I have two Ball stainless steel wristies and am looking for info about these in particular and the Ball ww in general. I have found a few comments and pics while searching this site but can't find much in the way of serial number/manufacturing date and other details about these. So, I'm hoping the experts will chime in either with web resources and/or personal comments and info.

From what I have read so far I believe that the dials are correct. Both are manual wind. Serial numbers are 225326 and 108705. I need to get better photos but I'll see if I can attach photos in the next posts.

How do the backs and crystals come off? They both show some wear from useage and if I am going to keep these they will need cleaning and new crystals on both. Both are currently working but I have not timed them.

Thanks for any info.
Ralph

first Ball #225326

second Ball #108705

Ralph,
I have a stainless Ball wristie just like yours which I bought new in about 1980. I was working for Cotton Belt RR at the time, and traded in an Accutron Quartz for the Ball. I really thought I was something with a self-winding Ball while most everyone else had gone to Seikos. I never knew of anyone else who bought a new Ball after I bought mine. My watch's S/N is 226463. Like most watches, the back simply screws off, and the crystal just snaps in. Your second picture shows a black leather strap, which is correct. My watch had a plain black leather strap with a white metal buckle when new.

Donald, thanks for the info. Both of my serial numbers are earlier than yours.

Would you [or anyone else] happen to know if manual winds and self/automatic winds were mixed into production runs or if Ball stopped making manual winds at some point prior to your #226xxx?

Ralph

Ralph,
I don't know, but I doubt that both types were made at the same time. I do have a gold Ball Trainmaster that is older than my stainless watch with serial number 992 276 ( not a typo, the number has a space in it ). I wonder if the gold case watches had a different batch of numbers.

I will always have fond memories of seeing models of those Ball stainless wristies lined up in a row for sale in our local railroad watch inspectors shop window back in the 60's and early 70's.

Wish I had paid more attention to them, though. I was more interested in railroad pocket watches at the time.

Regards! Mark

Who actually assembled Ball wristwatches? Was it like the pocket watches where Hamilton and Waltham did the assembly?

Was the dial on the right a Canadian dial? I actually have a gold cased watch with the 24 hour dial.

Jim

Thanks Lindell. Here is a photo. I was not sure when (or if) 24 hour dials were used in the US. The case is in pretty good shape except where someone gouged it trying to get the back off at some point.

Jim

Here's an ETA 2821 based automatic, SN 938791. Can anyone date it?

Ken,

If you carefully read Lindell's and Mark's posts above in this topic you will see these are late 1960s through the 1970s items. Lindell even posted a Ball Railtoad Time Service list from December 1976 listing their railroad approved watches.

You might want to print that document to keep with your watch.

Don

Thank you for your reply. I have read *all* of the posts in this thread ("carefully" may be debatable). I saw the Ball Railroad Time Service memo saying that this model was in service on the Burlington Northern in 1976. I was hoping for a bit finer grain dating from SN -> production date. "late 1960's through the 1970's" is a fairly wide range. I was hoping for something more precise.

I guess I've been spoiled by the excellent databases available for POCKET watches (at least from some manufacturers).