Big thanks to Burt for sharing Ball Fireman, the entire Ball line up is high end value watches. Joma link just for info www.jomashop.c... www.ballwatch....
I had a Fireman Enterprise and absolutely adored it. Stupid accurate, very high quality. While I did end up selling it, the white Engineer III Ohio in 904L Stainless Steel was the perfect replacement and even higher spec (1000 Gauss aka Mil-Gauss for example). On top of that, I also have pre-ordered a blue Roadmaster M Icebreaker which also has 904L SS, again 1000 Gauss, 200M WR, and a Chronometer 28,800 bph Ball in-house movement with 80 hours power reserve - all around the $2K price point! Do I like Ball? Heck no, LOVE that brand... Can't say enough about them and their customer service :) .
Wearing my Fireman Enterprise now (date at 3 with cyclops). The tritium is fantastic at night. Elegant and rugged. I don't like butterfly clasps but the one on this Ball is superb. All round perfect watch on my 7.5" wrist. Hands down my favorite watch, amazing quality and my most comfortable watch.
I love my Fireman "Glory" and love the fact that the date is between 4 and 5... Therefore al the tritium tubes are uniform, love that... This watch is one of my top 5 watches out of my collection of 40.... Just love it and it didn't help that I hired out as a Locomotive Fireman and retired as an Engineer... Love the engraving of the Hudson Dreyfus steam locomotive on the back case, beautiful...! Great video Rob... Greg...IN......PS. put it on a Fluco dark brown snow calf leather band and it looks great...!
I bought the Fireman Glory with Red second hand, it ruined me lol I had to then get the Enterprise, and the Trainmaster Moon Phase blue dial. Their history is incredible as well. My new favorite brand
I just got the same watch...Fireman Glory with red second hand. I find it works well for any dress level. Casual or dress down at work and I swap out the bracelet for a black alligator band for formal. But what gets the most compliments, is a black band with red stitching to make the second had pop.
I have a Ball Enterprise with the Cyclops, it's built like a tank losses about a minute every two weeks, I wear it most nights, it lights up so well its amazing, the bracelet is comfortable. The only thing I don't care for is the clasp, it's hard to get a fingernail under the logo to pry it open. Other than that it's a great value
Jack Purcell pry the bracelet open by The underside of the logo side and it Pops open easily! I had one and used that technique with no problem Sold mine but I may have to rebuy one ! 😂
Been really eyeing these Ball watches lately, and have been impressed with what they offer for the price. Might have to consider one of these bad boys down the road.
What I love about Ball is that they're very much enthusiast watches. If I had that kind of money, Ball would be my first choice. But, and it's a big but, they insist on making big watches. This one you reviewed should be the smallest or one of the smallest and it's still quite big, considering the lug2lug which looks very long. Still, one of my favourite brands.
Ouroboros I have smaller 6.75” wrist and found the Trainmaster Streamliner..39mm with 19mm on bracelet - smallest watch I could find from the brand..still heavy!! (extremely well built)
I still can't forget about that all black one you had a couple of weeks ago. They're a little out of my price-range though, so I'll make due with an actual MB Microtech watch (Traser P67). It's pretty nice too, at least compared to what I'm used to. But Ball seems to be in an entirely different league. Tritium is where it is at for a night-dweller like myself, I just can't keep a lume-watch charged with my current life-style. I carried a UV-flashlight for a while but that was just too much of a hassle.
I've been interested in Ball because I was interested in trains. Do you feel the new Ball watches still maintain the cache of the old Ball? I feel like I read somewhere it changed hands or something. Just wondering if I should be eyeing new Ball or looking for vintage Ball.
Another good review! I have the Fireman Enterprise with the date at the 3:00 position. I agree that it's a great choice for an introduction to Ball Watches.
Ball makes tough cases. However for this watch the indexes are too long and both hour and minute hands are similar width to separate them from each other.
Jason Kidd I bet it’s because they pop off very easily - Happened on mine ( I’m fairly gentle ). I have smaller wrists so I wear mine on a one piece Italian leather strap..it’s great!
It is a Swiss Watch in the loosest sense of the term. However, the Chinese do make some very good watch parts. I’d just prefer a company that is a little more honest. So, considering alalamof that, I think that their watches are a bit overpriced.
I like the way Ball watches look and feel, but there is a reason why they are so inexpensive. Although the watches read Swiss made, they are actually made in Asia. The Asia Commercial Holdings Limited of Hong Kong bought the name. There are no Ball watches made in Switzerland, and no connection to the historical Ball company. Only an office with no manufacturer facility in Switzerland. This same Hong Kong based companyalso owns Juvenia watches. Both Ball and Juvenia are identical, just serve different markets. I'm not saying they aren't well made watches, just a bit disingenuous in their marketing, sourcing, and manufacturing.
You've clearly done some research on this, and have confirmed what I suspected. I visited Junghans' facility in Germany last year (v impressive btw) and wondered why - with all the Ball history - they too wouldn't have a big presence either in the US or Switzerland. Why would you not want to make a big show of the Ball story?? Nothing much on their website regarding manufacture, where they ship from etc. So I figured if they're not doing any of this stuff, then the actual story must be somewhat different. Ok, I still like their watches, but it definitely changes how I feel about them - and certainly what I'm prepared to pay. But there being no connection to the historical Ball company? Just bought the name? What a shame
I just see a very cheap head office location in Switserland if I google them. Probably the same as the head office of IKEA, the Rolling Stones and U2 in Amsterdam. A pimped po box.
@@clivejagger9712 so true. A watch is more than its physical attrubutes. Their history, innovations, craftsmanship are all part of draw. On the plus you get a very well built watch at a fraction of an equivalent Omega for example. Omega having the legitimate history and truly Swiss manufacturer.
