We'll be reviewing the new 2023 Ball Watch Engineer III Outlier. This GMT watch can display up to three time zones simultaneously. Its appeal lies in its highly practical design, thanks to its micro gas light, mu-metal inner case, and in-house movement.
The Engineer III Outlier is a maverick. It's a GMT watch that can display up to three time zones simultaneously. Its micro gaslight ensures excellent visibility in the dark, and its mu-metal inner case provides high magnetic resistance. Automatic movement (Cal. RRM7337-C). 25 jewels. 28,800 vph. Power reserve: approximately 42 hours. Stainless steel case (40mm diameter, 13.8mm thick). Water resistant to 200m. Price: 407,000 yen (tax included).
Article published on June 2023, 5
An orthodox GMT watch named "Maverick"
As we approach the middle of 2023, new products are being announced one after another by various companies this year. This time, we would like to share our hands-on impressions of one of these, the Ball Watch Engineer III Outlier, which is scheduled to be released in Japan in June.
The name "Outlier" means "a maverick." According to the company, it was developed based on the concept of breaking away from existing values and taking on a new world, and is a sports watch with a unique style not found in the Ball Watch lineup.
This GMT watch features a black dial, an orange GMT hand, a 40mm case, and a bidirectional rotating bezel with 24-hour indication. At first glance, it has an orthodox appearance that is hard to imagine given its name, "the unorthodox."
Since its founding, Ball Watch has been making highly reliable timepieces that maintain high visibility and accuracy even in harsh environments. The company's collection includes many models that exude toughness, worthy of being called professional-grade. While maintaining its excellent reliability, this watch's compact size and elegance throughout make it a unique piece in the company's lineup.
Before diving into the specific review, let me briefly outline the watch's specifications. As mentioned above, the case is 40mm in diameter and 13.8mm thick. The exterior is made of highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel, SUS904L. This tough model boasts a mu-metal inner case that provides magnetic resistance of 8 A/m, water resistance of 200m, and shock resistance of 5000 Gs.
High functionality and simple display system
As you can guess from the orange-tipped fourth hand and the 24-hour display on the flange and bezel, this is a GMT watch that can display up to three time zones simultaneously. Despite its multifunctionality, it has a clean design with minimal use of color.
Although the specifications are stoic, if you look closely at each detail, you will see that it is not just purely practical, but also incorporates a subtle elegance.
The black dial has a matte finish. This is likely a result of consideration to reduce light reflection, making it easy to read the time even under strong light sources such as direct sunlight. Contrasting with the black dial are the micro gaslights attached to the 12 indexes, hour, minute, and GMT hands.
Ball watches employ several unique technologies that dramatically improve practicality. One of these is the Micro Gaslight, which uses tritium sealed in a glass tube coated with fluorescent paint. Unlike luminous paint, which stores light in bright places and glows for a certain period of time in the dark, this system remains self-luminous for over 10 years, making it possible to continue reading the time even when working in the dark for long periods of time.
The words "T SWISS MADE T" are printed at the 6 o'clock position on the dial (※), indicating that tritium is used in this model.
*Editor's note: The model worn this time was a Swiss-made sample, so it had "T SWISS MADE T" printed on it, but the dial of the domestic model would normally have "T25" printed on it.
The hour and minute hands are pencil-shaped, with triangular tips designed to avoid obscuring the indexes and minute markers. The seconds hand has a counterweight shaped like the brand logo and its tip reaches all the way to the edge of the dial.
The GMT hand has an orange tip and black throughout, making it stand out from the rest of the dial without being confused with the other hands. Its tip is slightly angled upward, eliminating the difference in height with the 24-hour markings on the flange and improving readability.
The dial is covered by a box-shaped sapphire crystal fitted with a date magnifying lens. For practical purposes, a flat sapphire crystal would suffice. The three-dimensional crystal of this watch not only lends the watch a classic appeal, but also plays an important role in its appearance.
The four hands are located in the center of the dial. This is a sports watch that is also designed for use in somewhat harsh environments. Therefore, there needs to be enough clearance at the mounting position of each hand to ensure that the hands do not move impededly even if they are bent by impact. This clearance can give the impression of being stretched out, so how to make it less noticeable is a common concern for sports watches in general.
In this model, the thickness of the sapphire crystal is distributed to tighten the dial, and the distorted edges hide the clearance when viewed from an angle.
The bidirectional rotating bezel is made of stainless steel, which gives it a more subdued, solid feel, unlike the glittering ceramics that the company prefers.
The engraved 24-hour scale is filled with Super-LumiNova. The colors are white for daytime and black for nighttime, reducing visual clutter while still allowing you to distinguish at a glance whether it's day or night in the set time zone. While two-tone bezels such as red and blue have been common for some time, a more subdued monotone color scheme would be more suitable for business wear, for example.
The bezel also has a minute scale, but I couldn't imagine how it could be used. If the bezel could be rotated in minute increments, it could be used to measure time in conjunction with the minute hand, but this model's bezel has 24 clicks, so it cannot be used in this way.
The middle case and bracelet have a dressy touch
The exterior of the watch, including the bezel, middle case, case back, and bracelet, is made of SUS904L, which is more corrosion-resistant than the SUS316L typically used in luxury watches. This stainless steel is difficult to process and expensive, so it is only used by a few brands, such as Rolex, Sinn, and Girard-Perregaux.
The middle case tapers towards the lug tips, and the polished lug surfaces give it a delicate look. In contrast, the case sides have a vertical satin finish, giving it a powerful look.
Although the overall thickness is 13.8mm, the thickness is distributed among the sapphire crystal, bezel, and case back, so it doesn't appear to be particularly bulky. Above all, the middle case houses a mu-metal inner case that provides 8 A/m of magnetic resistance, as well as an automatic movement with a GMT function. Considering this, it's fair to say that this watch is relatively thin.
The crown, which is approximately 7 mm in diameter, is protected by a discreet crown guard that combines sportiness and elegance. The case back is solid and features a relief of the globe and the time zones of major cities.
The bracelet has a polished center and a satin finish on both sides. The polished portion is larger, giving it a glittering impression. The buckle is a double-opening type, so it is not noticeable when closed. As it is a snap-fit type with no push buttons, the buckle itself is thin, which should make it easy to handle. Considering these features - a mainly polished finish and a double-opening snap-fit type - it is clear that this is a design that leans towards a dressy look.
The adjustment links are connected with screws. Compared to cotter pins or C-rings, there is less risk of them falling off, so you can rest assured that you will be able to use them for many years. Screws are used not only to connect the links to each other, but also to attach them to the middle case.
