Ball has announced the release of a new pilot’s timekeeper named Engineer III. The timepiece will be available in two material options. The first variant called Bronze Star is made in a copper aluminum bronze case, whereas the other version dubbed Silver Star has a stainless steel livery. The watch with a pilot’s styling features several protection systems that guarantee its resistance to shocks and to magnetic fields. Ball Engineer Bronze Star and Silver Star III have dark-colored dials that features enhanced legibility, while their performance is based on a lower-end self-winding mechanical movement with three hands, as well as with a day and date calendar displays. Ball Engineer III Bronze Star is made with a black face and launched in the limited edition of 3,000 pieces. On the other hand, Silver Star is available with two dial colors (black and blue), in two sizes, and it is serially-produced.
Ball Engineer III Silver Star Watch
The latest piece by Ball Watches features a distinctive appearance of a pilot’s piece. This is mostly shown in its pronounced visibility, enabled with oversized Arabic numerals and lance-shaped hands. The hands and numerals are white which makes them stand out on the contrasting black background. Additionally, the legibility is further improved with the proprietary micro gas luminescent technology based on tubes that contain tritium gas. As the watchmaker claims, this technology produces brightness which is 100 times higher than commonly used SuperLuminova coating. It-should be also said that the dark-colored dials of Engineer III Bronze Star and Silver Star watches include a pair of apertures (for day of the week and date) used for their calendar features.
The First Bronze Watch by Ball
As it has been mentioned, one of the novelty’s variant, Bronze Star model, is available in a bronze housing, or to be more precise in a bronze aluminum material. It is an alloy comprised of aluminum and copper, unlike the traditional bronze which is made of the combination of tin and copper. This is the first watch by the manufacturer to be presented with a housing of this sort. Each copy in the 3,000 piece series will be individually numbered. The watchmaker also allows a custom engraving on the case-back of the piece which is also available for Silver Star Variant.
Ball Engineer III Bronze Star Watch
When it comes to dimensions of the round piece, Bronze Star is 43 mm wide. Silver Star, on the other hand, is available in two versions with the diameters of 40 mm and 46 mm. Regardless of the variant of the timekeeper, the thickness is 13.45 mm. The case includes a fixed bezel, a solid metal case-back and a crystal made of anti-reflective sapphire. It is waterproof to 100 meters.
Patented Shock-Protection and Anti-Magnetic Systems
Ball Engineer III Bronze Star and Silver Star feature a triple protective system. Firstly, there is a Mu-Metal shield that protects the movement from extreme magnetic fields, up to 8,000 A/m. This is possible due to the inclusion of a special alloy made of nickel copper, iron and molybdenum that encases the movement and shields it. Secondly, the construction includes the patented Amortiser anti-shock system that uses protective rings that guard the movement form side shocks. Finally, there is also the patented Springlock system that guards the balance spring of the movement with a cage that stops the unwanted unfurling that would be the result of an outer force.
Not a Chronometer
Speaking of the movement, the caliber in question is Ball RR1102 with 25 jewels. It is an automatic winding movement with ETA 2836-2 base. It beats with at the frequency of 28,800 vph and has the modest power reserve that lasts around 38 hours. Unfortunately, this type of caliber cannot pride itself with the COSC certification which greatly diminishes the overall desirability of the watch.
The first ever Ball watch with a bronze livery (with the serial number NM2186-L1J-BK) is paired with a brown-colored calf leather strap with contrasting stitching. It locks with a simple ardillon buckle made out of the material that matches the case of the piece. On the other hand, Silver Star is coupled with the same wristlet or with a three-row stainless steel bracelet that fastens with folding clasp.
Ball Engineer III Bronze and Silver Star will be available next spring with the price tags of $2,300 and $1,650, respectively. However, if one decides to pre-order the models before the end of the year, the price is almost 50 percent lower. Bronze Star is available at $1,275, while Silver Star comes at $907.
