they are trying to do you a favor since your a "VIP" Don't want to miss this golden opportunity.


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## paintingtiger (Nov 12, 2017)

I received the same thing. Don't know what to make of it myself. Was excited at first because I have some great suggestions, but not really sure what it means.


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## gossler (Mar 19, 2009)

Maybe their online store got hacked. And they now have a list of email address an names.


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## bmfang (Feb 12, 2016)

The email address seems legit. And I have communicated with Ball employees before via Facebook and have had similar mangled English grammar responses before.

Or their web shop got hacked and they have email addresses.


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## MrDagon007 (Sep 24, 2012)

The email address looks legit. It may well be an honest mail and your reply should arrive at Ball.


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## bracky72 (Jun 30, 2013)

There is no way that is legit. How often does a big company sign a email god be with you? That’s some scammer fishing around for suckers.


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## LosAngelesTimer (Aug 24, 2017)

My correspondence with Ball contains similarly mangled English but the "god be with you" sign off, erm...


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## MarkingTime (Aug 6, 2013)

Wonder if you reply if they’ll send you a link to click on a survey or something. Just responding to an email doesn’t give them anything.


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## Elkins45 (Aug 4, 2013)

Casually make reference to your mother’s maiden name and see how they react


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## Igorek (Jul 10, 2009)

"God be with you" lol that is a good one


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## terexac350 (Aug 13, 2017)

Elkins45 said:


> Well, if they are Swiss then English is probably not their first language.


Ball is Hong Kong Chinese owned, I suspect many of their employees are also, the first line is typical of a greeting from there.

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## bracky72 (Jun 30, 2013)

In today’s world you have to have a grain of skepticism with any electronic communication you receive. I would delete the email and not give it another thought.


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## surfuz (Jul 2, 2017)

terexac350 said:


> Ball is Hong Kong Chinese owned, I suspect many of their employees are also, the first line is typical of a greeting from there.
> 
> Sent from my ALP-L29 using Tapatalk


If it helps in the context, when I received my Ball auction watch, the company stated in the invoice is Ball Asia with a Hong Kong address.

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## samanator (Mar 8, 2008)

terexac350 said:


> Ball is Hong Kong Chinese owned, I suspect many of their employees are also, the first line is typical of a greeting from there.
> 
> Sent from my ALP-L29 using Tapatalk


That is actually untrue. It is owned by a US citizen. At least that was the case a week ago.


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## terexac350 (Aug 13, 2017)

samanator said:


> That is actually untrue. It is owned by a US citizen. At least that was the case a week ago.


It's been part of Asia commercial holdings for the past few years, Mr Keav Sui Kouch AKA Kevin Kouch is the name on the company documents for Ball USA, Ball UK, Ball SA, Juvenia, Accord and Wakmann watches along with Eav Guech Rosanna of Asia commercial holdings. All the above watch companies share the exact same Swiss address. There was a whole thread about this, but it's been taken down, maybe the sponsor didn't like the truth !

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## terexac350 (Aug 13, 2017)

terexac350 said:


> It's been part of Asia commercial holdings for the past few years, Mr Keav Sui Kouch AKA Kevin Kouch is the name on the company documents for Ball USA, Ball UK, Ball SA, Juvenia, Accord and Wakmann watches along with Eav Guech Rosanna of Asia commercial holdings. All the above watch companies share the exact same Swiss address. There was a whole thread about this, but it's been taken down, maybe the sponsor didn't like the truth !
> 
> Sent from my ALP-L29 using Tapatalk


I should add, Ball watch USA is not part of Ball watch SA, even on their own website they state that they are the distributor for Ball in the USA.

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## Karkarov (Feb 22, 2016)

That email is junk I would delete it. For reasons I won't go into I have gotten emails from both Ball Watch USA and SA on a number of occasions. None of them came in broken English, with religious sounding greetings or endings, or crappy signatures consisting of a first name only.


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## Alansmithee (Aug 8, 2014)

I just received the following:

_Dear loyal customer,

It came to our attention that you made a bid 105% of MRRP for a Glory in the myball auction. As a result of this bid, you now have a controlling share in the company. We await your commands.

Yours in God,

Rod. 
_


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## surfuz (Jul 2, 2017)

If the emails are targeting at existing customers and this is not legitimate, does that mean that their system has been hacked and we are all vulnerable, especially our credit card info ? 

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## bmfang (Feb 12, 2016)

surfuz said:


> If the emails are targeting at existing customers and this is not legitimate, does that mean that their system has been hacked and we are all vulnerable, especially our credit card info ?
> 
> Sent from my G8142 using Tapatalk


This makes me glad that I haven't put in my credit card details into the online shop.

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## timefleas (Oct 10, 2008)

Before this thread gets derailed into another one of those tiresome "who owns Ball" threads (in this day and age of multinational companies, does it really matter?), the OP asked us about a rather odd email he received--wherein, the writer, claiming to be a Ball representative, asked if the OP wanted to have them "build" a watch for specially him (say what?), or if he had any feedback he wanted to pass along. Now, as many have rightly pointed out, that approach is arguably strange to say the least (particularly the build a watch part), from whatever country it was sent, and if it indeed was from Ball, then they have truly descended into unchartered marketing waters--I am going to continue to assume this email was a "phishing" expedition with little or no relation to the actual Ball Watch Co., until proven otherwise.


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## Elkins45 (Aug 4, 2013)

Not to be all superior or anything, but has anyone considered asking Ball?I didn’t receive the email even though I participated in the MyOffer program, FWIW.


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## gossler (Mar 19, 2009)

If I recall correctly, I was redirected to another site where I uploaded my credit card info. It was not on the My Offer site. I am not worried...


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## bmfang (Feb 12, 2016)

The funnier thing is that I have never placed an offer on the MyOffer site. And I wouldn’t either as my NEDU is my first and last Ball.


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## Davemcc (Apr 18, 2014)

I sent a reply for good or ill. I'm not too concerned in the sense that when I reply, all they have now is my email address which is exactly what they had before. The reply address looked OK to me. 

I think that corporately, Ball is kind of a weird company. It's a Chinese owned Swiss company that conducts their online sales through a .ch domain. I even have a vague notion that Ball is not the corporate conglomerate that we think it might be. I triple checked the legitimacy of the Genesis pre-order before making the purchase because it all seemed very strange. But I took the chance and it worked out. 

It's clear that Ball is trying to find it's place in the new digital marketplace with the MyAuctions and special model pre-orders bypassing the traditional retailers. I think it's a great idea going directly to previous customers to ask what they would purchase next. The awkwardness of the letter didn't seem to bother me given the international nature of the company and it's willingness to try new ideas and innovate quickly. I wonder if the owner or some manager gave their child an entry level job in the company and assigned them the task of finding new market strategies and this is what they came up with, like giving Bill Ford Jr. an entry level job at Ford before making him CEO. LOL

I didn't even notice the God reference until after my reply. DOH


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## bmfang (Feb 12, 2016)

Davemcc said:


> I sent a reply for good or ill. I'm not too concerned in the sense that when I reply, all they have now is my email address which is exactly what they had before. The reply address looked OK to me.
> 
> I think that corporately, Ball is kind of a weird company. It's a Chinese owned Swiss company that conducts their online sales through a .ch domain. I even have a vague notion that Ball is not the corporate conglomerate that we think it might be. I triple checked the legitimacy of the Genesis pre-order before making the purchase because it all seemed very strange. But I took the chance and it worked out.
> 
> ...


I also sent a reply to the email address with some suggestions for better or worse. Not expecting anything to come of it to be honest.

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## verreauxi (Apr 19, 2009)

This has happened before, about 4 years ago. I had an exchange with a Ball employee. I sent them an idea, they responded very positively and said they would look into it. They ended up not building the watch, but the same employee emailed me again, saying I should contact their office manager since they wanted to send me a t-shirt. I did this, and they sent me a Ball t-shirt. I didn't have much faith that they would actually pay attention to my design, but like I told them, I did have fun thinking of a design.

So the current email going around (from Kevin, if I recall) pretty much appears to be a similar one that I received a few years ago. Folks on other forums and here suspect it is a fraud, but it doesn't seem so.

My email exchange is below (my name is Rich; Henry is the Ball watch employee):

Dear Richard,

Ball Watch Company S.A. will like to cordially invite you - our privileged VIP customer to participate in a panel to involve in the design of next generation of ultimate explorer watch. 

We shall be grateful if you can boldly name us any unmet needs or new watch functions to meet the needs of your work or leisure activities. 

Do you see any improvement on current BALL watch should be made?

Thank you in advance for your suggestions. 

Faithfully yours,
Henry

******

Hi Henry,

I'm pleased that you thought of me with respect to obtaining my input on possible new Ball watch designs.

I do field research in Madagascar. My field site lacks electricity so we often eat by candle light and I read by flashlight. My ideal explorer/traveler's watch would have the following: a 24 hour alarm, a GMT function, + day/date function, and of course lots of lume to see the time at night. Often we get in contact with colleagues or family via a satellite phone and a GMT function is good to remind us of the different time zones. Also, having an alarm setting would be optimal as I can set this to remind me of various functions, appointments, and even for reminding me when to leave the lunch table to head back out to find my lemur research group.

In any case, I have attached a .pdf document (made in power point) of my ideal explorer's watch to this email. It is certainly much more detail than you probably need (or wanted), but it was certainly fun thinking of the concept. Who knows if what I am proposing is mechanically possible!!??

Highlights include: 
--An alarm watch with a GMT hand--not GMT window. To me, it is much easier to read a second time zone via a GMT hand
--A 24 hour alarm such that one can set the alarm more than 12 hours in advance
--A unique alarm-setting system that is accomplished via a rotating inner bezel
--An ability to read both alarm set time and alarm on/off at night via backlit tritium windows

Please see my attached .pdf document.

Who knows if you will be able to incorporate these features into a Ball watch one day, but I certainly had fun thinking of them.

Thanks for asking me for my input. 
take care,
Rich

********


Dear Richard,


Thanks for your valuable insight. Sorry for my late reply as we need to categorize various incoming ideas.


Madagascar - I hardly know this place. It must be an adventure to do field research there. May God always bless you.


We are very fascinated with your suggestion - 24 hours alarm.
It is so far the best and practical idea we have received. We love it.
We shall innovate and build you the watch that rocks.
You have our words that the 1st watch coming from our factory will be honorably engraved with your name and gift to you.
Please allow us to study the engineering.
We shall involve you in the design process and come back to you in 7 months.


To express our sincere gratitude, we shall send you a special BALL innovation t-shirt -- under production.
Expect late 2012/early 2013.


_Please confirm us your postal address and advise us your permanent e-mail address to [email protected] 
with attention to Gloria, and kindly let us know your preferred t-shirt size : (Large) or (Medium).

Faithfully yours,_

_Henry

***********

_


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## bmfang (Feb 12, 2016)

Interesting. I guess I’ll keep checking my email to see if Kevin responds


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## john.6 (May 28, 2014)

From Balls Facebook page today, note the language used is like the email sent:

BALL Watch Company. Dear xxxxxxx, thanks for your kind compliment. It is our pride to have your esteemed as our loyal VIP customer. We shall work harder to build you the most robust watch which withstands adverse conditions. To rise to the challenge in life. To Be Yourself. God be with your family, Faithfully yours, Jennifer


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## brandon\ (Aug 23, 2010)

Ask them how the weather is where they are and cross-reference here: https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/NIXX0012:1:NI.


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## terexac350 (Aug 13, 2017)

I am pretty sure the email is genuine, go to the Ball Facebook page it's staffed by people using exactly the same type of language "esteemed VIP and God bless you etc. Jennifer from Ball is blessing everyone and their families. I doubt very much that this run from Switzerland given the terminology used.

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## daiKel (Feb 2, 2014)

Don't think I've ever received such email in Hong Kong... but I would be delighted if I get one in inbox one day!


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## mharris660 (Jan 1, 2015)

Greetings, my name is WantaBe Reale, me is a solicitor for a finally deceased gentleman residing in the Congo. In his papers I find he left you, [insert name here] 23.7 billion dollars. Please kindly sir provide banking information which includes sosial security numbers and bank account number so we can wire these monies to you. We will need a small transfer from your bank to ours to validate the account of course, hope you understand. P.S. enjoy your Ball watch.

Signed, walking in the footsteps of the rightous and blessed, beaming the light from above,
WantaBe Reale


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## terexac350 (Aug 13, 2017)

mharris660 said:


> Greetings, my name is WantaBe Reale, me is a solicitor for a finally deceased gentleman residing in the Congo. In his papers I find he left you, [insert name here] 23.7 billion dollars. Please kindly sir provide banking information which includes sosial security numbers and bank account number so we can wire these monies to you. We will need a small transfer from your bank to ours to validate the account of course, hope you understand. P.S. enjoy your Ball watch.
> 
> Signed, walking in the footsteps of the rightous and blessed, beaming the light from above,
> WantaBe Reale


Considering many Asian people speak English as a second language, and if you bothered to check the Ball Facebook site you would read the language used is consistent with the email, your reply comes across as quite offensive to both African and Asian people.

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## MarkingTime (Aug 6, 2013)

terexac350 said:


> Considering many Asian people speak English as a second language, and if you bothered to check the Ball Facebook site you would read the language used is consistent with the email, your reply comes across as quite offensive to both African and Asian people.
> 
> Sent from my ALP-L29 using Tapatalk


Methinks you take life too seriously.


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## sarmajor (Jan 24, 2010)

Kevin Kouch is a real person and I have received many emails from him. I have also spoken to him on the phone several times.
Henry is also a real person and we exchange emails from time to time.
The "God be with you / your family " salutation is very common and is used in every email that I have received from Henry.

As to whether the message the OP received is genuine only time will tell, but my money is on genuine.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you both, Henry and Kevin.


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## timefleas (Oct 10, 2008)

Based on the five pages of responses so far, the message does appear that it could be "legitimate"--that still begs the larger question, which is its contents, which to me, still seems way out in left field. If they indeed want buyers'/users' feedback, what better place to get it than from forums such as this, or from sellers such as forum sponsor Topper?--as opposed to random missives not sent to all buyers (or ADs), but only a "select" few--still seems more like micro-brand touchy-feely than anything truly constructive or useful, and way out of line from an "established" company like Ball.


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## nevermind (Feb 24, 2014)

Just received this email from the same address..... [email protected] :


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## Tonystix (Nov 9, 2017)

God be with you?? It's fake.


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## timefleas (Oct 10, 2008)

Tonystix said:


> God be with you?? It's fake.


Or not, as discussed at length in the five pages preceding this...


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## Kevin_S (May 12, 2018)

I got one, too. I replied asking for status on my Engineer Legend III. Will let y'all know what comes back..


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## jkingrph (Feb 6, 2018)

I received that e mail yesterday. Having recently bought a Trainmaster Roman recently and placed another order for one of the Starlight models, I simply cannot be ordering another watch.


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## John Price (Feb 21, 2011)

I too just received the same email. I'm still considering what to respond with.


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## surfuz (Jul 2, 2017)

I just checked my mailbox, received the mail too.

Interestingly, I also received an email today from zChocolat chocolate maker to share feedback though my last order was 2 years ago.

BALL should learn from them.. At least they attach a photo and contact number. Or maybe at least a coupon code for next Ball preorder..









So let it be written. So let it be done.


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## peterbee (Feb 23, 2018)

I got it as well this morning. I never sent then any emails, so it must be the result of my registering the Engineer King.


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## surfuz (Jul 2, 2017)

Just to add on, the email from Ball is legit.









So let it be written. So let it be done.


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## nevermind (Feb 24, 2014)

Maybe this could be a great opportunity for ALL of us to reply and ask if they'd consider a WUS special edition. Crowdsourced design, affordable price.
If he gets enough feedback maybe they'll do it?


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## Balldy (Jan 14, 2009)

Same email recieved today 

Balldy


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## gossler (Mar 19, 2009)

I received the email too. I wonder if you could ask for new designs?

Like the lovechild between these two.


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## Bruce R (Sep 7, 2017)

I got that email. It's a bit quirky but endearing as well. I wish I had some great ideas for a super cool watch, but I don't.


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## Burningstorm (Jul 14, 2017)

I got the email a couple of days ago. I actually replied back (more of a joke) and asked for Ball Batman GMT (Rolex style) had a reply a couple of hours ago and guessing hes joking with me...


Thanks for your kind note.
Indeed, we shall launch it next month.

Faithfully yours,
Henry


Made me chuckle.


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## Alysandir (Jun 29, 2016)

Have received one as well, although I've never registered an email with Ball (to the best of my knowledge). My one and only Ball (*rimshot*) was purchased at an AD a couple years ago and I don't recall being asked for an email. Very odd.

Regards,
Alysandir


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## dmunz (Oct 22, 2009)

Seems to be a bit of mirth here. My email came to a very old, seldom used address so I couldn't see the harm in replying.

I am curious about the reference to "...our own manufacture GMT caliber with independent quick set button on the GMT hand". It that real? I have not been watch shopping for awhile so I'm not really paying attention these days. Did I miss something from Ball?

FWIW
DLM

Here is the exchange:

Dear David,

Thanks for your valuable insight.
We love your brilliant recommendation - GMT watch with mechanical alarm.

We have developed our own manufacture GMT caliber with independent quick set button on the GMT hand.
Will now proceed to develop our 3rd manufacture caliber with GMT + alarm function.

It is indeed our honor to have your esteemed as our VIP customer.

Please feel free to let me know whenever you need to service your BALL watches.

God be with your family,

Henry

On May 31, 2018, at 8:16 PM, David <> wrote:

Kevin,

Thank you for the note and interest in my opinion.

I do own a number of Ball watches (EHC GMT I, Trainmaster Voyager GMT, EMII GMT II, Trainmaster 120) and really like the brand and the use of TI for illumination.

The sweet spot for me would be a GMT watch with a mechanical alarm. That is a watch I would probably pre-order sight unseen.

Regards,
David


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## WhoIsI (Mar 22, 2016)

I got the same email too. I thought it was a spam mail.
Good to know you guys got them like me.

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## Elkins45 (Aug 4, 2013)

I asked for more titanium offerings with titanium bracelets. And contrasting hand colors.


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## mplsabdullah (Jan 21, 2015)

I received one as well yesterday. 

I guess Ball is going grassroots for the people. Seems to be an interesting approach however it also came off a little creepy and the email reaks of a scammy fishing email. 

Ball is smart (imo) with doing more online and making other business adjustments to try and keep afloat in the current climate.


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## sarmajor (Jan 24, 2010)

I got one too. Asked for black DLC bracelets and Deployant clasp for Rubber straps. Looking forward to seeing what new releases Ball Watch have this year.
Received the EHC Black recently and am wearing it on a Rhino Zulu strap at the moment.


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## caesarmascetti (Dec 17, 2007)

I got one as well asked for a reissue of the skindiver in 40mm with sword hands


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## dmjonez (Jul 14, 2013)

I asked for free samples...


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## gossler (Mar 19, 2009)

sarmajor said:


> I got one too. Asked for black DLC bracelets and Deployant clasp for Rubber straps. Looking forward to seeing what new releases Ball Watch have this year.
> Received the EHC Black recently and am wearing it on a Rhino Zulu strap at the moment.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


They doo have them.


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## Philly369 (Oct 11, 2016)

Wrong thread


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