BALL Roadmaster Ocean Explorer Limited Edition Watch Review
Tuesday - 17 August 2021
BALL Watch Company doesn’t get talked about enough in our opinion. They have a truly remarkable selection of luxury timepieces on hand fitted with quite simply some of the industry’s best technologies. From Swiss made COSC certified movements to incredible luminosity assisted by their patented micro gas tubes, anti-magnetic technology and patented folding buckles, their technical prowess is unmatched. Today, we wanted to shine a light on their excellence and in particular a model that features all these technologies and more, the BALL Roadmaster Ocean Explorer Limited Edition.
BALL has an astonishing history, and one that remains present in each and every BALL watch. It all started ahead of the development of the railroads across the United States, before there was any standardised timekeeping in the organisation of trains. After a head on collision between two trains in Kipton, Ohio which resulted in several deaths, all because one conductor’s watch stopped working for four minutes, Webb C. Ball was hired to make train journeys safer for both travellers and employees of the railroad. He set up tests and standards for all watches used in the railroad industry and established what is known as “RR” or Rail Road standard which ensures that all watches used on and around trains are of high precision.
For BALL’s latest release, they move away from the railroad and into deep waters. The BALL Roadmaster Ocean Explorer Limited Edition still upholds all the same values cemented by their founder with a COSC certified movement at the core all while proving the brand’s desire for innovation has yet to wane. The design features a unique moonphase complication at 6 o’clock shining with stellar luminosity, a special movement module for displaying spring and neap tides in the northern hemisphere, a fascinating rotating bezel for tracking high and low tides and a robust 41mm stainless steel case with water resistant and anti-magnetic ratings deserving of even the harshest of environments.
When we first saw the BALL Roadmaster Ocean Explorer Limited Edition our eyes instantly went to the selection of complications at 6 o’clock. Showcasing the sky on your wrist in full luminosity, the textured moonphase aperture is built entirely from self-powered micro gas tubes delivering a powerful and endless glow for around 25 years. Surrounding it is a spring and neap tide indicator which reveals the strength of the current tides in the northern hemisphere. These features work perfectly together since spring tides, otherwise known as the highest tides, occur every two weeks during a new or full moon when the earth, sun and moon are aligned. Lower tides, called neap tides, happen during a quarter or three-quarter moon when the earth, sun and moon create a right angle, which causes the sun and moon to pull water in two directions.
Continuing its destiny as a companion for sailors, oceanographers and adventurers, the BALL Roadmaster Ocean Explorer Limited Edition comes equipped with a unique external rotating bezel designed to help you track high and low tides during a period of 14 days. You just simply rotate the bezel counter clockwise to set the day of the week on the inner ring, then turn clockwise to correctly position the corresponding tide markings on the external bezel itself. Once again, BALL’s micro gas tube technology comes into play on the blue and red aluminium plate alongside Superluminova coating for instantly legibility.
The BALL Roadmaster Ocean Explorer Limited Edition sits on the wrist at 41 millimetre in diameter and is engineered from robust stainless steel with a screw in crown and screw down case back with a water resistance of 100 metres. Topping the case is scratch resistant sapphire crystal treated with anti-reflective coating to protect the navy blue dial and 33 micro gas tubes on hour, minute and second hands. Powering the mass of complications, including the magnified date window at 3 o’clock is the chronometer-certified BALL RR1803-C automatic winding movement resistant to magnetism up to 4,800A/m and viewable through the glass back.
For more information on the BALL Roadmaster Ocean Explorer watch and to secure one of the 1,000 limited edition pieces, head over to the Jura Watches website here. You can also get in touch with the team by calling 01335 453453 or send us a message at help@jurawatches.co.uk.
