Ball Watch [2021 New Release] The Trainmaster Railroad Standard 130th Anniversary Revisits the Traditional Design of Railroad Watches

Ball Watch, a manufacturer of robust and highly reliable practical mechanical watches, has announced the "Trainmaster Railroad Standard 130th Anniversary," a special edition watch in limited quantities that commemorates the 130th anniversary of Ball Watch's creation of a high-precision railroad watch inspection system to ensure safe operation in the early days of American railroading. This special edition watch will be available at authorized retailers nationwide from June 2021.

Trainmaster Railroad Standard 130th Anniversary

　The "Ball Standard" was known as a byword for high-precision timepieces in the 19th century American watch and railroad industries.
The year 2021 marks 130 years since Webster Clay Ball, founder of Ball Watch, established the foundation for the strict rules and standards that governed and operated the railroad network that dominated the vast American continent. To preserve this unique legacy and brand identity for future generations, Ball has released the Trainmaster Railroad Standard 130th Anniversary, a classic and elegant new watch inspired by vintage pocket watches made by Ball Watch from the early 20th century.

• 

  White enamel dial

• 

  14 self-luminous micro gas lights

• 

  Vintage BALL pocket watch

• 

  Traditional Montgomery dial design

• 

  Left side of the case

• 

  See-through back, but magnetic resistance is 4,800A/m

/

White enamel dial

　The dial is made of white enamel and follows the traditional Montgomery dial design, which was invented for American railroad clocks in the early 20th century and has two main features.

Montgomery Dial Features ①

　The minute numerals on the outer edge of the dial all face upwards, which is a design feature that helps ensure accurate reading of the time. This not only makes the watch easy to read when taken out of your pocket, but also makes it easy to read even when fixed to a train driver's seat.

Montgomery Dial Features ②

　The reason the outer 5-minute numerals are slightly larger than the other minute numerals is likely a design measure to reduce misreading of the time. In addition to the large 5-minute numerals, this watch features prominent red lettering, and a self-luminous micro gas light just inside provides improved readability. A small seconds hand is located at the 6 o'clock position, and its short hand is a Poiret-Roskopf hand finished in the same blue as the hour and minute hands. Other details on the dial befitting a special piece include the Arabic numeral 7 in a unique font that resembles "BALL & Co.", and the serial number at the 9 o'clock position.

A wolf in sheep's clothing