From Railroad to Runway

BALL WATCHES TAKE TO THE SKY. When Webb C. Ball set about to create a standard measure of timekeeping for the railroad industry that stretched across the American continent, manned flight was still more than a decade away. In 1891, Ball had just been appointed as chief inspector for Lake Shore Lines and in the aftermath of the Kipton train wreck, a devastating train collision that rocked the railroad community and highlighted the need for greater accuracy in timing. Webster Clay Ball began to implement sweeping reforms in the way time was kept by men who worked up and down the train tracks and he was able to devise a uniform and highly accurate means of time telling which eventually became the industry Standard.

One important factor that weighed heavily in favor of the successful adaptation of this Standard was the strict requirement that Ball issued to all watch manufacturers that supplied timepieces used by all of his railroad workers. The design guideline that was laid down by the new chief inspector included specific details such as the shape of the hands and the style of the numerals to increase the watch’s readability under any circumstance. In terms of accuracy, Ball specified that the watches used had to maintain an accuracy of within 30 seconds from each other, quite a feat for the era. This was the Standard set throughout the 175,000 miles of railroad and the one that unified four time zones.

Fast forward to the present. Following the watchmaking principles established by its founder, the Ball Watch Company unveils a pair of watches that would seem to go along the same path as mass transportation had done from the onset of the twentieth century. It might have taken a bit longer time for them to do so but Ball has finally taken off and instead of keeping trainmen on track and on schedule, the official Standard now keeps aviators safe while defying the laws of gravity.

Since that fateful December day in 1903 when Orville Wright broke free of the Earth’s bound and made the first manned, controlled and powered flight, man has become obsessed with flying. From that first flight that lasted a mere 12 seconds and covered a total of 120 feet, traveling to far away lands on flights that last for 12 hours are now a common occurrence. From flying in only clear, daylight conditions, advances in technology and equipment has allowed for day and night, all-weather flights to take place. Although this has enabled the aviation sector to flourish, it has placed a heavier load on the men who fly today’s airplanes.

The Ball Watch Company has designed the Engineer Master II Aviator to meet these challenges and become the most accurate and dependable timekeeper for pilots very much the same way they did for the men who worked on the railroads of a bygone era. Simple improvements such as using a clear three-hand layout and utilizing bigger gas tubes means that even flying in the dark and competing with the countless lights coming from a plane’s cockpit displays does not hinder the Engineer Master II Aviator’s brilliant readability.