One of the Ohio-based horological outfit’s 10 collections, The Ball Watch Company’s Engineer Hydrocarbon range is the watchmaker’s top-shelf engineer’s timepiece lineup. And Ball is now expanding that collection for the Spring of 2020 with the addition of the rugged new Engineer Hydrocarbon Original.
Built around a 40mm stainless steel case with a MuMetal shield, unidirectional curved sapphire bezel, black dial, and Ball’s unique patented crown protection setup and Amortiser anti-shock system, the Engineer Hydrocarbon Original features the American company’s automatic caliber RR1102-CSL movement and a tapered stainless steel bracelet that uses Ball’s patented folding buckle and extension system. The new Original-spec’s crowning achievement, however, is a case and face redesign that implements the use of 30 micro gas tubes shoehorned beneath the dial that illuminate the variously-shaped hour marker cut-outs. The same treatment has also been bestowed upon the watch’s sapphire bezel which also sports integrated micro gas tubes. Rated for 7,500Gs of shock resistance, water-resistant to 200m (660’), and anti-magnetic to a whopping 80,000A/m, the ultra-hardwearing Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon Original is available now, with pricing set at $3,199.
