[seattleal]

Tritium has a half life of 12.5 yrs +/-. Ball claims their tritium tubes have a useful lifetime of 25yrs. That's 2 half lives, so by 25 yrs they should only glow at 1/4 of their original intensity. Or do the tubes originally contain enough tritium to more than saturate the phosphor, so that even after 10-15 years of tritium decay they still glow at full intensity?

What is the real world experience? I'm new to Ball and have one 7 year old watch that is impressively bright, but wonder how it would compare to a new watch. If you have more than one Ball watch, how does the intensity of the tritium tubes in your newest watch compare to the intensity of your oldest watch? What's the age difference between them?

Thanks for responding.

 

[stales]

Good question al.

I've just bought my first Ball (Engineer Hydrocarbon Spacemaster COSC) and am totally smitten. The thought of it glowing brightly for even seven years is pretty cool - let alone double that or longer.

 

[seattleal]

No one has more than one?

 

[CometHunter]

 

[CometHunter]

I don't know. I've never seen a lume shot of a 7-year old Ball.

 

[~tc~]

My Fireman I is probably in that age range. Bought it preowned, so not exactly sure.

 

[bullosa]

I have a Ball Fireman too but I am not sure if it is 7 years old. I'll check the papers and if it is 7, I'll posts some updated lume shots.

 

[CometHunter]

My Fireman I is probably in that age range.

.......................................:thumbup1: Thanks!

 

[Caprlee]

I bought my Engineer II 4 1/2 years ago and you can barely see the tritium tubes at night.

I took the watch to the dealer and the response from Switzerland was that it should have lasted at least for 25 yrs as advertised, however the warranty only covers the watch for 2 years?????? Replacement of watch face including the tubes $375.00 to $400.00.

I asked the dealer for the contact information as I intend to follow up on this issue. Too much hype for a watch that does not deliver and a manufacturer that does not stand behind its products. Look for something else, my Rolex, Tag Heuer, even a Citizen watch with over twelve years have not faded as this Ball Watch has....

I will keep posting the results of my inquiry with Ball....

 

[Beinwatched]

I bought my Engineer II 4 1/2 years ago and you can barely see the tritium tubes at night.

I took the watch to the dealer and the response from Switzerland was that it should have lasted at least for 25 yrs as advertised, however the warranty only covers the watch for 2 years?????? Replacement of watch face including the tubes $375.00 to $400.00.

I asked the dealer for the contact information as I intend to follow up on this issue. Too much hype for a watch that does not deliver and a manufacturer that does not stand behind its products. Look for something else, my Rolex, Tag Heuer, even a Citizen watch with over twelve years have not faded as this Ball Watch has....

I will keep posting the results of my inquiry with Ball....

First, I am sorry you are having this issue! I would like to point out that if you register your watch online it extends the warranty to 3 years. That would not help you in this case, just wanted people to know. I would also like to say that in 30 years of selling watches, NO watch company has stood behind their product more than Ball, in fact no one has even come close! I am not saying they should or shouldn't cover something out of warranty. Warranties are limited for a reason, if I were you I would want it fixed also, I just understand where both parties are coming from. Write a nice letter to Ball Switzerland and see if they will do something, who knows, they can only say no.
Good Luck,
Mike

 

[CometHunter]

First, let's not compare apples to oranges. With Ball, you're talking about gaseous Tritium; with Rollie, TagH and Citizen it's SuperLuminova.
And until the whole story is known, I see it as being unfair to condemn an entire watch company for a relatively isolated incident. While I haven't looked very thoroughly, yours if the first complaint I've heard of having to do with too-dim gas tubes. This, however, IS a serious matter and I am interested in hearing what Ball will have to say about it. Especially as my own Ball is now about to pass the 3-year old mark!
(BTW... when the watch is registered with BallUSA they extend the warranty for a 3rd year.)

 

[WilliamCabrera]

They definitely have a powerful lume...

 

[morrison2951]

My Fireman I is probably in that age range. Bought it preowned, so not exactly sure.

She's a beauty! I have this same older Fireman model and the tri-color tubes are still one of my favorites, even with all the new Ball offerings!

 

[morrison2951]

My Fireman I is probably in that age range. Bought it preowned, so not exactly sure.

Of all the new Ball lume designs, this is still one of my favorites!

 

[Caprlee]

OK, Here is the full story. At the request of Ball Switzerland, the watch was sent by the dealer to Switzerland for inspection. Their answer was that the tubes fade over time and the luminosity depended on the color of the watch face. Since the tubes are barely visible in darkness, they suggested that the minute and hour hands be replaced. The estimated cost for replacing the minute and hour hands, plus adjusting the movement for accuracy was $350.00.

I requested that the watch be sent back immediately as I do not believe that it is a good investment to spend $350.00 every four to five years in order to be able to see your watch at night, and that is not even the cost of replacing all of the tritium tubes, just for the two (2). I guess I got myself a LEMON, and I really wish all Ball Watch owners good luck on their watches. As for me, I would never buy a Ball Watch again.

By the way, I do own other brands, such as Rolex, BlancPain, Cartier, Tag Heuer, Breitling, Omega, Ebel, etc. The Ebel started losing their gold plated luster and after 7 years of ownership and well past the warranty, the watch was sent to Ebel Switzerland and the band was fully refinished at their expense once it was determined that the deterioration was not normal wear and tear. One of my Cartier watches received a new movement after 15 years of abuse when after a regular maintenance a flaw was discovered.

Ball Switzerland recommends changing the minute and hour hands, at my own expense, for a product that they advertise should last at least 25 years. Maybe the dealer in San Francisco had it for 20 years before I bought it.........

Good luck with your watches, may they last as advertised!!!!

Roderick Lee

 

[buelligan]

Another data point:
My Fireman was purchased new in April 2008, and the lume has no discernable degradation of intensity. It was never blindingly bright, but always effortlessly visible whether in bright moonlight or pitch black. I'll post a pic when I get more time.
Henry Aguado

 

[morrison2951]

Maybe the perceived dimness relates to the tube colors: My original tri-lume Night Train dates back to 2007 and the blue and yellow tubes on the dial are noticeably dimmer than the green tubes on the hands- but we have been told to expect this as green is the brightest color visible to the human eye.

 

[Steve]

I'll need to shoot a picture of my Engineer Master II Aviator. I bought it in, if I recall, 2009 or 2010, and the lume remains strong...

 

[benbean]

I took some pictures today to share different Ball watches purchased over the years.
To ensure consistency, the camera is set to manual mode (f5.6, 1/16s, ISO1600) and here are the pictures:

Engineering Hydrocarbon - bought in 2005 (9 years old)


Trainmaster Voyager GMT - bought in 2006 (8 years old)


Engineering Master TMT - bought in 2008 (6 years old)


and my wife's Conductor Ltd - bought in Dec 2011 (3.5 years)


It is difficult to capture the differences in picture. In person I would say the 3.5year conductor is probably 20% brighter than the 9 year old Hydrocarbon.
The 9 year old Hydrocarbon is still legible in cinema so its good enough for me.

Hope this helps.

 

[CometHunter]

Without a lab and test equipment it's not easy to present better apparent visual results. I'd like to personally thank you for sharing this with us!