Ball

Who are Ball?

The Ball Watch Company is a Swiss watchmaker based in La Chaux-de-Fonds. It was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1891 by Webb C. Ball, the jeweller who set the accuracy standards for American railroad watches after a fatal train crash that year (Wikipedia). This page covers its history, collections and ownership, then what to check when buying a second-hand Ball in the UK.

Ball’s watches today are Swiss-made and mostly use supplier movements, many of them COSC-certified chronometers, lit by small tubes of tritium gas (Time+Tide; Wikipedia). The company trades as BALL Watch Company SA (Ball).

The history of Ball

Ball’s history runs from a Cleveland jeweller’s shop, through the Kipton train wreck of 1891 and the railroad watch standards that followed, to a Swiss company making sports and tool watches.

Webb C. Ball. Webster Clay Ball was born in Knox County, Ohio; Wikipedia gives 6 October 1848, while Coronet gives 1847 and his birthplace as Fredericktown. After an apprenticeship he settled in Cleveland, and Coronet says he bought into Whitcomb and Metten Jewelers in the late 1870s and was sole owner of the Webb C. Ball Company by the early 1880s. After the railroads adopted Standard Time in 1883, he was the first jeweller to use time signals from the US Naval Observatory (Wikipedia).

The Kipton wreck. In April 1891 two trains on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway collided near Kipton, Ohio. A conductor’s watch had stopped for about four minutes and was found to be a factor (Wikipedia). Sources differ on the details: Wikipedia’s article on Webb C. Ball gives 18 April and nine deaths, its article on the company gives 19 April, and Coronet gives 18 April and eight deaths. Time+Tide says six postal clerks and two engineers were killed.

Railroad standards. Railroad officials made Ball their Chief Time Inspector (Wikipedia). His standard for railroad watches required at least 17 jewels, a double roller, lever setting, a plain white dial with bold black hands, a winding stem at 12 o’clock, accuracy within 30 seconds a week, and adjustment to at least five positions and to temperatures from 40 to 95°F (Wikipedia). Ball also set up a time service in which railroad workers brought their watches in every two weeks to be checked (Wikipedia). Coronet says Ball helped the General Railroad Timepiece Standards win nationwide acceptance in 1893, and Wikipedia and Time+Tide say his criteria later inspired the Swiss chronometer standard, COSC.

Movements made by others. Ball’s railroad watches used movements from other makers. Time+Tide says the company recased movements from Hamilton, Elgin and Waltham; Coronet cites an 1890 advertisement saying Ball’s Standard Railroad watches were made by Dueber-Hampden, and says Waltham made 16-size Ball watches by the end of the 19th century. Wikipedia says Ball used Swiss Avia movements by the 1940s, and Coronet says Record Watch Co. made some Ball watches in the mid-1950s. Ball died in 1922 (Wikipedia). American railroad watches of this era more often carried movements from makers such as Hamilton, which supplied the US rail network directly rather than through Ball’s own standard.

Into Switzerland. Coronet says Ball released the Trainmaster in the late 1950s, and Time+Tide mentions a Trainmaster reissue in the late 1970s. The two sources differ on when the family let go: Coronet says the company stayed in Ball family hands until the mid-1980s, when Jeffrey Hess and Francisco Herrera and partners re-established it as a Swiss company; Wikipedia says the family owned it until the 1990s, when the right to the name was sold. The company is now based in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Wikipedia).

What is Ball known for?

Ball is known for its railroad heritage, for lighting its dials with self-powered tritium gas tubes, and for making large numbers of COSC-certified chronometers.

Railroad heritage. Ball’s Trainmaster collection is presented as a tribute to American railroads and the first watches stamped “Ball’s Standard” (Ball).

Micro gas tubes. Most Ball watches use self-powered micro gas tubes, which contain tritium gas and glow without needing to be charged by light (Time+Tide). Time+Tide says the glow stays bright for about ten years, after which the tubes can be replaced, usually during a scheduled service.

Chronometers. Ball made 5,031 COSC-certified chronometers in 2015 (Wikipedia). Our guide to COSC certification explains what the certificate means. Certina, another sports-watch brand with a similar focus on accuracy and water resistance at an accessible price, takes a comparable approach with its own shock and water-resistance concept.

Movements. Time+Tide says Ball’s current ranges tend to use Swiss movements from suppliers such as ETA and Sellita. The Engineer M series uses only Ball’s own manufacture calibres, which Ball says are designed and built in-house (Ball). Our guide to in-house and outsourced movements explains the difference.

Magnetic resistance. Ball says its Engineer III models resist magnetic fields to 80,000 A/m, or 1,000 gauss (Ball).

Which Ball collections are there?

Ball’s current range is grouped into the Engineer families (Engineer Hydrocarbon, Engineer Master II, Engineer III, Engineer M and Engineer II), Roadmaster, Trainmaster and Fireman (Ball).

The collections table on this page gives a line on each family. A few points help when you read listings:

• Engineer names. The Engineer families differ in purpose: Hydrocarbon for the toughest use, Master II for diving and world time, III for magnetic resistance, M for Ball’s own calibres (Ball). Read the full model name and reference, not just “Engineer”.
• Manufacture or supplier movement. Only the Engineer M series uses Ball’s own calibres throughout (Ball). Ask which calibre the watch has, because it decides who can service it.
• Chronometer or not. Some models are COSC chronometers and some are not (Ball). Check the dial, the papers and the reference.
• Vintage railroad watches. Ball pocket watches from before the Swiss era use American movements by makers such as Hamilton, Waltham and Elgin (Time+Tide; Coronet), and are a different purchase from a modern Ball wristwatch.

Who owns Ball?

Ball is privately owned. The company trades as BALL Watch Company SA, based in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Ball; Wikipedia). Coronet, writing in 2022, names Jeffrey Hess as chief executive and says he, Francisco Herrera and partners re-established the company as a Swiss business when it left the Ball family in the mid-1980s; Wikipedia dates the sale of the name to the 1990s. Time+Tide says Ball is no longer independently owned but does not name an owner.

Ball does not publish a list of its shareholders.

Buying a Ball watch second-hand in the UK: what to check

Check the reference and papers, which movement the watch has, the gas tubes, the service history and the warranty; then run a stolen-watch check.

1. Papers and the full set. Ask for the warranty card, box and, on a chronometer, the certificate, and check the serial number against the case. Our guide to what “full set” means explains what each item proves.

2. Gas tubes. Check every tube in a dark room. Time+Tide says tritium tubes stay bright for about ten years and can be replaced during a service, so on an older watch ask when they were last changed and whether all the tubes match.

3. Movement and servicing. Ask which calibre the watch has, when it was last serviced, by whom, and for the paperwork. A supplier movement and a Ball manufacture calibre may need different service routes. Our guide on how to care for a mechanical watch covers what a service involves.

4. Warranty. Ball’s website did not show its warranty terms when we checked. Ask the seller whether any warranty remains and how it would be claimed. See watch warranties explained.

5. Authenticity and theft. Buy from a seller who will put authenticity in writing and accept returns. Our guide on how to spot a fake watch covers what a watchmaker looks at, and our stolen-watch check guide lists the UK registers to search before you pay.

For the full process from setting a budget to collecting the watch, see the guide to buying a luxury watch.

Frequently asked questions

Who founded Ball watches?

Webb C. Ball, a Cleveland jeweller, who founded the company in 1891 (Wikipedia).

Is Ball an American or Swiss company?

It began in Cleveland, Ohio, but is now a Swiss company, BALL Watch Company SA, based in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Wikipedia; Ball).

Who owns Ball watches?

Ball is privately owned and does not publish its shareholders. Coronet names Jeffrey Hess as chief executive in 2022.

What happened at Kipton in 1891?

Two trains collided near Kipton, Ohio, after a conductor’s watch stopped for about four minutes. Railroad officials then made Webb C. Ball their Chief Time Inspector (Wikipedia).

What was the railroad standard?

Ball’s standard required at least 17 jewels, accuracy within 30 seconds a week, adjustment to five positions and temperatures from 40 to 95°F, a plain white dial with bold black hands and a winding stem at 12 o’clock (Wikipedia).

Why do Ball watches glow?

They use self-powered micro gas tubes filled with tritium, which glow without being charged by light (Time+Tide).

How long do Ball gas tubes last?

Time+Tide says about ten years at full brightness, after which they can be replaced during a service.

Does Ball make its own movements?

Some. The Engineer M series uses only Ball’s own manufacture calibres (Ball); most other ranges use Swiss supplier movements from makers such as ETA and Sellita (Time+Tide).

This page is general information. Watch60 is independent and has no commercial relationship with the Ball Watch Company.

We check the facts on this page against the sources listed, and it is correct to the best of our knowledge as of October 2026. Brands change their warranty, servicing and sales terms, so confirm them with the brand or the seller before you buy.