Some men have watches, Hoppers customers have Balls
Ball Watches Official Stockists
S.T Hopper has been a renowned watch specialist in Lincolnshire from the very early days, when our grandfather Stanley T Hopper started the business in 1926. Today, we are one of only a handful of independent UK stores selected to stock this prestigious watch brand Team Hopper is very proud to stock the BALL watch brand in Boston. Not just Boston but Lincolnshire! 99% of you may never have heard of this watch brand before so grab a cup of tea and let us give you a brief look at the rich history and quality that this watch brand has to offer. Quality of that of watches Such as Omega, Breitling and Tag Heuer. You’ll be very impressed, don’t believe me? check out the reviews on the internet. The reviews speak for themselves…..Let us begin! The Mission of Ball Watches Since 1891, BALL watch company has been producing timepieces that comply with the most stringent criteria for precision, quality and reliability. With a rich past closely associated with the history of the American railroads. BALL Watch Company are focused to build the mightiest, superior watches that endure all adverse conditions, whether it’s on land, up a snowy mountain, under the sea or even in space! BALL watches has a rich past closely associated with the history of the American railroads The Kipton, Ohio Disaster and Webb C. Ball The Kipton train disaster on April 18th 1891, was spectacular. The collision of the two trains was due to the engineer’s watch being four minutes slow and not knowing this, he didn’t leave enough time to get on to the siding. Due to this accident on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad in Kipton, the General Superintendent of the Lake Shore Line appointed W.C.Ball as Chief Inspector to investigate time keeping.
The collision of the two trains was due to the engineer’s watch being four minutes slow
W.C.Ball was a Cleveland jeweller and as a direct result of the collision he investigated railroad timekeeping, and finding practices woefully deficient, he instituted watch performance and inspection standards in 1893. Subsequently he became Chief Time Inspector for many railroads and produced a quality railroad timekeeper: the BALL Railroad Watch. The phrase ‘On the Ball’ was coined to refer to its total reliability in timekeeping for the American railroads.
An original BALL watches poster advertising their reliability with its ‘Safety First’ message
Accuracy under adverse conditions
The BALL watch logo is ‘accuracy under adverse conditions’ that includes outer space! The BALL ‘Spacemaster’ watch was used for the space flight on 5th April 2010 on board the space shuttle Discovery. The Discovery reached an altitude of 221 miles and a speed of 17,500 mph. The flight duration lasted 15 days, 2 hours, 47 minutes, 10 seconds covering a total distance of 6,232,235 miles. The logo ‘accuracy under adverse conditions’ is what BALL watches are all about. It sums up the brand very well. BALL watches are a fantastic price point, when you look at them against other brands, including Omega, Tag Heuer and Rolex, you will see the level of finish that goes into each and every automatic BALL watch makes them on a par with these other brands. BALL Watches ‘Accuracy under adverse conditions’ Ball micro gas tubes The BALL solution to the problem of reading the time in the dark is with Self-Powered Micro Gas Lights (3H). This Swiss technology safely captures pure tritium gas in a mineral glass tube coated with luminescent material. The light is produced when the electrons of the tritium strike the luminous phosphors on the inside of the glass. The 3H micro gas lights glow up to 100 times brighter than luminous paints for up to 25 years. They do not require charging from any outside light source or power source. The encapsulated tritium gas poses no risk to the wearer over the life of the watch.
This picture shows the power of the micro gas lights which is 100 times brighter than luminous paint
The gas tubes do not require charging from any outside light source or power source
Reliability Crown Protection System
When watches fail, it is not usually due to a crack in the case or crystal. In fact, many watches are damaged due to water or shock damage that comes from the crown. The crown, particularly if it is not a screw-down crown, is among the most at risk parts of a watch. For this reason, all BALL watches use screw-down crowns. The BALL Engineer Hydrocarbon collection is specially protected against the elements. Its patented crown protection system guarantees superior water and shock resistance, even at the most vulnerable area of the case, the crown.
The BALL Engineer Hydrocarbon collection with its patented crown protection system
Springlock anti-shock system
The BALL watch company has always been producing timepieces with the most stringent criteria for precision, quality and reliability. In order to meet these criteria in all situations, BALL focuses on developing new resistance technologies. In 2013, BALL introduced its patented Springlock anti-shock system. Disorient of the balance-spring upon shock impact is the most common cause of watch inaccuracy. Springlock, the worlds first revolutionary and BALLS patented anti-shock system enhances watch accuracy by reducing the balance-springs shock impact by 66%. Philippe Antille, chief technology officer at BALL Watch Company, would often use as an example the environmental effects a watch might endure while around the wrist of a drummer to illustrate the purpose of such a system. Antille found the perfect tester for his new anti-shock system. Enter Eric Singer, drummer of the rock band Kiss who formed in 1973 with huge hits which include Shout it out Loud and Rock and Roll all Nite. Eric Singer who is already a BALL watch fan owning 2 already, welcomed the idea of wearing a BALL watch while drumming at a few concerts.
Phillippe Antille & Eric Singer without ‘The Catman’ Kiss make up
On 18th June, 2013 Eric Singer wore the first prototype on stage in Milan,while Phillippe Antille monitored the results. The outcome was even better than expected, as the watch only had a difference of a few seconds after being ‘mistreated’ during the concert. After asking Kiss’s drummer how hard he was hitting the sticks he explained “I try and be relaxed, but as forceful as possible. If I tried to drum the way I do on-stage now, without adrenaline, it would hurt too much and I couldn’t do it. Aside from the fact that a watch doesn’t really really go with my costume, I was always afraid that I’d destroy a mechanical watch movement if I wore it on stage”
Eric Singer about to go on stage with his Engineer Hydrocarbon Airborne watch fitted with the Springlock
Having the chance to test the system in a real, concrete situation was an amazing opportunity for the company. As a start BALL Watch has endowed a few models with the Springlock anti-shock system, these include The Engineer Hydrocarbon Black, The Engineer Hydrocarbon Airborne and the Trainmaster Cannonball.
The aftermath: Phillippe monitored the watch performance during the concert and the outcome was even better than expected
BALL patented clasp
The triple folding clasp and its extension, patented by BALL watch, is a pure distillation of innovation. To improve the strength and durability of this clasp, it is machined from a single block of stainless steel. A 22 millimetre extension system has been added on both sides of the bracelet so that the watch can be worn over sports gear.
Again it’s all in the finishing, even down to the watch clasp!
Suitable for all environments
The researchers at BALL Watch Company have engineered timepieces with special lubrication for expeditions in the North and South Poles. These timepieces feature specially blended Swiss watch oils that give the watches an operating temperature range from -40°C to 60°C (-40 to 140°F). This special feature allows the Engineer Hydrocarbon to fulfill its promise as a dependable partner for BALL Explorers in their endeavours in the world’s most challenging environments. This includes water where this watch makes the perfect diving companion with its patented crown protection system.
The Engineer Hydrocarbon watch from BALL built for the most challenging of environments
BALL Watch case backs
The finishing to each and every BALL watch is exceptional, even down to the detail of the case backs. Here we have a scuba diver engraving to one of the deep sea diver models. We will also show you what BALL watches had specially done for us on the back of the watches when Leicester City Football Club purchased BALL watches through us when they were promoted to the premier league 2013/14.
Scuba design to one of the case backs. It’s all in the detail
BALL Watches are very proud of their rich history. Here we have a steam train engraving.
Each BALL watch that Leicester City Football Club purchased from us, celebrating their team and staff's promotion to the premier league, had the case backs specially engraved for the occasion. Below shows some of the staff and team showing off their new BALL watches purchased from us!
Movies & Television
A lot of people from the UK may not have heard of the brand before but without realising it you may have seen these quality automatic watches on TV and movies many times. It proves a useful tool to one of the CSI New York team, the Cleveland Express BALL watch has made a few appearances in the hit TV series. They have appeared in blockbuster movies with stars such as Denzil Washington from the 2003 film The Taking of Pelham 123 wearing his Trainmaster Cleveland Express watch. You may have even seen them on sitcoms such as ‘My Dad Says’ starring William Shatner who is actually a big fan of BALL watches and can be seen wearing a Hydrocarbon Spacemaster BALL watch in the sitcom.
William Shatner: It had to be the Spacemaster model didn’t it?!
Our Customers Have Balls
A customer who bought a Skindiver BALL watch from us emailed a picture (below) of him wearing it on holiday. He said he was putting it through it's paces and passed with flying colours! Or was he just showing off its cool styling?! Check for yourself in-store or find our range by going to the 'watches' section on top main header and click on BALL watches.
See you at the pool!
Team Hopper
A lucky Hopper Shopper enjoying his Skindiver BALL watch
