Ball Watches - Technology

The problem of telling time in the dark dates back to the very early days of civilization. In many villages and hamlets, people had no choice but to use a sundual during the daylight hours and a graduated candle at night. Both systems had their flaws - the time told by a sundial varies during the year, while the precision ot the latter, a fairly costly system consisting of candles said to burn at a consistent rate, was not very good.

The BALL solution to the problem of reading time in the dark is Self-Powered Micro Gas Lights (3H). The Swiss technology safely captured pure tritium gas in a mineral glass tube coated with luminescent material. The light is produced when the electrons of the tritium strike the luminous phosphors on the inside of the glass.

The 3H micro gas lights glow up to 100 times brighter than luminous paints for up to 25 years. They do not require charging from any outside light source. The encapsulated tritium gas poses no rick to the wearer over the life of the watch.

Automatic watch acuracy is easily affected by magnetic fields. Even a brief contact with a man-made magnet, which is very common in our daily lives, could lead to magnetization of an unprotected automatic movement.

What does the term "antimagnetic" actually mean? The existing standard is defined thusly: if a mechanical watch does not stop when exposed to a magnetic field of 4,800 A/m and subsequently does not deviate by more than 30 seconds per day, it can be called "antimagnetic". The Ball Watch antimagnetic collections employ a special case desing constructed with corrosion-resistant ferrite stainless steel materials and are specially equipped with an inner soft iron jacket consisting of a back plate, a ring surrounding the movement and the dial. The special alloy, reinforced by the shape of the inner case, prevents magnetic fields from penetrating as far as the movement and having an adverse effect on the watch's accuracy.

Our researchers at Ball Watch Company have engineered timepieces with special lubrication for expeditions in the North and South Poles. These timepieces feature specially blended Swiss watch oils that give the watches an operating temperature range from -40°C to 60°C (-40 to 140°F). This special feature allows the Engineer Hydrocarbon to fulfill its promise as a dependable partner for Ball Explorers in their endeavors in the wrold's most challenging environments.

Movement oil plays a vital role in every mechanical movement - it acts as lubricant that reduces the friction between contact surfaces of the different small components within. Without the lubricant, the friction created would wear out the movement and adversely affect its accuracy.

In practice, Ball engineers blend oils to modify and perfect the lubricating and thickness properties of the combined mixture. When considering how thick a lubricant to use, one must determine the thickness of that lubricant at the coldest temperature the timepiece will be subjected to. Watches worn on the wrist under normal conditions should not be lubricated with the ultra-thin lubricants necessary in extremely cold environments. By blending watch oils, our talented watchmakers can achieve perfect lubrication in all temperature ranges.

The pulling of objects toward Earth by gravity is called G force and it is just a measurement of acceleration. The force of gravity when you sit, stand or lie down is considered 1 G. In normal activity, we rarely experience anything other than 1 G.

As you pull more Gs, your weight increases correspondingly. A 10-pound human head will weigh 90 pounds when he pulls 9 Gs.

Shock resistance refers to the Gs experienced in the blink of an eye. The transition between motion to a complete stop in an instant creates immense stresses. This could be disastrous for the internal components of a wristwatch.

Built with the highest quality standards in mind, every BALL Watch undergoes rigorous testing procedures to verify its impeccable shock resistance up to 5,000Gs. According to the International Standard (ISO 1413), the shock resistance test is conducted using a pendulum impact-testing machine. The mechanism sets off a circular movement that brings the pendulum to hit the watch from 1 meter. The first shock is directed against the case, parallel to the plane of the watch, on the 9 o'clock side. The second shock is directed against the glass, perpendicular to the plane of the watch.

At Ball Watch Company, we go beyond the above standard by testing the Engineer Hydrocarbon collection with a tougher 1.5 meter hammer strike, raising the resistance to 7,500Gs. We also add a third shock test directed against the relatively weaker 3 o'clock crown position of the watch to test our patented crown protection system and ensure it functions properly. The Hydrocarbon must pass this 7,500Gs shock resistance test without any damage. Finally, the sapphire crystal used in the Engineer Hydrocarbon collection is specially made 4mm thick for better protection.

Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) coatings provide superior scratch resistance and longevity. DLC is nearly as hard as a natural diamond and slicker than Teflon. Metals coated with DLC exhibit impressive hardness, low friction, high resistance to wear, and even electrical insulation. Research shows that DLC coating dramatically improves the performance and life of any material.

Water resistance is tested by immersing the watch completely in distilled water containing a wetting agent of 1% by weight and under the prescribed atmospheric pressure for at least 5 minutes. To be qualified, the watch must not show any evidence of leakage.

The water resistance of Ball Watches ranges by collection. The Trainmaster and Conductor collections begin at 30 meters. The Engineer and Fireman collections are 100m. The Engineer Master collection ranges from 100m to 300m. And finally, the Engineer Hydrocarbon collection begins at 300m and goes up to 1,000m for the limited edition Alligator.

The Engineer Hydrocarbon collection also boasts a special crown protection system to further ensure water resistance in rough environments.

The Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon collection is specially protected against the elements. Its patented crown protection system guarantees superior water and shock resistance, even at the most vulnerable area of the case, the crown.

When watches fail, it is not usually due to a crack in the case or crystal. In fact, many watches are damaged due to water or shock damage that comes from the crown. The crown, particularly if it is not a screw-down crown, is among the most at risk parts of a watch. For this reason, all Ball Watches use screw-down crowns.

A special crown protection system was designed for the Engineer Hydrocarbon series to guarantee its exceptional water resistance - up to 1,000 meters on the limited edition Alligator. A protective plate is placed around the crown, which ensures the crown must been screwed down to its original secure position after time adjustment.

The shock resistance test conducted on Hydrocarbon models also tests the crown protector to ensure it will prevent damage to the crown and resist water leakage as well. The crown is tested with 7,500G shocks to ensure its durability.

The Ball TMT movement uses a spiral bimetallic thermometer to measure temperature with far more accuracy than temperature modules used in past watches. The outside edge of the spiral is pinned to the frame and a pointer is connected to the center. As the temperature increases the spiral winds up, deflecting the pointer clockwise.

The most difficult technical challenge our researchers faced in the mechanical thermometer (TMT) watch project was that the height of the entire movement module must be just 5.1mm. Our master watchmakers have overcome many design obstacles such as the height of the bimetallic spring, the height and milling of the main plate and bridge.

We invented a unique system of fine regulation using a patented fine regulating screw. The role of the fine regulating screw is, on the one hand, to adjust with precision the position of the temperature indicator, and on the other hand to hold the bimetallic spiral at its extremity. After fitting a hand on the axis of the thermometer, we test the measurement and control its vibrations. Finally, we conduct rigorous shock tests to ensure shock resistance.