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Ball Replica Luxury Watch

High Quality Fake Cheap Chic BALL Engineer III Bronze/Silver Star Watch

Earlier this year BALL joined us at Wind^Up, and just last week we reviewed the impressive Fireman Storm Chaser Pro. Today, we’re excited to announce something new from the brand just in time for the upcoming holiday season, and it’s something we think will appeal to a lot of people. Introducing the fake Engineer III Bronze Star and the replica Engineer III Silver Star (40mm and 46mm).

 Replica Engineer III Bronze Star

Case copper-aluminum alloy
Crystal sapphire crystal with AR
Dimensions 43mm x 13.45mm
Dial black
Lume 14 micro gas tubes on hour and minute hands and dial; Super-LumiNova on Arabic numerals and second hand
Strap brown calf leather with bronze buckle
Functions shock resistant to 5,000Gs, anti-magnetic to 80,000 A/m, water resistance 100m/330ft

 Engineer III Bronze Star

Fake Engineer III Silver Star – 40mm

Case stainless steel
Crystal sapphire crystal with AR
Dimensions 40mm x 13.45mm
Dial black or blue
Lume 14 micro gas tubes on hour and minute hands and dial; Super-LumiNova on Arabic numerals and second hand
Strap stainless steel bracelet or brown calf leather strap
Functions shock resistant to 5,000Gs, anti-magnetic to 80,000 A/m, water resistance 100m/330ft

Engineer III Silver Star – 40mm

Replica Engineer III Silver Star – 46mm

Engineer III Silver Star – 46mm

Case stainless steel
Crystal sapphire crystal with AR
Dimensions 46mm x 13.55mm
Dial black or blue
Lume 14 micro gas tubes on hour and minute hands and dial; Super-LumiNova on Arabic numerals and second hand
Strap stainless steel bracelet or brown calf leather strap
Functions shock resistant to 5,000Gs, anti-magnetic to 80,000 A/m, water resistance 100m/330ft

What makes these replica watches really impressive is the tech packed into them. Built to withstand extreme shocks, the Engineer III features Ball’s Spring LOCK and Amortiser systems, the former a small cage that protects the hairspring and the latter a lock that prevents the rotor from damaging the movement in the event of a shock. Other noteworthy tech includes a mu-metal shield protecting the movement giving the  fakewatch its impressive anti-magnetic rating, and BALL’s popular tritium gas tubes.

The replica tritium tubes do not need to be charged by light.

The tritium tubes do not need to be charged by light.

The pre-order will continue through December 31, 2016, with an expected delivery date between March and April, 2017. To further sweeten the pot, BALL is offering custom case back engraving on all models.

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Ball Replica Calendar Watch

High Quality Cheap Chic Replica Ball Fireman Storm Chaser Pro Review

There are many different niches watches evolved to fill. Divers, world timers, perpetual calendars, simple dress watches and everything in between are out there in abundance, providing utility and choice for all tastes. The replica watch we have here today, however, probably wins the award for strangest niche.

This is the Ball Fireman Storm Chaser Pro, a fake watch designed in partnership with Dr. Joshua Wurman who is a distinguished meteorologist and member of the BALL Explorers Club. Its purpose? As the name suggests, the replica Fireman Storm Chaser Pro is designed to accompany storm chasers, or to be more specific, tornado chasers. In practice, however, the fake Fireman Storm Chaser Pro is simply a clean, attractive modern sports chronograph that packs a serious punch. And on top of that, it boasts the solid build and the tritium tube technology Ball has come to be known for. Let’s take a closer look.

Case

A touch large at 42mm, the case of the fake Fireman Storm Chaser Pro is well-proportioned and classically handsome, with a broad-shouldered 21mm lug width. The case side is defined by a flowing, brilliantly polished bevel that tapers from the lug ends to the case center, and the lugs themselves flare out slightly as they meet the main case. This gives them an attached appearance, and lends some ruggedness to the overall look.

At three o’clock, the mid-sized signed crown is flanked by an attractive pair of color-coded pushers, enamel orange for the chronograph’s stop/start and black for reset. The top side is dominated by a steeply angled bezel featuring an unorthodox telemeter scale. Not as straightforward as a tachymeter, the telemeter does help the Storm Chaser Pro’s tornado-hunter cred–one of the few functions that can be performed with a telemeter scale is determining the distance of lightning strikes. What it may lack in practical application, however, the telemeter makes up for in balance, and the even spacing of the telemeter scale adds some harmony to the whole package.

It’s on the back side, though, where the fake Storm Chaser Pro’s case really shines. The display back gives a look into the richly decorated Caliber RR1402 (more on the movement below), with its brilliantly executed perlage. The gold signature on the rotor is sharply done, and adds another layer of dressing to the overall design. and execution.

High Quality Cheap Chic Replica Ball Fireman Storm Chaser Pro Review

Dial

The dial of the replica Fireman Storm Chaser Pro comes in three variants: gloss black, gloss white, and the one we had in for review, a gorgeous metallic slate gray with a prominent vertical grain. This material plays brilliantly with the light, going from a rich charcoal to almost silver depending on the angle. The main sub-dials at 12 and six cut through this layer, revealing a black finish featuring concentric circles.

A running seconds at nine helps to balance out the dial layout, and its cross hair design with a partial seconds track is subdued but visually interesting in that it gives the dial the appearance of being a two register chronograph. Across from the running seconds is a day/date complication flanked by the Ball logo and “Automatic 100m.” The applied rectangles at each hour, in addition to being handsomely made, introduce Ball’s signature tritium tube lume system, also present in the skeletonized baton hands.

The tritium lume needs no recharging, it doesn’t fade with time, and while it might not be as bright as, say, Seiko’s lume, it does emit a steady green glow through the night (with orange lume accents at 12, three, six, and nine.) This theme of orange accents is continued through the chronograph seconds hand, with a bright orange tip and Ball’s “RR” script counterweight. It’s a striking highlight throughout the design, but isn’t enough to come off as overdone or flashy.

High Quality Cheap Chic Replica Ball Fireman Storm Chaser Pro Review

Straps and Wearability

Both a stainless bracelet  and a calfskin leather strap are available for the fake Fireman Storm Chaser Pro. Our tester came in on leather, and while the strap is a bit quirky, it is a definite winner with a unique design. There’s a layer of black leather on top of the main gray segment, and several holes are punched in this layer, exposing the grey underneath, to give it the feel of a classic rally strap. The overall effect is one that is sporty, and the orange accent stitching makes for a visually interesting strap that is in harmony to the rest of the watch. However, if it isn’t to your taste, the swap is easy enough.  Just as important, the watch is seriously comfortable on the wrist, with thick padding and a soft genuine leather liner. The finish on the buckle is exquisite as well, with simulated screws, and a deep, clear signature etching. In terms of overall wearability, it carries quite a bit of presence–it’s in the same size ballpark as an Omega Speedmaster Pro, but it somehow feels a tad larger. But even with the long straight lugs it doesn’t come off as overwhelming on my smaller 6.75-inch wrist. With the bright orange accents, it might not be suitable for the most formal of situations, but it gives a bit of pop for everything from blazer wear to t-shirts.

High Quality Cheap Chic Replica Ball Fireman Storm Chaser Pro Review

Conclusion

The replica Fireman Storm Chaser Pro works far beyond the pigeonhole that Ball has placed it in. While it’s certainly got the features, reliability, and rock-solid toughness to go out storm hunting, its clean, attractive design and solid value make it a great choice for anyone looking for a quality chronograph. It might ring up at $3,400 retail, but even at that price, it’s a value proposition. In terms of finish, amenities, and overall impression, it stacks up very favorably against substantially more expensive chronographs (looking at you, Tag Carrera) while maintaining a flair all its own. More than once during my time reviewing this watch I thought very seriously about selling off a chunk of my collection to snag one of these, and the more time I spent with it the better that idea sounded. If you haven’t had the chance to check out what Ball can offer, seriously give this one a look

Categories
Ball Replica

HANDS-ON : Replica Ball’s Fireman Night TrainDLC

BallNightTrainDLC1

Webster Clay Ball (October 6, 1847 – March 6, 1922) was a jeweller and replica watchmaker in Ohio, and the first jeweller to use the United States Naval Observatory’s time signals i.e. Standard Time. His foray into what would become Ball’s most famous collection of replica watches had its genesis in a collision between Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway trains at Kipton, Ohio, in 1891, caused by the failure of an engineer’s replica watch.

Webb Ball was commissioned by the railway to become their Chief Time Inspector, with the responsibility of manufacturing and maintaining sturdy, reliable and precise timepieces and establishing a reliable inspection system for railroad chronometers. This new position lead to the expansion of his jewellery company into the Ball Replica Watch Company, and his system would end up covering some 75% of the nation’s railroads and over 175,000 miles of rail tracks.

I can’t recall how and when I first heard about Ball replica watches, but I do recall that it was during a period of research into replica watches with a good level of luminosity. If you look at the brand’s collection lines – Railroad, Engineer, Fireman, Conductor, Trainmaster, you get an indication of their continued focus on function-driven models, but apart from the Railroad replica watches on which their history is based, one of the things for which they are most well known in modern times has been the quality of their lume.

When selecting a replica watch where its night time visibility is of primary importance, there are a lot of options. Many of these options use SuperLumiNova, but a number of brands such as Ball Replica Watch and Luminox use tiny glass tubes of gaseous tritium (GTLS or Gaseous Tritium Light Source) sourced from MB-Microtec.

Ball was, in fact, an early proponent of the use of tritium tubes in replica watches, increasing the amount of tritium used in a replica watch by four times and for some time, the only company producing replica watches with this level of tritium illumination. Tritium tubes do not need an external light source for luminosity, unlike the aforementioned SuperLumiNova, which loses its glow after a certain period of time. However, this also means that they have a shelf life, although at about a quarter of a century, their replacement probably need not concern you much, though obviously the tubes can be replaced by Ball.

Today’s replica watch is Ball’s Fireman Night Train DLC with, as the name suggests, DLC coated stainless steel, which is about five times the hardness of stainless steel, harder than PVD, and with that ‘stealth’ look much loved by replica watch folks. The use of DLC makes the replica watch tougher and more durable than were it just stainless steel.

At 45mm with a height of 11.65mm it is not a small replica watch, but both because it isn’t overly thick and because it is DLCd, it is more discreet looking than say a 45mm stainless steel white dialled replica watch of the same size would be, and it also sits close and comfortably on the wrist on a rubber strap.

The dial is clean and sharp and lume works really well even during the day, as you can see from the photo below, which was taken with the brief use of a small torch to bring out the lume. There are in fact 75 micro gas tubes on the hours, minutes, sweep seconds and date, in three different colours (green, orange and yellow).

The Fireman Night Train DLC has a water resistance of 100m. Inside is the ever reliable ETA 2824/2 calibre.

Although a brand widely known in the U.S. and amongst replica watch folk, especially for the quality of their lume, Ball is not yet a very visible brand in Australia, although there are authorised dealers here. These are not flashy replica watches but good solid functional timepieces at a reasonable price point; the Ball models that I like best are, of course, the ones with the tubes – after all, you can never have enough good lume.

The RRP for the Fireman Night Train DLC in Australia is $2,100.