Ball Engineer Master II Slide Chronograph


Ball Engineer Master II Slide ChronographBall Watch continues to introduce patented technologies to its watches. In addition to the Engineer II Magneto S watch, with its new antimagnetic system, the company last year introduced the Ball Engineer Master II Slide chronograph, which uses a mechanical slide, rather than the traditional pushers, to start, stop and reset the stopwatch.

Breaking with the traditional architecture of both the two-pusher and the monopusher system, the mechanism in the Ball Engineer Master II Slide Chronograph combines the start, stop, and zero-reset mechanisms in a single integrated control, located at the 9 o’clock position on the case. This so-called “slide chronograph” — developed and patented by Ball Watch — uses a circular slide bar fitted around the movement. A clockwise rotation of this slide bar (i.e., moving the slider upward, after which it returns to its original position) starts and stops the chronograph function, while a counterclockwise motion (moving the slider downward) resets the chronograph hands to their zero positions. Ball Watch regards this system as an ergonomic improvement on the standard chronograph watch, because the wearer can use one finger to guide all the functions while wearing the watch.

The watch is large: its stainless steel case is 47.6 mm in diameter, providing ample space for the black dial, with chronograph subdials at 6 o’clock and 12 o’clock and a small seconds counter at 9 o’clock. Day and date are displayed in a window at 3 o’clock. A tachymeter scale for measuring speeds over distance is silk-screen printed onto the dial’s sloping flange. A grooved, chiseled bezel surrounds the dial.

Ball Engineer Master II Slide Chronograph - front

Ball Engineer Master II Slide Chronograph - side

Like all Ball watches, the Engineer Master II Slide Chronograph features a series of H3 gas microtubes for maximum illumination in low-light conditions. The gas in the cylindrical micro-tubes — 15 in total, including two in the hour and minute hands, 12 in the hour indices, and an additional one incorporated into the chronograph’s slide bar — releases light continuously and requires no additional light source to activate its luminosity, distinguishing it from the more common Super-LumiNova.

Ball says that the H3 gas is also 100 times more powerful than conventional luminous paints and lasts up to 25 years.

Ball Engineer Master II Slide Chronograph - dark

The Ball Engineer Master II Slide Chronograph contains a Swiss-made automatic mechanical movement, called BALL RR1402 (an ETA 7750 base upgraded with the patented slide mechanism) and comes in an extremely robust case that is impact-resistant to 5,000 Gs, resistant to magnetic fields to an intensity of 4,800 A/m and water-resistant to 100 meters. The crown screws down securely and the crystal has a nonreflective treatment. The watch, which will be available at retail this fall, comes on a stainless steel bracelet with a folding buckle and will be priced at $3,399.

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