Ball Watch Company

BALL Watch Company was a company of watches' distribution.
The history of BALL watches is inseparable from that of the railroad pioneers. Indeed, the BALL Watch adventure began on 18th April 1891 with the tragic railroad accident in Kipton (Ohio) in the United States. This catastrophic head-on collision between two trains resulted in eight fatalities. This disaster has left a lasting impression, all the more so since it was due to the inaccuracy of the watch belonging to one of the trains’ engineers.
The main American railroad companies then entrusted the watchmaker Webster Clay Ball (1847 - 1922) of Cleveland (Ohio) with the responsibility of establishing strict chronometric precision standards for all watches used by railroad employees. As “Chief Time Inspector”, he took to creating a time standardization system based on extremely strict criteria of accuracy and reliability. In order to maintain the accuracy of the railroad network, he also created the "BALL Time Service". Employing more than 1,800 inspectors and over 75% of the railroads in America, it allowed to regularly check the timepieces of all rail employees. The requirements of Webb C. Ball were of such validity that they inspired later in 1973 the Swiss Society of Chronometry (COSC) for the establishment of its own chronometric certification standards which are still applied today.
By founding the « Webb C. Ball Watch Company » in Cleveland in 1894, Webb C. Ball has spread the use of watches bearing the “BALL’s standard” logo to virtually the entire United States railroad network. Their renown rapidly extended beyond American borders and the phrase « to be on the BALL » came to mean absolute precision. In order to provide watches that complied with its own quality and reliability criteria, BALL Watch fitted its timepieces with movements manufactured in Switzerland. While preserving its American origins, BALL Watch Company relocated its international headquarters and watchmaking workshops to Switzerland in La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchatel.
The names of its collections have been selected by BALL Watch to honor the old railroad heroes: Engineer Hydrocarbon, Engineer Master II, Engineer II, Conductor, Trainmaster and Fireman.
The BALL watches are certified “Swiss made” and house mechanical movements based on the ETA calibers onto which can be grafted numerous additional modules. The strength of BALL watches is reflected in particular by their shock resistance, their defense against magnetic fields and their water resistance. Real signature of all BALL watches, the dial indexes and the hands are fitted with micro tubes of luminous 3H gas. Ensuring perfect visibility even in the deepest darkness, this state-of-the-art Swiss technology requires no external source of light or energy while being up to 100 times more efficient than conventional luminous paints.

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