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12 January 2020, 10:29 PM | #1 | |
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Any Ball Watch Owners?
I know there are some here who will snicker at the name and make coarse comments because of it; so it goes. There are some in every group. Ball watch was founded by Webb C. Ball in the late 1800s in response to what was then quite a tragedy caused almost solely by a rail road workers failed watch resulting in a train collision. W. C. Ball took on the responsibility of making certain that RR workers watches met standards which prevented a recurrence of the fatal accident. Below is a lengthy quote from the Ball Watch website.
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12 January 2020, 10:38 PM | #2 |
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The more I become familiar with Ball Watch and their watches the more I'm impressed. It was the Tritium powered lumes that first brought the company to my attention. Their history and tradition has won me over. They seem to be a very innovative company stepping beyond the norm in the watch industry. They are innovative in lumes, anti shock development, use of material (now 904L steel), anti magnetism, crown protection, deployant clasps, in-house movements (80 hour reserve COSC) and design.
https://www.ballwatch.com/global/en/technology.html |
12 January 2020, 10:48 PM | #3 |
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Used to own a Ball Aero GMT. Great watch, although I could never get along w/ the bracelet. Too many sharp edges and it amplified the sharp bottom lugs on the wrist as well.
However, on a Bonetto Cinturini rubber nato it was sweet! Very accurate, easy to read, and really cool to view the glow on redeye flights. Alas, I sold it to buy the Tudor GMT and happy with that decision. dP
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12 January 2020, 11:51 PM | #4 |
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Had a limited edition Hydrocarbon Alligator back in the day. Didn’t get much wrist time so sold it but they are very good watch for the money. That one was a beast!
Love the tritium tube numerals.
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13 January 2020, 09:47 PM | #5 |
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Any Ball Watch Owners?
For me I've got two. One is a Ball for BMW which doesn't have too much going for it other than the BMW logo on the dial. The other is Ball Marvelight which I find very comparable to a DJ (40mm) with much better lume. It's a nice solid watch on the wrist.
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14 January 2020, 04:37 PM | #6 |
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My Ball watch is my movie night watch or anywhere else that I might need lume without a charge.
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14 January 2020, 04:55 PM | #7 |
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I only became aware of the brand in the pas12 months.
Picked up an Engineer Hydrocarbon GMT a couple of months ago. |
14 January 2020, 05:08 PM | #8 |
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This was my choice.
Ball Fireman II.
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14 January 2020, 06:56 PM | #9 |
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I love the history of Ball Watches. I've owned a number of them. Currently have two - the Trainmaster Moonphase and Pilot GMT. I love the tritium, especially of the glowing moon!
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14 January 2020, 09:43 PM | #10 |
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I had many Ball watches and missed them all, really enjoyed having them and was my favorite mid tier watch brand.
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14 January 2020, 09:49 PM | #11 |
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Don’t really know much about them to be honest Lee, but thanks for the post. I’ll be checking them out
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15 January 2020, 12:22 AM | #12 |
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I have owned a bunch of Balls. In fact, I would guess that I am the Baller on this site.
My first was a Ball for BMW GMT. I have since added the same GMT in DLC and have added the BMW Chronograph in both steel and DLC. I also have a Fireman Racer in DLC, the one with the Orange numbers. I owned an orange NECC but that particular bracelet never won me over and felt too sharp in certain spots. I also own a Fireman Racer with the white dial and blue numbers. Oh, and I have a Ball LE Power Reserve with a slick suede band. That's a nice one. |
15 January 2020, 08:13 AM | #13 |
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I like Ball a lot, more so of the history. Some of their designs really like while others, not so much. They do excel in a few areas like their tritium tubes.
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15 January 2020, 10:40 PM | #14 |
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Picked up a Ball Marvelight and sold my Rolex GMT. I love the tritium dial and being able to see it at night without having to charge it. Its a very well built watch for a very good price if you shop around.
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16 January 2020, 11:13 AM | #15 |
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Hey Buddy, "Are you on the ball...?"
Hey Buddy, "Are you on the ball...?"
Where did that saying come from. A few searches that it means: someone is on the ball, they are alert and deal with things quickly and intelligently But, as I was looking to spend my millions on a new watches, an older Salesman approached me and began talking about Ball watches. At one point he asked me if I knew where the saying came from... I had never really thought about it. He tells me in the old days when Trains were prominent, that Conductors and people who ran the train needed an accurate measure of time, and that When you asked someone if, "they were on the Ball," it meant to say are you using a Ball Watch, the RR Train Standard, so that they knew you had accurate time keeping. So, who knows if true, but a cute story none-the-less, and yes I also am looking for a Ball to add to my collection...
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19 January 2020, 09:28 PM | #16 | |||
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There are some really nice models!!! I think they are at least on par with Tudor in quality. They're tritium tube usage makes them a step ahead imho. |
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20 January 2020, 01:37 PM | #17 |
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Almost got a Marvalight II white dial but chose a Breitling over it. Will definitely consider the Marvalight in the future.
Love the history of the Ball brand. |
21 January 2020, 12:58 AM | #18 |
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While I love ball, selling a Rolex GMT for a Ball Marvelight seems odd to me. We must be missing something.
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21 January 2020, 09:19 PM | #19 |
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It could be simply that Jim tired of the GMT and thought of better ways to use his money. Not all that strange. I've no use for a GMT as I have and ExpII. Also love the Marvelight as it has lume that actually works all the time. Some of us are watch users and not only collectors. I woke this morning with the Marvelight on my wrist glaring in my face and thought, "damn, that's bright." It's hard to appreciate working tritium if one's never owned a watch with it.
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22 January 2020, 03:55 AM | #20 | |
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I consider myself a watch user, not a collector at all. The tritium is amazing. My Rolex datejust II, which was my first Rolex has atrocious lume. The expII is better, but still not at the level of Ball's. |
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25 January 2020, 05:03 AM | #21 | |
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3 February 2020, 08:20 AM | #22 |
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This is so insanely timely and much appreciated. Thanks, HogwoldFLTR for starting this thread, as well as to all of you who've chimed in. I actually started researching this brand yesterday because I'm looking for a vacation watch that IDGAF what happens to when I'm abroad. It seems like great value for the money and I agree with y'all about the history and tritium. My question is the quality of the bracelets. For those of you who have/had them, are the bracelets well made? Since we're all Rolex guys/gals and fans of the 904L and quality of the Oyster and jubilee, how do the Ball bracelets wear? Thank you!
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3 February 2020, 09:50 AM | #23 | |
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I have no experience with other Ball references but would imagine you'd be happy with the quality. dP
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3 February 2020, 10:56 PM | #24 |
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Great info, Dan...thank you. That’s insightful because since both brands use 904L, there clearly must be disparities in the steel’s craftsmanship that the wearer can feel. I’m having a tough time finding pics of their bracelets (clasps, too); although Tim at WatchBox Studios did a good review on YouTube. I’m definitely going to think about it more and likely won’t make a move until post-Basel (hoping for a Bluesy Sea-Dweller and would be pissed at myself if I threw away $3K on something else haha). Thanks again.
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6 February 2020, 11:11 AM | #25 | |
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18 February 2020, 12:48 AM | #26 | |
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Is it me or is this a first for a watch company? A new unit of measure, the Ballsecond and Ballminute. |
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18 February 2020, 03:06 AM | #27 | ||
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As a side question, can anyone suggest a tool to grind the edges without doing too much damage? Quote:
I really like the dial, and the phantom hands, it feels like an analog aircraft instrument to me, but the bezel is sapphire (I think) to allow the tritium tubes's lume to light up, and it does not look good in daylight in comparison to the ceramic or aluminum bezels on my other watches that cost more than a couple of hundred dollars. On the plus side, it looks great, if a little busy, in the dark, especially if you use a flashlight to light up the non tritium lumed numbers on the dial. I'm going to give it some more time, but right now I haven't bonded with it.
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19 February 2020, 01:16 AM | #28 |
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The new one that's coming out has pre-order and free engraving. It looks really nice.
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21 February 2020, 10:44 AM | #29 | |
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