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Old 5 August 2016, 06:32 AM   #31
77T
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Ownership aside, the experience I've had with Ball was positive. The only exception was Ball wouldn't allow my CW21 watchmaker order parts...
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Does anyone really know what time it is?
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Old 5 August 2016, 06:33 AM   #32
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agreed.
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Old 5 August 2016, 09:52 AM   #33
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Ball may have been owned by Americans, but it's now based in Switzerland. Backed by a group out of HK if I remember correctly.
It is American owned today as well.
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Old 9 August 2016, 06:22 AM   #34
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It is American owned today as well.
Ball Watch USA is US Company that is a distributor of Ball watches. It does not manufacture watches. Interestingly the source for this indicates that a Jeff P Hess is a managing member of the company.

Ball Watch SA formed in 2005 is HQ'd in Switzerland, and manufactures the watches that are currently being marketed s Ball.

Wouldn't this be somewhat like saying that since Rolex USA exists, Rolex is therefore a US brand?
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Old 9 August 2016, 10:45 AM   #35
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Our watches are made in LA Chaux de Fonds at a factory within a stones throw from Cartier, Bulgari, Corum. Tag, NArdin, Breitling and other factories.

When we go to lunch in this tiny town, we are always told to keep our conversation very low since the entire town is made up of friendly competitors.

:)
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Old 9 August 2016, 11:49 AM   #36
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Jeff - can you let us know why Ball Watch parts aren't able to be bought by independent certified watchmakers?
I've been quite please with the 3 Ball models I've owned over the years.
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Old 10 August 2016, 12:50 AM   #37
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Yes. There are several reasons:

1. My agreement with my Swiss Partners not to allow it.
2. The vagaries of strict laws on Tritium. (By law, we must track these "Sealed source" watches via serial number. And we must keep tritium watches behind two locked doors. This may seem archaic but this is the law.)
3. Even the best watchmakers seem to mess up the tritium dials, causing us to eventually have to fix them anyway.
4. Most importantly, my Swiss partners are very exacting about the amount of parts we get and how we get them and what watch they went into. Exacting efficientness.
5. We can barely get enough spare parts for ourselves. If the pipeline size increases we would consider it.

Thanks for asking and thanks for the kind words on this thread.

Jeff
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Old 10 August 2016, 01:44 AM   #38
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Appreciate that info and makes perfect sense. I had not thought about the tritium risks.

Anyone who hasn't seen the terrific lume on a Ball Watch is missing something terrific.


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Old 13 October 2016, 04:15 AM   #39
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I have a ball GMT for which has barely 1/10th the glow noticed on some of the pictures posted. Is there a way...any tips.... to get it to glow more or does it warrant a trip to Ball service center. The timepiece is barely 2 years old and I wonder if the T25 tubes have already died out on me....any help would be appreciated.

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Old 13 October 2016, 04:54 AM   #40
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^
Pictures are misleading – they can be manipulated in post processing or taken at a longer exposure, thereby letting more light fall on the sensor, at the expense of noise…although certain cameras are clean up to around ISO800-1600.
Tritium tubes are not as bright as Superluminova, but then they don’t fade – they’re a steady output for 10-12 years, before they drop to half-brightness.
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Old 28 October 2016, 01:38 AM   #41
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Thanks for the info.

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Old 12 December 2016, 10:54 PM   #42
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Tritium tubes are not as bright as Superluminova, but then they don’t fade – they’re a steady output for 10-12 years, before they drop to half-brightness.
Funny, because right now I'm re-reading a Tom Clancy novel that talks about how tritium is used in atomic bombs to multiply the yield. So I guess that "half-brightness" is related to the half-life of that radioactive material.

Think about that the next time you looks to see what time it is.

Most Ball watches are too large for me, but I do like them and am considering them for my next non-Rolex purchase.
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Old 8 October 2018, 08:57 AM   #43
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Icon13 Ball Watches

That was good to hear.

My experience with Ball was somewhat different. It never kept time since the day I bought it from JR watches in Melbourne. It has also stopped working twice since I had it.
I tried to send it back for repairs, and they just refused to help. I contacted the manufacturer, and they also refused, even under warranty.
Needless to say, it has been in for repairs 3 times now, and it is still fast by 1.5 minutes per month.

It really wasn't worth the money.
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Old 20 October 2018, 08:18 AM   #44
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That was good to hear.



My experience with Ball was somewhat different. It never kept time since the day I bought it from JR watches in Melbourne. It has also stopped working twice since I had it.

I tried to send it back for repairs, and they just refused to help. I contacted the manufacturer, and they also refused, even under warranty.

Needless to say, it has been in for repairs 3 times now, and it is still fast by 1.5 minutes per month.



It really wasn't worth the money.


I didn’t realize Ball had such issues - what kind of repairs were needed?
Also, 90 second fast per month, or +3 per day seems pretty good, within COSC standards and approaching Rolex.


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Old 3 March 2019, 02:00 PM   #45
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yeah 90 s per month is beautiful really. but yeah i hear you, sounds like you've paid for three repairs to get it to +3 a day. not very good.
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Old 6 March 2019, 01:32 AM   #46
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I’m sure the odd one slips through QC sometimes-


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Old 10 May 2019, 09:04 AM   #47
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One of the reasons I am no longer the North American distributor after 13 years is the quality control issues.
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Old 12 May 2019, 05:02 PM   #48
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One of the reasons I am no longer the North American distributor after 13 years is the quality control issues.
You can always wear your 007 James Bond watch That thing is a classic.
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Old 7 June 2020, 09:20 PM   #49
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Old thread, but I've just bought a Trainmaster power reserve. It's definitely the nicest looking watch I own. Very solid build also. I'm genuinely pleased considering the price.

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Old 10 June 2020, 08:04 PM   #50
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Ball has been growing on me and I'm thinking of getting a Ball Engineer HydroCarbon Airborne. Not too sure about servicing though. Would any watch smith be able to source parts? I believe the movement is a modified ETA movement with anti-shock and anti-magnetism.
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Old 10 June 2020, 09:19 PM   #51
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Any AD should be able to deal with the servicing.

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Old 10 June 2020, 11:18 PM   #52
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BALL watch--simply awful

Quote:
Originally Posted by hastie73 View Post
Any AD should be able to deal with the servicing.

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The trouble is Ball won’t sell parts to certified independent watchmakers.

That does force an owner into a limited choice of authorized service centers.

For example, here in NA:
https://www.ballwatch.com/global/1/c...bean---11.html


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Old 11 June 2020, 12:54 AM   #53
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The trouble is Ball won’t sell parts to certified independent watchmakers.

That does force an owner into a limited choice of authorized service centers.

For example, here in NA:
https://www.ballwatch.com/global/1/c...bean---11.html


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Thanks for the info! This is what I'm concerned about. I'm looking at buying the watch online and bringing it into Australia. I just had a look and there only seems to be one Ball authorized service-center in Australia. I would want to be able to take the watch to an independent watchmaker to service or repair. If Ball left the Australian market, there would no recourse, and owners of Ball watches would have to send their watches overseas for servicing or repairs. It's a shame because I do like their designs and ruggedness.
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Old 27 July 2020, 12:28 PM   #54
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Thanks for the info! This is what I'm concerned about. I'm looking at buying the watch online and bringing it into Australia. I just had a look and there only seems to be one Ball authorized service-center in Australia. I would want to be able to take the watch to an independent watchmaker to service or repair. If Ball left the Australian market, there would no recourse, and owners of Ball watches would have to send their watches overseas for servicing or repairs. It's a shame because I do like their designs and ruggedness.
Whats the big deal, just send it in, how hard could it be??

Why is everyone complaining about parts, MANY watchmakers don't provide parts to independent watchmakers, why is this news to some of you?

If you want your BALL ETA movement serviced any competent watchmakers should be able to do it without any issues, if you need BALL proprietary parts such as tritium just send it in for servicing, whats the issue?

As far as reliability, I have owned about 10 in the past and never had an issue including reliability and timekeeping. Great watches.
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Old 27 July 2020, 04:58 PM   #55
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My local watch repairer in Glasgow can fix Ball watches, and source parts, according to him, with no issues. He says pretty much any accredited repairer can. I hope that helps.

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