Ball is an absolutely amazing brand which offers great value for money. My very first 'real' watch that I bought was a Ball Trainmaster which I unfortunately had to sell due to my girlfriend being diagnosed with leukaemia. I do feel that their designs are very hit or miss and that their classic looking pieces appeal to me more than most of their modern and more experimental ones. As soon as the (financial) situation allows it I am definitely picking up a Ball again to celebrate. Either a Marvellight, Trainmaster or Roadmaster M!
easily one of THE most underappreciated brands in their segment. on the plus side, they're so underappreciated that discounts abound so the "value for money" is even greater with some patience :)
Hey man, thanks for asking. She was doing great and ended her maitenance treatment 4 months ago. Last week unfortunately they found something during a routine test. This week she will undergo more testing. She is strong, but things are not looking too great right now. We will know more about what it is and can be done once the test results come in :(@@matthewsanders6499
@@scottlauren3145 Depends on the model. I have one of their sports models that is completely brushed (case & bracelet). Then I have another piece with an identical bracelet that has a lot of polishing.
@@JinKee a nuclear arsenal made up of tritium weapons would be highly entertaining. Tritium emits beta radiation which isn’t even capable of penetrating the outermost layer of your skin. It would have the same effect as throwing sand at a concrete wall.
@@MrMadvillan if they're cheap enough I'll send one to my watchmaker and instruct him to pluck the tubes off the dial to replace the fading ones on my older watches. Not really though.
1) Half life of Tritium is 12.32 years. That means, in 12.32 years, any given sample of Tritium will lose half of its radioactivity. 2) NITE watches (out of the UK) has Tritium watches with Swiss movements (both Swiss Quartz and Swiss Automatic). 3) I have one of their T100 (4 times as bright as T25) Quartz ICON watches. It outshines Ball watches - It truly has to be seen. I'm a fellow lumatic and I have several Tritium watches. The NITE ICON is my brightest watch by a significant margin, even significantly brighter than my other T100 (Massdrop Tritium watches you've reviewed). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Love the design of Ball watches! The only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger is the size. Wished there is a smaller case size option, IMO 36-38mm is the sweet spot for a non-dive watch!
Hey Jody, this watch is a absolute stunner. I love this kind of watch. For me it hits the sweet spot between tooly and dressy. The tritium tubes are an added bonus of course. I just wish the bracelet had a bit of taper to it. A brilliant review, look forward to more tritium stuff. Cheers!
The Ball Engineer M Marvelight is an amazing watch for the money, I've loved Ball watches for years but never saw many reviews on youtube until the past 6 months when its gone mad for them. I hope 2021 is the year Ball watches finely get the mainstream recognition they deserve.
And so Jody ventures down the Tritium rabbit hole............at least you’ll be able to see what time it is😂 Beautiful watch, and another great review. Maybe Carnival watches might be worth a squizz?
Great looking watch! I have a 41mm GSAR and wear it more than my expensive watches. Would love a video on all the brands that make tritium tube watches!!
I have been wanting to add a Ball to my collection for some time now ....This may be the one to pull the trigger on..!!! Thanks for this cool review..👍👍👍
Just got my Engineer III Marvelight today. I love it. Just removed two links to get it to fit me, and we're off. The blue glow from all but the 12 o'clock marker is absolutely stunning. Feels solid, (904L steel) but not too heavy. I normally wouldn't be one for a cyclops date, but its grown on me over the last 9 hours lol
Ever since I saw this review earlier in the year I’ve had my eye on getting a Ball. I just picked up a Fireman Nightbreaker on rubber strap (RRP £1050) for just under £600 in an AD sale in Glasgow with an additional discount on top, Same case as this one, but blue concentric circle dial, red second hand with tritium and no RR counterbalance on second hand and the date is at 3. The rubber strap smells of cupcakes because they use vanilla oil in them apparently, so that is another unique addition to the overfull watch box! Love the channel, keep up the good work!
I own a Bicentennial limited edition Ball watch myself which only 200 pieces were ever produced. Gorgeous red bezel with see through case back. Ball watches are just so under rated IMO. I also love how the bracelet reminds me of the railway track.
Welcome to the club. I own 2 Ball Trainmaster's; a 38mm GMT, and a 40mm power reserve with enamel dial. The lume is just the tip of the iceberg with these watches, the build quality and attention to detail is exceptional. Some of the best watches available today.
When I was a kid, I had an old Tissot watch of my dad's that had radium. It was great being able to view it all night long. And, when I held it right up close to my eyes, I could see lots of tiny little flashes, like lots of microscopic torches being turned on and off repeatedly. The watch was a bitch to wind, though.
First timer here. Loved yr coverage of the Ball fireman victory. I've just finished purchasing one tonight. Drove myself pleasantly crazy for months deciding. It boiled down to a Longines Conquest auto black face 15:59 and the Ball 😂😂😂
I am a nuclear engineer by trade, and Ball has an “engineer” line of watches and all of their watches have nuclear powered lume, so it feels like they are calling my name. Unfortunately as you mention most of their watches are pretty busy, especially in their engineer line. Combine that with my preference toward smaller watches (around 36mm, and ball has pretty much nothing under 40mm) and my hate of butterfly clasps and I have yet to find one that I would actually consider buying
I hate butterfly clasps too. But the one that comes on my Ball watch is the nicest I've ever come across. I forget it is a 'butterfly' as soon as I put it on.
For an Ali express tritium I suggest the epoch watch brand. I have a blue one that is a strap monster and the tubes glow nicely. Featured on my insta channel in the last week @watchandcocktail. Fun movement too.
I know this is an older video but if you’re interested in Ball watches this is the series of watches that I recommend. They are reasonably priced and this watch fits well on the wrist, it is very flat in the center and the lugs don’t lift off the wrist excessively in my opinion like the Engineer III tends to do. I have both. My wrist is around 7.5” or so and I can wear the 43mm Engineer III just fine but I prefer this one.
Ball line, named after Locomotive Engineers, Locomotive Fireman, Trainmaster etc. It's all about railroading... Beautiful watch and I just purchased a Ball Fireman "GLORY", since that is what I hired out as, before promotion to Engineer....42 years went by fassssst...! Great video as usual.... GG
Great video - I am a big Ball Watch fan (have 6 of them). You should check out the Tritium light display on the Ball Fireman Ducks - it's nuts. Each minute marker has a thin tube inlaid into the dial. So with the hands as well, that's over 60 tritium tubes! It's very well done and looks spectacular at night. As you say, the build quality of these watches is phenomenal. The bracelets & clasp on the Hydrocarbon range are on another level.
I LOVE my Ball watches!!! I was camping in Death Valley (Racetrack Playa) last weekend at 3AM in total pitch darkness and my Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon AeroGMT II with micro Tritium gas tubes that didn't let me down at all and I also can read my book from the ultra bright lume, believe it or not, folks 😀
I've been a fan of Ball for a while now, and my favorite might be the moonphase-the moon is lit by tritium gas tubes! It also has a 3 o'clock date, you might want to check it out, Jody:)
A small correction: the half-life of Tritium is 12.3 years so at 24.6 years 1/4 of it remains. Perhaps it at this point that the light isn't bright enough to be effective.
I have an old Stocker and Yale Sandy 540 from the 80s, the Tritium is still usable when I wake up in the middle of the night but the orange 12 pip has kicked the bucket.
Was coming to say the same thing. I believe people typically quote 25 years as the effective life for tritium watches since, as you say, after a quarter of the lume is gone it will have minimal functionality
We have to remember that brightness as perceived by the human eye is logarithmic (a 400 lumen light seems just twice as bright as a 100 lumen light, not 4X as bright), so by 24 years it may seem half as bright.
One thing missed here is that the Rail Road Standard or RR, was the precursor to COSC standard or a "Proto COSC", if you will. I myself have a Hydro Carbon Magnate GMT and it punches well above it weight.
Glad to see you finally get on the Ball mate! I've been mulling over the dual time Engineer Master GCT for a while now. In the meantime, you may want to take a peek at Traser Watches for some tritium on the cheap. I picked up a P96 Pioneer from Marc at long island watch a couple years ago. Amazingly lightweight little beastie with a Swiss Rhonda quartz movement and under $300(U.S.) on sale. Then last year I nabbed a bronze beauty P67 Officer Pro from a German dealer on Chrono24 for around $700 on sale, (including the bloody VAT) and it's got the same ETA movement as that Ball. She's one of my favorite shiny bits as she's got loads of lume + tritium tubes. If you're interested, I'd be willing to send you both watches if you want to review them.
There are only a few companies making watches with tritium that have horological significance, and for me that is a bummer. Marathon makes some good offers but their low end model has its moans Jodi stated in a recent video. Ball of course has a lovely history with their railway linked hertage, but they are all on the high end for someone like me who makes such a small amount of income. I hope that soon more companies offer a low end tritum watch that doesn't have a 16 mil strap size with marathon, or super expensive like Ball and their amazing looking lineup. Hopefully it comes soon because I want a tritum watch! And I would love American made, simple, rugged, normal strap size, and at least 100m of water resistance. Love the channel! Keep it all coming.
STUNNING!!!!! By far one of the best watch you have reviewed for yonks. However, that weird yank and release clasp is just daft. I can hear you say....HELLLOOOOW and just one more BALL! after this (or not)
You should check out the Islander series of watches. Perfect for this channel in terms of price point and specs received. Plus the lume is amazing on it. I have had the watch for about 5 months now, slept with it on last night from 9-6 and the Lume was still glowing when I woke up.
As far as affordability goes, you should check out Aragon watches. They recently came out with two new tritium models. They always seem to have a sale going on, so depending on the model you should be able to pick one up for $170-$250 USD. You just have to keep in mind that their watches run on the larger size and come in some bold colors. Cheers.
Jody, just for info. I have a Nite watch which has T25 tubing. Mine is a Nite Icon. Nice clean dial, no fuss, glows for 25 years. Love it, the only down side is that it is a quartz but, it is a Swiss made quartz..!
Jody, I agree about the clasp. I've got an Engineer Marvelite 2 (basically a Rolex OP36 clone, including Cyclops) and it took me twenty minutes to get the dam thing off my wrist! My daily wear is a Nite Alpha 300 which uses T100 tritium tubes, a Swiss Ronda quartz movement, 10 year battery life, 316, ceramic and sapphire, 300m water, blah, blah blah, but the best thing is that it lights up the freaking bedroom wall at night. Based in Christchurch, UK. Worth a look at £430 Stirling.
I have numerous Ball Watches including a Fireman Enterprise. The best one is the Marvelight M in my opinion and here are the reasons: 80 hour power reserve, tapered bracelet, see-thru sapphire case back- domed sapphire crystal, and tritium tubes in the applied hour markers. It's a stunner for sure! $1980 at Gnomon and worth every cent...
Glad a watch channel I like reviewed one of these. I have this exact watch, except mine is blue sunburst,. This was my first automatic and def my first watch that is more than a couple 100 bucks. Absolutely love it and I'm glad to see a solid review. Thank you!
I purchased a Traser Outdoor Pioneer last year , Swiss made excellent milspec looking watch Traser is the sister company that makes and supplies the tritium , Microtec .
The date window at the 4:30 ruins it for me and look how far into the dial it’s located! A telltale sign that the movement’s too small for the watch itself 🤨 And adding insult to injury, said date wheel isn’t dial colored either. Apart from that though, I do quite like it. Just wish they toned down a bit on the high polish everywhere! Is there a no-date version of this watch maybe?
I agree, Jody....love the watch. Have almost purchased several times....then I see the date window and can’t pull the trigger. I think it would be best at the 6 position...then it would be a no brained. Great review. Thanks
I picked up a Ball last year and I don't know why I waited. It's this same watch you have, but black dial. I have said it many times in comments elsewhere, and I'll finish up that trend here: That bracelet, while somewhat of a pain to dial in the sizing, is the most comfortable butterfly bracelet I have on any watch, and when it's on it's ON.
LOVE Ball watches! You might want to take a look at their Engineer II Moon Phase (the moon lights up at night which I think is very cool), Engineer III Pioneer or their Fireman Enterprise. Like you, I do not like a "busy" watch. I like it classy without a whole lot of fuss going on under the crystal. Ball makes some GREAT watches. Thank you for reviewing this watch. One of the things I do love about watching your videos is that you do cover the good things as well as the moans and niggles! Thank you Jody for ALL you do for our watch community!
#lumepigs unite! Love the design on that Ball watch and the dial color is just gorgeous. Great choice, Jody! I’ve got T25 tubes in my collection but would love to see some T100 in person to compare. Cheers! 😎🍻👍
Using tritium tubes is a bit heretical to me. One reason is they are just straight and can't be put into shapes like regular lume. You might as well get a quartz watch with electric light if you want good illumination imo.
@@metatechnologist I can understand how you mean, that’s definitely a downside to tritium tubes and I agree. It would be nice (and part of me wonders if possible) to do glass shapes that are round, triangular, etc.
@@DavidSchwartzjr I'm thinking of improving lume chemistry. Shaping small glass tubes seems cost prohibitive. The other thing is that tritium does go out so it's not great for something you want to pass on. Maybe they can be replaced but probably expensive to do so.
Went into my local "good" jewellery shop to buy an Oris T1. Had never heard of Bell. Shop were very keen to show them to me. Not a sales push but to show the quality. That was about 6 years ago and I still haven't felt a better bracelet. I did buy the Oris. I do have a Bal on my watch list.
Deep Blue have a solid 41mm Tritium Diver with T100 tubes, it’s less refined than the Swiss options and with a NH35 movement but I take mine diving without being precious with it and it sure beats my old Luminox that flooded after 4 years of use.
I'm so happy to see you reviewing another man's Ball (sorry, too easy). I got an Engineer III Marvelight, and I was going to see if you wanted to review it. But I'm glad you reviewed this one. Gorgeous.
Hi Jody, many thanks for yor videos, I love them! At the beginning of this video you stated "once you´ve had Tritium, you´ll never go back" and that´s where I do not agree :-) I bought a nice new Traser H3 Trooper about 10 or maybe 12 years ago and it looked awesome, I was completely overwhelmed with the overnight readability. But there´s nothing left since one or two years, no more shine, you can´t read the time anymore when it´s dark. That´s rather disappointing, while the shiny period lasted significantly less than the 12,3 half-life time of Tritium. For that reason, I´m back to normal lume and won´t buy another H3-powered watch. Keep on with your fantastic work!
I’ve got the fireman nightbreaker and with the date at the three o’clock position I think it may be the perfect do anything piece. Really an interesting brand, I just loathe the arabica though, I’d never get anything that looks as if my child had drawn it. Love the textured dial, lume and size. Weight on strap is fantastic. Just a class watch.
Love this watch and the great history of the Ball brand. Side note... Webster Clay Ball was very likely named after two Whig politicians and great American statesmen of the 19th century, Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. Love your channel and content. Keep up the good work!
Jody, thanks for the heads-up on the Vostok Zissou! I got my case back yesterday. Well they actually sent two instead of a case back and a mesh bracelet. They told me to keep the extra and the bracelet is on backorder. Now I just have to wait for the watch which were also out of stock, but I was able to find one in Amazon. Thanks for helping connect my watch love to one of my all-time favorite movies.
DEEP BLUE sell a 500m diver with beautiful Trtium lume for around £300. Might even be less. Applied lume is in a much lower class in comparison. I would highly recommend you give them a check out. I think that they are an American company. Happy hunting the tritium. Love the show, Pete, bedford,UK
Great looking watch. But if you want an affordable watch with Tritium (H3) tube dials check out MWC. They do several watches with H3 dials, divers, pilots and field watches well under $500.
Great review Jody! But I've never understood why Ball doesn't upgrade to the T100 tubes... The T100s are so much brighter. Both Aragon and Deep Blue offer T100 autos with the NH35 for $175 to $300. They also have Swiss Autos with the T100s. I'd think that a Ball with the T100s would be a category killer. The lesser T25s are probably what keeps me from wanting to buy a Ball. Just sayin'...
I own a hydrocarbon gmt and a storm chaser chronograph. Love my BALLS!! All jokes aside, you get a lot for your money with ball. They just dont hold value well so look second hand if you arent sure it will be a keeper.
Nice one! I’ve often almost pulled the trigger on a Ball Marvelight a couple of times... I think how ornate they are has kept me from doing it. As a dive watch guy, I wondered if a Marathon GSAR or TSAR would tickle your fancy. Those Marathon dials are so busy...
Great review!! Yeah the Fireman is a masterpiece!! I have it in my Crosshairs! I see your point about the kitchen sink comment on a lot of their pieces. They aren’t the only ones doing it. But the attractive thing about the Fireman is how you described it in the review. It’s elegant and simple!! Not cluttered. I personally like the blue dial and the three versions, I’d problem go for the smooth dial. Although, the sunburst is doable. I agree about the crown. It’s something I complained about on someone else’s review.
Glad you're loving Ball, Jody! I have a few Balls and they are magnificently built and innovative (Magneto S, Deepquest, and Engineer II Volcano - all chronometers). I also have a couple of Deep Blue watches and they're solid value for money especially when you get them on discount. I have a few Nite watches as well and they have great T-100 flat tritium and the 10 year battery versions are very convenient, although these mostly quartz watches are a little plain in design. I also have a Traser P67 officer pro automatic with a beautiful mix of tritium and superluminova, although I don't wear it too much as it feels a little delicate with push/pull crown. An MWC titanium with tritium and superluminova and the 10 year Rhonda 715li gets the most time on wrist at home. As much as I love tritium, I find I like to hedge with some superluminova as that will probably never need refreshing. The Balls are still my favorites, though they are deeply under appreciated/unknown by many. I would buy more Balls (check out Marvelight, Aviator, or Green Berets) but I have too many watches at the moment and don't want to spend higher dollars these days and am instead into some Kickstarter innovations. 😅
I have been admiring Ball watches from afar. Fortunately or unfortunately i have gone to a one watch collection (Casio doesn't count) and my Sinn 556A on bracelet is really doing a good job.
At last, Ball Watches getting some recognition! I have three, absolutely love the quality and history. I even have a vintage one from 1995, tritium still working 😊
When I first started getting into the hobby wanting to expand from Casio G-Shock I discovered luminox I still have several that I love and I have some special edition That collaborate private space exploration companies. I actually got a couple T 100 watches that really make my luminox t25 tubes seem dim. I like to wear one to bed because I can see it all night long. Ball is definitely on my bucket list since I have just about every affordable watch that I think I could ever want I want a few luxury pieces now
The date window is about a millimeter off-center between the four and five o'clock mark and I just can't unsee it. Otherwise a great looking watch. JP.
A nice looking dial and bracelet. Not fussed with the butterfly clasp but the GTLS tubes are great. Thought it would of had a better movement than the NH38 for the money? Or am I being too fussy. Traser, a brand of the Swiss microtec group, do the P59,P67 range of watches with the T25 and T100 tubes and are recognised as the best manufacturer of Tritium tubes . So a watch with the T100 tubes produce an even brighter glow and kicks Super lumi nova further into touch.
Although it can't compete with Tritium... I've just reviewed a watch that has "Next Generation Lume". As for budget AliExpress watches with Tritium. I use to have the cheapest one you could get on there. The Carnival C8638. That was before I had my channel though. I sold it, for some reason. I'll have to get another one in and do a review. Or perhaps look for something else maybe.
Just bought a Ball Fireman Racer. Tremendous for less than 1k on the gray market. I'd put it up there with Tudor and Omega when It comes to the finishing. Sellitas keep it at lower price though. Very happy
Hi Jody, This is the exact first Ball watch that I bought back in 2015, when I was given some gift vouchers to splurge. Mine is the simple matt Black face (no little pyramids on the watch face back then) and the butterfly clasp is a little different. Nonetheless, I reckon it's among the best looking bang-for-buck dress (cum everyday) watch (100M WR). My Tritium tubes glow Blue + Yellow and it's still glowing strong till this day. I would highly recommend this watch for any serious watch collector. One my favourite collection for sure 😊👍
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Believe it or not, there's a model called the Ball Inspector.
nothing compared to the Ball Skin Diver
in the movie The Snowman the lead character is one Inspector Harry Hole, played by Michael Fassbender
😂😂
😂😂😂
I may need it
Ball is an absolutely amazing brand which offers great value for money. My very first 'real' watch that I bought was a Ball Trainmaster which I unfortunately had to sell due to my girlfriend being diagnosed with leukaemia. I do feel that their designs are very hit or miss and that their classic looking pieces appeal to me more than most of their modern and more experimental ones. As soon as the (financial) situation allows it I am definitely picking up a Ball again to celebrate. Either a Marvellight, Trainmaster or Roadmaster M!
I hope it does, and I'd vote on a Marvelight!
easily one of THE most underappreciated brands in their segment. on the plus side, they're so underappreciated that discounts abound so the "value for money" is even greater with some patience :)
How's she doing?
Hey man, thanks for asking. She was doing great and ended her maitenance treatment 4 months ago. Last week unfortunately they found something during a routine test. This week she will undergo more testing. She is strong, but things are not looking too great right now. We will know more about what it is and can be done once the test results come in :(@@matthewsanders6499
I own the Ball Engineer II Ohio and I love the thing. Being from Ohio, it's rather special to me.
I definitely feel a connection being from Cleveland. I have the Engineer & Roadmaster Challenger.
Love them both!
Ball is the most underrated entry level Swiss luxury brand.
Excellent Post!!I have the Marvelight.Ball is a great Company,they make beautiful pieces.
Serious bit of kit.
I wish they didnt have so much polish finishing on their bracelets. Other than that they do make great looking watches that seem pretty durable.
@@scottlauren3145 Depends on the model. I have one of their sports models that is completely brushed (case & bracelet). Then I have another piece with an identical bracelet that has a lot of polishing.
Fireman Night Train III here. Love it. Almost lights up the room at night.
"Handling another mans balls ".... 😂😂 mature adult here i swear 😁
Call it a ball watch because it keeps "dead nuts" time ....pun intended.
I own two Balls, and I find that I scratch them frequently.
I just watched the version with no audio commentary when you showed their website :D now i am going the rewatch the video here
I cannot wait for the video about affordable Aliexpress Tritium watches
@@MrMadvillan to each their own ig
If there is tritium coming out of China that means they have been making more than enough tritium to boost their nuclear arsenal.
@@JinKee a nuclear arsenal made up of tritium weapons would be highly entertaining. Tritium emits beta radiation which isn’t even capable of penetrating the outermost layer of your skin. It would have the same effect as throwing sand at a concrete wall.
@@MrMadvillan if they're cheap enough I'll send one to my watchmaker and instruct him to pluck the tubes off the dial to replace the fading ones on my older watches.
Not really though.
Been stalking these for a long time. This excellent review has given me a real push towards the buying.
Have one with the smooth black dial, have no regrets and has even stopped me making some other purchases because it just ticks all the boxes!
@@Ghost345621 Same here👌
About time someone gives Ball some love! They're awesome watches made with great quality. Extremely underrated in the community. IMO.....
1) Half life of Tritium is 12.32 years. That means, in 12.32 years, any given sample of Tritium will lose half of its radioactivity.
2) NITE watches (out of the UK) has Tritium watches with Swiss movements (both Swiss Quartz and Swiss Automatic).
3) I have one of their T100 (4 times as bright as T25) Quartz ICON watches. It outshines Ball watches - It truly has to be seen. I'm a fellow lumatic and I have several Tritium watches. The NITE ICON is my brightest watch by a significant margin, even significantly brighter than my other T100 (Massdrop Tritium watches you've reviewed). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Love the design of Ball watches! The only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger is the size. Wished there is a smaller case size option, IMO 36-38mm is the sweet spot for a non-dive watch!
Agreed
Hey Jody, this watch is a absolute stunner. I love this kind of watch. For me it hits the sweet spot between tooly and dressy. The tritium tubes are an added bonus of course. I just wish the bracelet had a bit of taper to it. A brilliant review, look forward to more tritium stuff. Cheers!
Thanks Jodi I've been waiting for ball watches for ages.
Tritium is awesome! I really like my Marathon TSAR. As for Ball, definitely a watch to consider. 🍷
Not going to call it a "blue waffle" style dial after last time either eh?
LOL!
Just one more Just One More Watch watch for today then.
Indeed!!
The Ball Engineer M Marvelight is an amazing watch for the money, I've loved Ball watches for years but never saw many reviews on youtube until the past 6 months when its gone mad for them. I hope 2021 is the year Ball watches finely get the mainstream recognition they deserve.
And so Jody ventures down the Tritium rabbit hole............at least you’ll be able to see what time it is😂 Beautiful watch, and another great review. Maybe Carnival watches might be worth a squizz?
Great looking watch! I have a 41mm GSAR and wear it more than my expensive watches. Would love a video on all the brands that make tritium tube watches!!
Agreed!!!!
I have been wanting to add a Ball to my collection for some time now ....This may be the one to pull the trigger on..!!!
Thanks for this cool review..👍👍👍
Just got my Engineer III Marvelight today. I love it. Just removed two links to get it to fit me, and we're off. The blue glow from all but the 12 o'clock marker is absolutely stunning. Feels solid, (904L steel) but not too heavy. I normally wouldn't be one for a cyclops date, but its grown on me over the last 9 hours lol
Whooo! I love the Ball Watch Company! This is a nice one!
Ever since I saw this review earlier in the year I’ve had my eye on getting a Ball. I just picked up a Fireman Nightbreaker on rubber strap (RRP £1050) for just under £600 in an AD sale in Glasgow with an additional discount on top, Same case as this one, but blue concentric circle dial, red second hand with tritium and no RR counterbalance on second hand and the date is at 3. The rubber strap smells of cupcakes because they use vanilla oil in them apparently, so that is another unique addition to the overfull watch box! Love the channel, keep up the good work!
I would like to own a Ball watch someday. They make absolutely beautiful, but functional watches.
Ball definitely on my “one day I’ll have one “ list
I own a Bicentennial limited edition Ball watch myself which only 200 pieces were ever produced. Gorgeous red bezel with see through case back. Ball watches are just so under rated IMO. I also love how the bracelet reminds me of the railway track.
Welcome to the club. I own 2 Ball Trainmaster's; a 38mm GMT, and a 40mm power reserve with enamel dial. The lume is just the tip of the iceberg with these watches, the build quality and attention to detail is exceptional. Some of the best watches available today.
I absolutely LOVE Ball watches! I have several of them and they have pride of place in my collection alongside Longines.
10:30 thank you for showing the head to head between tritium and lume. That was very informative
When I was a kid, I had an old Tissot watch of my dad's that had radium. It was great being able to view it all night long. And, when I held it right up close to my eyes, I could see lots of tiny little flashes, like lots of microscopic torches being turned on and off repeatedly. The watch was a bitch to wind, though.
First timer here. Loved yr coverage of the Ball fireman victory. I've just finished purchasing one tonight. Drove myself pleasantly crazy for months deciding. It boiled down to a Longines Conquest auto black face 15:59 and the Ball 😂😂😂
I am a nuclear engineer by trade, and Ball has an “engineer” line of watches and all of their watches have nuclear powered lume, so it feels like they are calling my name. Unfortunately as you mention most of their watches are pretty busy, especially in their engineer line. Combine that with my preference toward smaller watches (around 36mm, and ball has pretty much nothing under 40mm) and my hate of butterfly clasps and I have yet to find one that I would actually consider buying
I hate butterfly clasps too. But the one that comes on my Ball watch is the nicest I've ever come across. I forget it is a 'butterfly' as soon as I put it on.
Now that is a handsome watch, (apart from those long lugs)... great presentation as always Jody, nice to see a bit if the history at the start...
For an Ali express tritium I suggest the epoch watch brand. I have a blue one that is a strap monster and the tubes glow nicely. Featured on my insta channel in the last week @watchandcocktail. Fun movement too.
Hey mate! I spotted that one. Served with a latte? I'll definitely check them out. Cheers.
I know this is an older video but if you’re interested in Ball watches this is the series of watches that I recommend. They are reasonably priced and this watch fits well on the wrist, it is very flat in the center and the lugs don’t lift off the wrist excessively in my opinion like the Engineer III tends to do. I have both. My wrist is around 7.5” or so and I can wear the 43mm Engineer III just fine but I prefer this one.
Ball line, named after Locomotive Engineers, Locomotive Fireman, Trainmaster etc. It's all about railroading... Beautiful watch and I just purchased a Ball Fireman "GLORY", since that is what I hired out as, before promotion to Engineer....42 years went by fassssst...! Great video as usual.... GG
Great video - I am a big Ball Watch fan (have 6 of them). You should check out the Tritium light display on the Ball Fireman Ducks - it's nuts. Each minute marker has a thin tube inlaid into the dial. So with the hands as well, that's over 60 tritium tubes! It's very well done and looks spectacular at night. As you say, the build quality of these watches is phenomenal. The bracelets & clasp on the Hydrocarbon range are on another level.
I LOVE my Ball watches!!! I was camping in Death Valley (Racetrack Playa) last weekend at 3AM in total pitch darkness and my Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon AeroGMT II with micro Tritium gas tubes that didn't let me down at all and I also can read my book from the ultra bright lume, believe it or not, folks 😀
I've been a fan of Ball for a while now, and my favorite might be the moonphase-the moon is lit by tritium gas tubes! It also has a 3 o'clock date, you might want to check it out, Jody:)
A small correction: the half-life of Tritium is 12.3 years so at 24.6 years 1/4 of it remains. Perhaps it at this point that the light isn't bright enough to be effective.
I have an old Stocker and Yale Sandy 540 from the 80s, the Tritium is still usable when I wake up in the middle of the night but the orange 12 pip has kicked the bucket.
Was coming to say the same thing. I believe people typically quote 25 years as the effective life for tritium watches since, as you say, after a quarter of the lume is gone it will have minimal functionality
We have to remember that brightness as perceived by the human eye is logarithmic (a 400 lumen light seems just twice as bright as a 100 lumen light, not 4X as bright), so by 24 years it may seem half as bright.
One thing missed here is that the Rail Road Standard or RR, was the precursor to COSC standard or a "Proto COSC", if you will. I myself have a Hydro Carbon Magnate GMT and it punches well above it weight.
Glad to see you finally get on the Ball mate!
I've been mulling over the dual time Engineer Master GCT for a while now.
In the meantime, you may want to take a peek at Traser Watches for some tritium on the cheap.
I picked up a P96 Pioneer from Marc at long island watch a couple years ago. Amazingly lightweight little beastie with a Swiss Rhonda quartz movement and under $300(U.S.) on sale. Then last year I nabbed a bronze beauty P67 Officer Pro from a German dealer on Chrono24 for around $700 on sale, (including the bloody VAT) and it's got the same ETA movement as that Ball. She's one of my favorite shiny bits as she's got loads of lume + tritium tubes.
If you're interested, I'd be willing to send you both watches if you want to review them.
Hello Jody. Take a look at the gray dial Ball Fireman Classic. It is gorgeous.
The “pick of my litter “ is my Ball Trainmaster Streamliner. Unmatched quality and elegance for the price - 10/10 for sure!
Never heard of Ball before but that watch is gorgeous! Trithium tubes are phenomenal. I own a Marathon and love the night time display!
There are only a few companies making watches with tritium that have horological significance, and for me that is a bummer. Marathon makes some good offers but their low end model has its moans Jodi stated in a recent video. Ball of course has a lovely history with their railway linked hertage, but they are all on the high end for someone like me who makes such a small amount of income. I hope that soon more companies offer a low end tritum watch that doesn't have a 16 mil strap size with marathon, or super expensive like Ball and their amazing looking lineup. Hopefully it comes soon because I want a tritum watch! And I would love American made, simple, rugged, normal strap size, and at least 100m of water resistance. Love the channel! Keep it all coming.
STUNNING!!!!! By far one of the best watch you have reviewed for yonks. However, that weird yank and release clasp is just daft. I can hear you say....HELLLOOOOW and just one more BALL! after this (or not)
You should check out the Islander series of watches. Perfect for this channel in terms of price point and specs received. Plus the lume is amazing on it. I have had the watch for about 5 months now, slept with it on last night from 9-6 and the Lume was still glowing when I woke up.
Love the tritium in my Deep Blue watch. Ball has some seriously good looking stuff.
As far as affordability goes, you should check out Aragon watches. They recently came out with two new tritium models. They always seem to have a sale going on, so depending on the model you should be able to pick one up for $170-$250 USD. You just have to keep in mind that their watches run on the larger size and come in some bold colors. Cheers.
Jody, just for info. I have a Nite watch which has T25 tubing. Mine is a Nite Icon. Nice clean dial, no fuss, glows for 25 years. Love it, the only down side is that it is a quartz but, it is a Swiss made quartz..!
Cool that someone can use the RR logo without being sued!
"Sorry Sir, but our RR watches are older than your RR cars"
Jody, I agree about the clasp. I've got an Engineer Marvelite 2 (basically a Rolex OP36 clone, including Cyclops) and it took me twenty minutes to get the dam thing off my wrist! My daily wear is a Nite Alpha 300 which uses T100 tritium tubes, a Swiss Ronda quartz movement, 10 year battery life, 316, ceramic and sapphire, 300m water, blah, blah blah, but the best thing is that it lights up the freaking bedroom wall at night. Based in Christchurch, UK. Worth a look at £430 Stirling.
I have numerous Ball Watches including a Fireman Enterprise. The best one is the Marvelight M in my opinion and here are the reasons: 80 hour power reserve, tapered bracelet, see-thru sapphire case back- domed sapphire crystal, and tritium tubes in the applied hour markers. It's a stunner for sure! $1980 at Gnomon and worth every cent...
Ball is on my list of watches I want to own. The M Marvelight is a beautiful watch I hope to get someday.
Wow,looks different than normal Ball pieces,almost like Presage or even Grand Seiko
Looks like what you need is the Fireman Nightbreaker Jody, much less bling and a 3 o@clock date with a tube there too!
Glad a watch channel I like reviewed one of these. I have this exact watch, except mine is blue sunburst,. This was my first automatic and def my first watch that is more than a couple 100 bucks. Absolutely love it and I'm glad to see a solid review. Thank you!
I never heard anyone complain about screwing and screwing and screwing before! Great review as always Jody!!!
I purchased a Traser Outdoor Pioneer last year , Swiss made excellent milspec looking watch Traser is the sister company that makes and supplies the tritium , Microtec .
The date window at the 4:30 ruins it for me and look how far into the dial it’s located! A telltale sign that the movement’s too small for the watch itself 🤨 And adding insult to injury, said date wheel isn’t dial colored either. Apart from that though, I do quite like it. Just wish they toned down a bit on the high polish everywhere! Is there a no-date version of this watch maybe?
Completely agree date windows should be at the 6
Agree. It would look better without the date.
Shorter lugs, 36-38mm and no date or date at 6. That for me would make this perfect.
They are really big...
What a great start to the morning! Thanks Jody!
When he compared the tritium to the lume, I was like "The bezel isn't lined up. Must be a Seiko."
i agree with you bout the date window, i like everything else about it and the Ball history
Again my recomendation. Davosa Argomautic Lumis T25. A nice Diver with Tritium. You should have a look at it. ;-) And greetings from Germany.
Interesting looking watch. Wondering if the design elements that harken Omega would draw Jody to it or push him away...
1.) GORGEOUS watch!!
2.) The dial texture reminds me that of a golf ball.
My Fireman Enterprise just arrived last week. Gorgeous!!!
I agree, Jody....love the watch. Have almost purchased several times....then I see the date window and can’t pull the trigger. I think it would be best at the 6 position...then it would be a no brained. Great review. Thanks
I picked up a Ball last year and I don't know why I waited. It's this same watch you have, but black dial. I have said it many times in comments elsewhere, and I'll finish up that trend here: That bracelet, while somewhat of a pain to dial in the sizing, is the most comfortable butterfly bracelet I have on any watch, and when it's on it's ON.
LOVE Ball watches! You might want to take a look at their Engineer II Moon Phase (the moon lights up at night which I think is very cool), Engineer III Pioneer or their Fireman Enterprise. Like you, I do not like a "busy" watch. I like it classy without a whole lot of fuss going on under the crystal. Ball makes some GREAT watches. Thank you for reviewing this watch. One of the things I do love about watching your videos is that you do cover the good things as well as the moans and niggles! Thank you Jody for ALL you do for our watch community!
#lumepigs unite! Love the design on that Ball watch and the dial color is just gorgeous. Great choice, Jody! I’ve got T25 tubes in my collection but would love to see some T100 in person to compare. Cheers! 😎🍻👍
Using tritium tubes is a bit heretical to me. One reason is they are just straight and can't be put into shapes like regular lume. You might as well get a quartz watch with electric light if you want good illumination imo.
@@metatechnologist I can understand how you mean, that’s definitely a downside to tritium tubes and I agree. It would be nice (and part of me wonders if possible) to do glass shapes that are round, triangular, etc.
Night and day difference
@@DavidSchwartzjr I'm thinking of improving lume chemistry. Shaping small glass tubes seems cost prohibitive. The other thing is that tritium does go out so it's not great for something you want to pass on. Maybe they can be replaced but probably expensive to do so.
I have the Ball Trainmaster Roman and you are right, I won't go back to paint.
Nowadays im very much interested in the Ball watches. Engineer M probably will be my first luxury watch purchase. Great video!!
I have this in the Blue and Yellow lume and it looks really great at night! Great video, and appreciate the in-depth lume segment!
Went into my local "good" jewellery shop to buy an Oris T1. Had never heard of Bell. Shop were very keen to show them to me. Not a sales push but to show the quality. That was about 6 years ago and I still haven't felt a better bracelet. I did buy the Oris. I do have a Bal on my watch list.
Deep Blue have a solid 41mm Tritium Diver with T100 tubes, it’s less refined than the Swiss options and with a NH35 movement but I take mine diving without being precious with it and it sure beats my old Luminox that flooded after 4 years of use.
Totally agree... really good watches great value and very robust... just bought my 3rd for my collection. 🤫
I'm so happy to see you reviewing another man's Ball (sorry, too easy).
I got an Engineer III Marvelight, and I was going to see if you wanted to review it. But I'm glad you reviewed this one. Gorgeous.
Hi Jody, many thanks for yor videos, I love them!
At the beginning of this video you stated "once you´ve had Tritium, you´ll never go back" and that´s where I do not agree :-)
I bought a nice new Traser H3 Trooper about 10 or maybe 12 years ago and it looked awesome, I was completely overwhelmed with the overnight readability. But there´s nothing left since one or two years, no more shine, you can´t read the time anymore when it´s dark. That´s rather disappointing, while the shiny period lasted significantly less than the 12,3 half-life time of Tritium.
For that reason, I´m back to normal lume and won´t buy another H3-powered watch.
Keep on with your fantastic work!
I’ve got the fireman nightbreaker and with the date at the three o’clock position I think it may be the perfect do anything piece. Really an interesting brand, I just loathe the arabica though, I’d never get anything that looks as if my child had drawn it. Love the textured dial, lume and size. Weight on strap is fantastic. Just a class watch.
Love this watch and the great history of the Ball brand. Side note... Webster Clay Ball was very likely named after two Whig politicians and great American statesmen of the 19th century, Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. Love your channel and content. Keep up the good work!
Jody, thanks for the heads-up on the Vostok Zissou! I got my case back yesterday. Well they actually sent two instead of a case back and a mesh bracelet. They told me to keep the extra and the bracelet is on backorder. Now I just have to wait for the watch which were also out of stock, but I was able to find one in Amazon. Thanks for helping connect my watch love to one of my all-time favorite movies.
DEEP BLUE sell a 500m diver with beautiful Trtium lume for around £300. Might even be less. Applied lume is in a much lower class in comparison. I would highly recommend you give them a check out. I think that they are an American company. Happy hunting the tritium. Love the show, Pete, bedford,UK
Agreed... Deep Blue make some fabulous watches for the money and the Trinium T100 they use works beautifully.
Great looking watch. But if you want an affordable watch with Tritium (H3) tube dials check out MWC. They do several watches with H3 dials, divers, pilots and field watches well under $500.
Great review Jody! But I've never understood why Ball doesn't upgrade to the T100 tubes... The T100s are so much brighter. Both Aragon and Deep Blue offer T100 autos with the NH35 for $175 to $300. They also have Swiss Autos with the T100s. I'd think that a Ball with the T100s would be a category killer. The lesser T25s are probably what keeps me from wanting to buy a Ball. Just sayin'...
I own a hydrocarbon gmt and a storm chaser chronograph. Love my BALLS!! All jokes aside, you get a lot for your money with ball. They just dont hold value well so look second hand if you arent sure it will be a keeper.
Nice one! I’ve often almost pulled the trigger on a Ball Marvelight a couple of times... I think how ornate they are has kept me from doing it. As a dive watch guy, I wondered if a Marathon GSAR or TSAR would tickle your fancy. Those Marathon dials are so busy...
Great review!! Yeah the Fireman is a masterpiece!! I have it in my
Crosshairs! I see your point about the kitchen sink comment on a lot of their pieces. They aren’t the only ones doing it. But the attractive thing about the Fireman is how you described it in the review. It’s elegant and simple!! Not cluttered. I personally like the blue dial and the three versions, I’d problem go for the smooth dial. Although, the sunburst is doable.
I agree about the crown. It’s something I complained about on someone else’s review.
Glad you're loving Ball, Jody! I have a few Balls and they are magnificently built and innovative (Magneto S, Deepquest, and Engineer II Volcano - all chronometers). I also have a couple of Deep Blue watches and they're solid value for money especially when you get them on discount. I have a few Nite watches as well and they have great T-100 flat tritium and the 10 year battery versions are very convenient, although these mostly quartz watches are a little plain in design. I also have a Traser P67 officer pro automatic with a beautiful mix of tritium and superluminova, although I don't wear it too much as it feels a little delicate with push/pull crown. An MWC titanium with tritium and superluminova and the 10 year Rhonda 715li gets the most time on wrist at home. As much as I love tritium, I find I like to hedge with some superluminova as that will probably never need refreshing. The Balls are still my favorites, though they are deeply under appreciated/unknown by many. I would buy more Balls (check out Marvelight, Aviator, or Green Berets) but I have too many watches at the moment and don't want to spend higher dollars these days and am instead into some Kickstarter innovations. 😅
I`ve had one Ball for almost a year now... Dont get it out too much, but very happy with it.
I have been admiring Ball watches from afar. Fortunately or unfortunately i have gone to a one watch collection (Casio doesn't count) and my Sinn 556A on bracelet is really doing a good job.
At last, Ball Watches getting some recognition! I have three, absolutely love the quality and history. I even have a vintage one from 1995, tritium still working 😊
Hope you will review the Nedss Tritium watch with the Miyota 9015 or the Epoch with the seagull ST2130
Was looking at this exact model, but when I was in the store... the engineer m marvelight caught my eye instead. You should check that out too!
When I first started getting into the hobby wanting to expand from Casio G-Shock I discovered luminox I still have several that I love and I have some special edition That collaborate private space exploration companies. I actually got a couple T 100 watches that really make my luminox t25 tubes seem dim. I like to wear one to bed because I can see it all night long. Ball is definitely on my bucket list since I have just about every affordable watch that I think I could ever want I want a few luxury pieces now
with all this Lume, you must be developing a glow
The date window is about a millimeter off-center between the four and five o'clock mark and I just can't unsee it. Otherwise a great looking watch. JP.
A nice looking dial and bracelet. Not fussed with the butterfly clasp but the GTLS tubes are great. Thought it would of had a better movement than the NH38 for the money? Or am I being too fussy.
Traser, a brand of the Swiss microtec group, do the P59,P67 range of watches with the T25 and T100 tubes and are recognised as the best manufacturer of Tritium tubes . So a watch with the T100 tubes produce an even brighter glow and kicks Super lumi nova further into touch.
Although it can't compete with Tritium... I've just reviewed a watch that has "Next Generation Lume". As for budget AliExpress watches with Tritium. I use to have the cheapest one you could get on there. The Carnival C8638. That was before I had my channel though. I sold it, for some reason. I'll have to get another one in and do a review. Or perhaps look for something else maybe.
Just bought a Ball Fireman Racer. Tremendous for less than 1k on the gray market. I'd put it up there with Tudor and Omega when It comes to the finishing. Sellitas keep it at lower price though. Very happy
Hi Jody,
This is the exact first Ball watch that I bought back in 2015, when I was given some gift vouchers to splurge. Mine is the simple matt Black face (no little pyramids on the watch face back then) and the butterfly clasp is a little different. Nonetheless, I reckon it's among the best looking bang-for-buck dress (cum everyday) watch (100M WR). My Tritium tubes glow Blue + Yellow and it's still glowing strong till this day. I would highly recommend this watch for any serious watch collector. One my favourite collection for sure 😊👍