# Ball Fireman 43mm Review...



## Greg H. (Feb 23, 2006)

First of all, one of the things that drew me to the Ball Fireman was the Micro Gas Lights. And, the fact that this Ball is available in 43mm, also attracted me. 40mm is the other option. The Fireman is available on a leather strap or s/s bracelet.

The other options one must choose are the dial color, and the accent color. It is available with either a white dial or black dial. The accent color options are as follows: yellow, orange, or blue.

The yellow is what I chose. It is a dark yellow. The orange option (in the photos, anyway), almost appears red. The blue is bright blue. 
The Ball Fireman is powered by an ETA 2824-2 automatic movement. It features the day of the month at 3:00. Currently, mine is about 5 seconds fast in the first 24hrs. 

The Crystal of the Fireman is glare-free Sapphire, and it is flat. The dial is almost a matt black. The dial color is very soft in the light.
There are 16 Micro Gas Lights on this timepiece. 2 Red @ 12:00, 1 each Green on the hour, minute, and second hand, and 1 each Blue on the other indices.

The following are the more Specifics of the Ball Fireman 43mm Timepiece..

Case Size: 43mm w/o Crown (47mm w/Crown)
Case Thickness: 11.1mm
Caseback: Screw-down
Dial Size (diameter): 35mm
Crown Diameter: 6mm (Crown is screw-down)
Lug Width: 20mm
Lug to Lug: 53mm
S/S Bracelet: 20mm wide w/screwed links, double fold over clasp 
Water Resistance: 100m / 330 ft.
Shock Resistance: 5,000Gs
Anti-Magnetic: Functionality is unaffected when exposed to a magnetic field of 4,800A/m

This 43mm Ball Fireman wears easily on my 7.5" wrist. Ball tapers the lugs down which adds to the overall comfort. From my photos, you can see that the case and bracelet are brushed. You will also see that on the sides of the case, the lugs are stepped. I think this adds a nice touch. :-! 
The hands are blacked out from the center 3mm. Then; they are white. And; the opposite end of the Second hand features the Ball 'RR' logo. Very nice! The 'RR' logo can also be found on the Crown, and the bracelet clasp.

Everything about this timepiece says Quality. Other Ball owners mentioned this. And; they are right!  Just handling the Ball Fireman tells you it's robust. Looking at the case, dial, and bracelet tells you of the care in putting it all together. And, not often do you find timepieces in this price range that feature screwed bracelet links.

Oh! And; about the Micro Gas Lights; very cool! They don't overwhelm. They just glow nicely. You begin noticing this as dusk begins. At dark; they are awesome. During the day, you forget they are there, really. They do not really protrude or stand out. Other people would be clueless to the fact that they even existed.

So; when you get past the Gas Lights, what you have is a beautifully constructed Swiss Timepiece that transcends time, and brings back a bit of history. Afterall; Webb Ball originally founded Ball Watches in 1891 as the Official Railroad Standard for Time Keeping. The motto: 'Since 1891, Accuracy Under Adverse Conditions'.


























































No Flash..

















Thanks for reading, and looking at my photos! And; please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Thanks!


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## steelydad (Aug 9, 2006)

Nice, succinct review. Your watch looks to me a lot like an IWC Ingeneur in terms of its well crafted and solid appearance. Can you tell me what the MSR is on the watch? 

I saw one yesterday at an AD, and he said that Ball was raising prices on Feb 15th, btw.


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## spvwolfy (Feb 12, 2007)

*Great review. Nice pix. I like that watch.:-! *


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## bigdaddyx6 (Mar 9, 2007)

Hi everyone! New to this forum. Great watch. Went into a watch store and walked out with the Ball Fireman Chrono. Sweet watch. Love the way it feels. :-!


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## Greg H. (Feb 23, 2006)

steelydad said:


> Nice, succinct review. Your watch looks to me a lot like an IWC Ingeneur in terms of its well crafted and solid appearance. Can you tell me what the MSR is on the watch?
> 
> I saw one yesterday at an AD, and he said that Ball was raising prices on Feb 15th, btw.


Hi! And, thank you. When I purchased mine (October 2006), it was $799 retail. I purchased mine from, 'The Watchmaker' in Stoneham, MA. They are an authorized dealer - Brick & Mortar store. So, I actually got 3 years warranty. I bought it over the phone - not gray market.  Bob Weiner was my salesman. He's a great guy to work with, too. I got a nice deal!

http://www.thewatchmaker.com/ballwatches.html


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## jds1017 (Jun 21, 2007)

Awesome watch! Have been thinking of getting an everyday watch to preserve my Broad Arrow 1957. The most logical choice was the Ball. I ended up getting the Fireman Skylab edition. Not only is it a beauty but it also serves many purposes. Gotta love the luminiscent dials. Ball is indeed the best kept secret in the watch industry.


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## bullosa (Jul 11, 2007)

Greg H. said:


> Water Resistance: 100m / 330 ft.
> Shock Resistance: 5,000Gs
> Anti-Magnetic: Functionality is unaffected when exposed to a magnetic field of 4,800A/m
> 
> Thanks!


The Ball Fireman does not have anti-magnetic protection. As far as I know only the Engineer Hydrocarbon, Engineer Master II and Engineer Master series have anti-magnetic protection.

That said, this is one beautiful watch at a great price.


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## jjmc2001 (Jun 22, 2007)

Nice watch. I am close to buying one myself but I have a quick question. According to my quick research I found that the 43mm has a 21mm lug width and the 40mm has 20mm. The 21 mm leaves more limited options for other straps. Any one know the answer. thanks


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## Frontierman63 (Oct 30, 2007)

jjmc2001 said:


> Nice watch. I am close to buying one myself but I have a quick question. According to my quick research I found that the 43mm has a 21mm lug width and the 40mm has 20mm. The 21 mm leaves more limited options for other straps. Any one know the answer. thanks


Hi jj,
The lug width is 21mm but you can (and i have) put 22mm straps on them with no problem:-!
Good Luck and dont forget to post up pics in the Ball section when you get it


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## ebrandwein (Mar 10, 2006)

Great review :-!


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## srmdalt (Feb 20, 2008)

Great review. I am thinking about getting this exact watch as my first good watch to start my collection.


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## nitrojunky (Aug 2, 2008)

I've always liked the idea of 3H + phosphorescent paint as a light source. I have quite a few gas tubes in the form of trijicon sights on some guns and they work excellent. The only issue is its 12 year half-life, but then again the service life of my last expensive watch was about that.


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## Vito_Corleone (Aug 2, 2008)

srmdalt said:


> Great review. I am thinking about getting this exact watch as my first good watch to start my collection.


Good luck. All the dealers I spoke with told me it is discontinued (at least the 43mm blue that I was looking for). It took me two days to track one down, it was supposedly the last one at any AD in the US.


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## philskywalker (May 28, 2009)

Would 725 for a gently used one be too much??


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## Will_f (Jul 4, 2011)

bullosa said:


> The Ball Fireman does not have anti-magnetic protection. As far as I know only the Engineer Hydrocarbon, Engineer Master II and Engineer Master series have anti-magnetic protection.
> 
> That said, this is one beautiful watch at a great price.


AFAIK, the ETA 2824 movement is good to 4,800 A/M all by itself, and a bit better in the Top and COSC versions thanks to an upgraded balance and spring. Someone let me know if this isn't correct or this watch has some other movement.


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## LosTresGatos (Nov 5, 2011)

I heard some Ball watches have their own in-house movement which I assume to be based on the ETA 2824 since they also use that as well. I'm not 100% sure which models use em however. The only Fireman I own is a Fireman Ionosphere and as far as I know, all Fireman Chronos use the ETA 7750


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## Kid_A (Mar 2, 2014)

great watch..based on my experience ball's team is doing really great job as far as the overall quality and manufacturing of the watch is concerned. great choice!!!



Greg H. said:


> First of all, one of the things that drew me to the Ball Fireman was the Micro Gas Lights. And, the fact that this Ball is available in 43mm, also attracted me. 40mm is the other option. The Fireman is available on a leather strap or s/s bracelet.
> 
> The other options one must choose are the dial color, and the accent color. It is available with either a white dial or black dial. The accent color options are as follows: yellow, orange, or blue.
> 
> ...


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## watchmego3000 (Jul 12, 2012)

Kid_A said:


> great watch..based on my experience ball's team is doing really great job as far as the overall quality and manufacturing of the watch is concerned. great choice!!!


Shame, he sold the watch 7 years ago.

https://www.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=68847


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