[WWIIBuff]

lets face it for years if you wanted an auto watch with tritium tubes you were stuck with ball but now this so many others using the tubes. Is ball the best buy for your money? look at what deep blue, android and others are offering and make a call for yourself. is it the $800 SWISS ETA T100 deep blue or the $3,000 t25 swiss eta ball that floats yours boat. just wondering what people think and, how they want to spend their money.

 

[CometHunter]

Yes, I think the higher end models are too high end! But this is coming from a person with (very) limited means. If I'd had to pay full price, even with any kind of AD discount, I would not be a Ball owner. I was very lucky... (1) the Fireman II is on the low end of the price list and (2) I got it second-hand for about $900. Even so, that's the most I've ever paid for a watch and probably the most I ever will. There's no way I can afford a brand-new one.

 

[~tc~]

While I would argue that Ball is doing things Deep Blue, Android, and others are not (and probably can not at their price level), I tend to agree with you a bit, mostly due to the recent significant price increases. Even 5 years ago, Ball was the undisputed "bang for the buck" leader, now, not so much

 

[diver]

I am certainly glad I found Ball before the most current prices took effect. I feel fortunate to have a Ball EM II Diver and even more fortunate to have a Ball EH Trieste. That one caused a little harsh discussion at home. My. Lovely wife has been fairly tolerant of my obsession, but will never understand it.
Until finances improve, there will be no new watches in my home!
When I look at retail prIcing for new watches, I don't think Ball is unreasonable, just out of reach for me in my current position!
The thing I most appreciate about Ball (other than amazing watches) is incredible customer service!

Others may net agree. That's OK. I am still a huge fan of Ball Watch!

Just my 2 cents,

Jeff


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[CometHunter]

That's true. I needed warranty service done on mine and they were fantastic! A+

 

[gtuck]

I first bought a Ball watch because I thought they provided great value without the marketing driven premium that bigger names fetch. I have a Power Reserve, WorldTimer and recently picked up a Red Label GMT--which will be delivered next week. Needless to say, I am a fan.

 

[CometHunter]

Don't forget...when you post pictures, it makes the Moderators happy and then they don't shake you down for annual dues. :laugh::001_rolleyes:

 

[RA4X]

The Mrs picked up a Engineer Mater II DLC and likes it. The AD has been good about relaying a good value:$ and this was one of the watches. In that regard depends on your definition of "value". There are watches that cost far more and those that are less. The sad part is that she picked it up in Feb '13 and we just sent it to Ball for warranty service. When winding the watch, it felt like it was missing a few teeth/gears. She bought a Casio in the meantime. Now that is value but among Casio watches, maybe not so since it comes fora mass factory in China. YMMV.

 

[morrison2951]

Never forget that you always get what you pay for. If lume is your thing, nobody does it better than Ball!

I am a fan of the Fireman series, having both an original Fireman 43mm and Night Train, and while on the lower end of the Ball pricing scale, they are worth every penny to me!

 

[Ball Eternity]

I reviewed hundreds of watches and after all I found that the Ball watches have best look/quality/value ratio (at least for me). I decided to buy new Ball Eternity and I'm really happy with this watch. It looks much better in real life than in pictures. I do not think that they are overpriced. In reality if people will not buy it they will reduce the price to the level where people will start to buy. It is matter of reputation, quality, marketing, etc ... I think everyone understand that the production price of Patek Phillipe is far away from $35000 they want for some of the watches.

 

[WWIIBuff]

well, having owned PP, AP, VC. JLC, IWC and others, they make their movements unlike ball. they also don't have a bean bag hess that runs them

 

[~tc~]

well, having owned PP, AP, VC. JLC, IWC and others, they make their movements unlike ball. they also don't have a bean bag hess that runs them

Until very recently, that was not so true of AP, VC, and IWC - only a very small percentage of their watches were in-house. They are all priced considerably higher than Ball also.

I'll leave the second part alone.

 

[WWIIBuff]

AP, VC and IWC have always made in house movements maybe not in every watch but in some, how many ball are in house in the last 20 years?

 

[~tc~]

Agreed, none, but they DO have some modules and modifications like SpringLOCK and Amortiser that IMHO elevate them above the traditional "caser".

Once again, you can not ignore the HUGE price gap between, say a VC Overseas with an outsourced movement, and say a Ball Airborne with a SpringLOCK modified outsourced movement. You can argue all you want about the extra finishing of the VC movement, but since both models have engraved solid casebacks (and I would definitely put Ball's casebacks up against the Overseas), it doesn't really matter, does it?

 

[ppalac]

Some time ago, my wife was on the hunt for a ladies mechanical watch that didn't have a bunch of bling to it. Turned out that there was a short list that she actually would consider. In the end, she chose the Ball Eternity. From her perspective, it was a very good value acquisition relative to some of the other on her list.

 

[josie03]

New to the forum, but the one Ball I own is the EMII Diver World Time. Paid just over $2500 brand new from my AD a year ago and consider it a steal given the quality of case and bracelet finishing, the accuracy and reliability of the movement over the past year, and how rugged the watch is. I've banged it around much more than I should, but hardly a scratch on it, and it still keeps impeccable time. I understand that there are now other options for tritium armed automatics at better prices, but I don't know if you'd get the same level of quality in construction and finish like you do with Ball IMHO.

 

[~tc~]

I understand that there are now other options for tritium armed automatics at better prices, but I don't know if you'd get the same level of quality in construction and finish like you do with Ball IMHO.

You don't.

 

[Twitchy]

I think Ball makes nice watches, that just aren't my style. I won't buy one for the same reason I won't get a Hamilton (which are also nice watches). They are companies that bought an American name, and are producing high quality watches, but not "real" Ball/ Hamilton. Of course they are real watches, and real "current" Ball/Hamilton watches, their just isn't something right about it in my mind. Of course I'm probably a "D" bag for thinking that way, and I could be wrong about the current companies. After all, Web C. Ball didn't mfg. his own watches, he private labeled them. I know it's probably just me, and with no malicious intent, just my opinion and feelings on the matter. It's just been bugging me for a while. Not a consuming irritation mind you. My wife squeazes the toothpaste from the middle of the tube. THAT really bugs me.

 

[~tc~]

I can somewhat understand Ball not being your style, but Hamilton has some of the best designs out there - bar none.

So, if these are taking advantage if the name, who do you go with? Just about every company out there other than Vacheron Constantin as Seiko have had some interruption in their history, and aren't really related to the company that made the name famous.

(I guess you could throw in the young startups here and micros like LumTec, but that's not really about brand history)

 

[thewatchkiller]

I agree with you. Hamilton makes some killer styles

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