Latest Ball Pre-Order sale EHC Aero GMT Blue/Black GTLS lit bezel

[Samanator]

I stopped by my AD this past weekend. After all the BS Ball pulled with dealers, they are allegedly coming out with some dealer-only models, and calling/begging dealers to start picking up stock, again. Their direct-to-consumer efforts have failed BIGLY and business is BAD.

They played to the Johnny come lately crowd and it has bitten them in the butt. The move killed the loyal fan base like myself that actually purchases more than one. I like this but I’d rather not spend $2k on something that has an inexplainable pricing structure other than they threw a dart at a board to decide the price.


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[Dan R]

I don’t get it either since that is the original model and the newer cures the no tube in the second had issue and has the dual color bezel. Both should increase the price.


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I would not get one without the tube in the second hand. Still love this one!



Dan

[KennethRSloan]

Very nice, and with a Motor Barrel too! The hands, however, are not my style. Hard to tell from the pics, but do the gears have gold in them like some of the Hamilton models?

Enjoy it in good health!

Dan

Well, I have another with replacement hands - but these are the (hint: desirable) original hands. Ball partnered with many established manufacturers before more or less settling into a long term relationship with Hamilton. In 1928 (and only 1928) it was Illinois (I think that's right, but I didn't check this). The hands, and the stirrup case, are the distinguishing features.

There's a great many similarities in the various Ball-XX versions over the years. Ball wrote the specs, took delivery on the movements, and then (somewhat rare in those days) cased them. Dial design, and hands, were also specified by Ball. Ball also "tweaked" the movements to be sure they were in spec. This whole arrangement may sound familiar now - but it was (I think) unique at the time. In particular, at the time it was common for movements and cases to be sold separately, married only when purchased at retail.

Ball literally "wrote the book" on specifying what it meant to be a "RR Grade" watch, and led the movement to establish precise timekeeping on the railroads after a famous collision (in 1895?) between two trains on the same track going in opposite directions because the watch belonging to one of the conductors stopped. In my opinion, this fanaticism about keeping RR time produced a long line of world-class watches, culminating eventually in the Ball-Hamilton, and finally (the last man standing) the Hamilton 992B. My collection is (arguably) simply a sampling of that development, ending in a ridiculous number of "4C" 992Bs assembled from parts left over after the Hamilton production line shut down.

The Ball-Illinois (RR grade "Official Standard") is one of the harder ones to find at a reasonable price. So, this may be my last one. The only ones scarcer are the Ball-Howard models, which are simply out of my league.

I have a pair of Ball Walthams from 1899, another Ball Waltham from 1915, a pair of Ball Elgins (1904, 1905), and a bunch of Ball Hamiltons (1905-1953), in addition to the two 1928 Ball Illinois gems. They are all still going strong. Someday I'll pull together a photo-album post

[skywatch]

Someday I'll pull together a photo-album post

Please do! I love these beautifully engraved movements and the history of accurate timekeeping, when it was a challenge to do it right with these little portable machines..