Ball Watches, purveyors of some of the best tritium clad watches available, recently ousted their latest flagship diver, the DeepQuest. Part of the Engineer Hydrocarbon range, the DeepQuest is a 3000m capable diver featuring a 43 x 16 mm single piece titanium case, an ETA 2982 COSC movement, and a full compliment of Ball’s signature tritium tube lighting. While the name “Ball DeepQuest” may garner its fair share of snickers, this is a rather serious dive watch.
It really feels as though Ball is reaching for the average Breitling buyer with this new model. The case is no larger than the Bremont Supermarine but visually its much more bulky and carries an almost pointless 3000m water resistance rating. It would be a shame if a 200m or 500m capable version could have been produced at a lesser cost as effectively no one is going to use the additional resistance and this is not a budget timepiece with retail prices over 4k.
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View the Ball Engineer Master II Diver photo gallery.
If you're looking to put something a little different on your wrist, you owe it to yourself to consider a Ball.
I came across Ball watches when I was looking for something distinctive and unique; something that combines the tradition of a good automatic movement with modern functionality; something that stands out without being ostentatious. The result was the Ball Engineer Master II Diver you see here.
The best way to appreciate the Engineer Master II Diver is to consider its impressive list of features:
- ETA 2836-2 automatic movement.
- Tritium gas tube illumination (more on this below).
- Inner rotating timing bezel with gas tube illumination (more on this below).
- Beautiful domed sapphire crystal.
- Day and date, both large and readable.
- Shock resistant to 5,000Gs.
- Antimagnetic to 4,800A/m.
- Water resistant to 300 meters, or about 1,000 feet.
- Dual screwdown crowns (one for the movement, one for the inner rotating bezel), as well as a screwdown caseback.
- 42mm brushed stainless steel case, and a unique brushed stainless steel bracelet with a hidden clasp.
As you can see, this is an extremely impressive set of features for a $1,899 Swiss watch (Ball watches were once American made, closely associated with the emergence of the railroad, but the brand was purchased by a Swiss company in the 1990s). Of particular note is the tritium illumination system. The Ball Engineer Master II Diver has no fewer than 53 individual micro gas tubes, making it the most nighttime-readable and functional analog watch I've ever seen. Even the inner rotating bezel and bezel pearl use tritium tubes for diving in dark conditions.
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Ball Watches, purveyors of some of the best tritium clad watches available, recently ousted their latest flagship diver, the DeepQuest. Part of the Engineer Hydrocarbon range, the DeepQuest is a 3000m capable diver featuring a 43 x 16 mm single piece titanium case, an ETA 2982 COSC movement, and a full compliment of Ball’s signature tritium tube lighting. While the name “Ball DeepQuest” may garner its fair share of snickers, this is a rather serious dive watch.
