Ball

Ball takes its name from Webb C. Ball, a jeweller in Cleveland, Ohio, who founded the company in 1891. That year a collision between two trains at Kipton, Ohio, was traced to a watch that had stopped for four minutes; Ball was appointed Chief Time Inspector for the railway and drew up inspection standards — a minimum of 17 jewels, lever setting, adjustment to five positions and a tolerance of 30 seconds a week — that became the basis of the American railroad watch. The company sold watches under its own name using movements from Hamilton, Waltham, Elgin and other makers.

Today Ball Watch Company is a privately held Swiss firm based in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Its watches are known for self-powered tritium gas tubes on dials and hands, antimagnetic and shock-resistant cases and, on many models, COSC-certified movements, arranged in the Engineer, Trainmaster, Fireman and Roadmaster collections.