Ball incoming....

[jimyritz]

Received the Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon Spacemaster X-Lume yesterday.

I really had no idea what to expect--had always heard good things but never handled
any Balls (except my own..... ).....Ok--no more Ball jokes....

I couldn't be happier...the Spacemaster is a solid---well made piece....

It is a SS watch w/a Satin finish...almost looks like Titanium..

Case 41.5MM
16.1 MM thick
ETA 2836 COSC movement
330M/1100' WR
4MM anti reflective Sapphire Crystal
Ridiculous lume--the bezel is green, the numbers and hour markers
are yellow and the minute markers are blue....

Has a double deployant clasp w/butterfly release...

2 yrs MFG warranty

I have to say that I am impressed--I think it is as good as any
of the Breitlings I have owned...

The bracelet can be sized down to 6.5"...The lugs are curved
which makes this a watch that anyone w/a wrist from 6.5"-8" can wear.

The pics...














----------------------


The caseback is in reference to American Navy Pilot Brian Binnie....In 2004, he piloted the private rocket ship Spaceship One...The first private rocket ship to exceed mach 3, and reach over 100 KM in altitude...

Lastly, I tried about 20 lume pics and none of them came out...
This is from the Ball web site....This is what the lume looks like..






Big thick, cool watch....

Thanks for looking...
Mike

[Diaboliq]

WOW I love it! That bracelet looks bulletproof even from here.

Crazy but lately I'm casing BALL watches as well.. Could be my new grail actually.. In a long run. Just found one nice Engineer Hydrocarbon on WUS for a decent price:

http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread ... light=BALL

[jimyritz]

Yes. Mad Cow's come up a lot..

42 by 17MM thick--Titanium....nice watch...

Mike

[Sukispop]

Great pics of a very cool watch, Mike! Thanks for sharing them! Your SM X-Lume looks great on, too, btw!

Ball devised a double lug screw attachment system for their Hydrocarbon series. It was/is part of their efforts in making their Hydrocarbons as bulletproof as possible. Their thinking, of course, was to make it so that in the event of a lug screw failure, the owner wouldn't have to watch his beloved Hydrocarbon suddenly falling to the hard ground(or rapidly sinking into the murky depths of the ocean he was diving).

But, this super secure bracelet attachment system can be a real task for anyone wanting to change out the bracelet for a Ball HC strap(or vice versa). I've read many Ball forum posts of the frustration that owners have suffered trying to implement this changeout. I've never tried doing it, myself, as I've never wanted to wear my Mad Cow on anything other than the wonderful bracelet it came with.

Here's a link to helpful advice, should you ever want to change out yours:
http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=85882

Enjoy your new Spacemaster X-Lume, Mike!

[deepcdvr]

DO IT! You will NOT be disappointed!

Ball makes some of the best built watches I've ever handled including most of the big names... Let my Trieste go and searched like hell to get another one. This one is sticking around.

The bracelets are bulletproof, but the rubber is just as nice and they work on Zulus and Natos very well.




Congrats Mike! Wait till you wake up in the middle of the night with that beast in the room..

[jimyritz]

Thanks Geoff and Paul....

The Bracelet is fantastic... I would strongly consider
another one...

Paul--that zulu rocks...

Mike

[jimyritz]

Ball is really an underrated company....


mike

[mattcantwin]

That just might be my favorite, congratualtions!

[SCM64]

That just might be my favorite, congratualtions!

Agree. I have heard nothing but praise for the brand, and they really do seem to develop the watches for extreme conditions, which as a Sinn lover, I greatly respect. Their support of free diving I think is really very cool, and probably provides a good ROI on whatever they spend on that.

I would love to see one in the dark, to get a feel for what Trit tubes look like in RL. Would it be a fair comparison to buy a cheapie beatup luminox or something as in intro to what the Ball trit tubes bring to the table? I know some tubes are better than others, but have not done much research to know who uses what.

The watch looks great Mike, and I love the bracelet. I was not aware of the double pins, which again shows the innovation they try to implement.

Great pickup, thanks for sharing!

[jimyritz]

Thanks Steven...I have the Trit tubes in my GSAR and the ones in the Spacemaster are better---brighter...

[jimyritz]

That just might be my favorite, congratualtions!

-------

Thanks Matt..

[ezcheese]

Sweet! I looked at that one before I got the UTS.

I am digging the new crown guard system.

[moishlashen]

Really very nice piece Mike. Glad now you know how good the quality is and that they do such a good job with the dedications. Looks like you are very happy with it.


Lets see owned:


Alligator black and white dials
Trieste black and white dials
GMT 2 black dial
Mad Cow black dial
Engineer Master 2 Diver green-The one G to the D to the leone has(TLGdel)

Loved them all and flipped them all like a dumb ass. All kept COSC time and all were of Omega level of quality. Its up there for re aquirring specifically the Alligator. Awesome watches.


Here is a Black dial gator that just sold. I would have snagged it if I had the cash.

http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread ... light=ball

[matt.wu]

Very cool, Mike! Ball makes some pretty cool watches. Besides the tritium, one of the greatest things about the brand, to me, is that they truly come up with their own designs. They don't try to steal any design cues from other brands at all.

I've never owned one, but may meander over to Topper to try some on one of these days.

[jimyritz]

Very cool, Mike! Ball makes some pretty cool watches. Besides the tritium, one of the greatest things about the brand, to me, is that they truly come up with their own designs. They don't try to steal any design cues from other brands at all.

I've never owned one, but may meander over to Topper to try some on one of these days.

--------

Real good point Matt....Say, hi, to Rob for me at Topper's--that's who I bought it from...

Mike

[jimyritz]

Really very nice piece Mike. Glad now you know how good the quality is and that they do such a good job with the dedications. Looks like you are very happy with it.


Lets see owned:


Alligator black and white dials
Trieste black and white dials
GMT 2 black dial
Mad Cow black dial
Engineer Master 2 Diver green-The one G to the D to the leone has(TLGdel)

Loved them all and flipped them all like a dumb ass. All kept COSC time and all were of Omega level of quality. Its up there for re aquirring specifically the Alligator. Awesome watches.


Here is a Black dial gator that just sold. I would have snagged it if I had the cash.

http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread ... light=ball

---------

Thanks Chris--

Wow--didn't know you had owned so many....That gator is a classic and one big watch---

Mike

[vbuskirk]

Woooo hooo!!! That thing looks awesome. Looking forward to frequent pics ...




Also, if you look at Paul's pics, you'll see a reference to "T100". 100millicuries of radiation is a very rare thing in the tritium watch world (most are <25). If you haven't started your family yet, you might want to stay away. Or, at least keep your hands out of your lap; it may sterilize you.

I would assume that the Spacemaster also has a silly amount of tritium, but I didn't notice the '100' markings on it anywhere. Isn't the Spacemaster the brightest one now? Does anyone know?

[moishlashen]

T100 can be up to 100 milli curies not necessarily a full 100. Its only Beta decay anyway

[dukerules]

That is a serious piece. Completely underrated brand.

[Sukispop]

Woooo hooo!!! That thing looks awesome. Looking forward to frequent pics ...




Also, if you look at Paul's pics, you'll see a reference to "T100". 100millicuries of radiation is a very rare thing in the tritium watch world (most are <25). If you haven't started your family yet, you might want to stay away. Or, at least keep your hands out of your lap; it may sterilize you.

I would assume that the Spacemaster also has a silly amount of tritium, but I didn't notice the '100' markings on it anywhere. Isn't the Spacemaster the brightest one now? Does anyone know?

Hi,

To my recollection, 'T100' was actually a misprint that made its way onto a number of Ball watch dials. That misprint has since been identified and corrected, so all new production Ball watches should either have 'T25' or 'T' on their dials. Per the USNRC, 'T25'=up to(but not exceeding) 25mCi of tritium. 'T'(or the misprinted 'T100')=up to(but not exceeding) 100mCi of tritium. So, a 'T25' watch could have 24.9mCi, and a 'T' watch could have 25.1mCi. But most 'T' watches will have much more than 25mCi. There are currently no licensing provisions for more than 100mCi.

The Spacemaster X-Lume is Ball Watch's current tritium lume king.

Ball Watch USA President, Jeffrey Hess, is the license holder of the USNRC permit that allows importation of the tritium micro gas tube dials on Ball watches. And, I believe Ball Watch USA is currently the only company that has the permit provision for 'T' level dials(but I could be wrong).

Now, as far as how safe these mildly(read very) radioactive tritium tube dials are, a Ball Watch SA rep once posted this in the then official Ball Forum at WUS:

Conservative estimates by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and others suggest that the amount of tritium in 40,000 Ball Watches would not even cause the first level of radiation sickness measurable by scientific standards. The prescribed treatment for this "level 1" exposure: drink 4 glasses of water. The tritium is then expelled naturally with no ill effects.

Truly, the only parties who could be at risk of any type of exposure are the technicians who work in assembling the tubes. But a quick examination of the labs shows they are well equipped with the relevant clean room technologies.

Thus, it is clear that it is unnecessary to speak of health risk when it comes to Ball Watches or micro gas tubes.

Hope this may be of help.

[Sukispop]

I would love to see one in the dark, to get a feel for what Trit tubes look like in RL. Would it be a fair comparison to buy a cheapie beatup luminox or something as in intro to what the Ball trit tubes bring to the table? I know some tubes are better than others, but have not done much research to know who uses what.

Hi Steven,

Old Northeast Jewelers, on N West Shore Blvd, is a Ball AD. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to let you check out as many Ball watches as you'd like. You really have to see these dials in the dark, yourself, to truly understand their appeal. Avant Gold, on N Dale Mabry, is another AD. And, if you drive a little further, and visit Old Northeast Jewelers in Saint Petersburg, you might even get a chance to meet Ball Watch USA President, Jeff Hess. It's his store; it's also the location of Ball Watch USA HQ.

[vbuskirk]

It's a sign Steven.

[rousp]

Nice one Mike! Enjoy it!

[Rambam]

Love it, Mike!
I just love those tubes, must be some crazy lume

[jimyritz]

The Lume is pretty cool--depending on the light it also gives different tones to the dial..

The lumed bezel is cool, too...

Mike