WatchReviewBlog

Wrist Watch Reviews, Guides & Advice

  • HOME
  • WATCH REVIEWS
  • BY BRAND
  • By Type
    • Automatic Watches
    • Quartz Watches
    • Dive Watches
    • Pilot Watches
    • Chronographs
    • Dress
    • Luxury
    • Sports
    • Women’s
    • Fashion
  • Startups
  • Watch Buying Guides
ShopShow Search
Hide Search
Home » Watch Reviews » Ball Engineer II Moon Calendar Watch Review

Ball Engineer II Moon Calendar Watch Review

February 11, 2023 by Matthew Catellier Leave a Comment

Ball Engineer II Moon Calendar Watch Review

The Ball Watch Company is based in Switzerland, but unlike other Swiss watchmakers, it was founded by an American. Their story dates back to 1891, when a passenger train from the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad crashed with a mail train near Kipton, Ohio, killing eight people. As it turned out, the passenger train engineer’s watch had stopped for four minutes, leading him to believe the track was clear when it wasn’t. To prevent future accidents, the railroad hired Webb C. Ball to develop improved watches and inspection regimes. Ball set up a system of biweekly inspections for railroad watches, and set stringent standards for accuracy.

It’s been a long time since rail safety relied on the accuracy of an engineer’s mechanical watch. But the railroad remains embedded in Ball’s DNA, inspiring all of their designs. I recently got my hands on the Ball Engineer II Moon Calendar, a unique moon phase watch with a calendar index on the dial. So, how does it perform, and is it a good fit for you? Here’s everything I learned about this beautiful timepiece.

A Tough, Reliable Case

Ball Engineer II Moon Calendar-Wrist-Shot

The Ball Engineer II Moon Calendar is engineered from a polished stainless steel with a smooth finish. It’s perfectly round, with a narrow bezel that leaves as much room as possible for the dial. At 40mm in diameter, it has a medium wrist presence, although the large dial makes it seem bigger than it is. The thickness of 13mm isn’t excessive, and the watch feels slim and lightweight.


watchpod shop banner

The sapphire crystal is scratch-resistant, and is coated with an anti-reflective finish. It won’t catch the sun and create glare, and the flat profile won’t distort your dial. Even when viewed from an extreme angle, you can easily read the time. There’s also a sapphire display back, which shows off the inner workings of the watch.

Ball Engineer II Moon Calendar-Case-Bracelet

The case is magnetically shielded, which keeps it from losing accuracy due to magnetic interference. It also sports a knurled screw-down crown at 3 o’clock, which won’t pop out by mistake and expose the case to water. When the crown is down, the watch is water-resistant to a depth of 100 meters. You can shower with it, swim with it, or go snorkeling without causing any damage.

A Beautiful Lunar Dial

Ball Engineer II Moon Calendar Moon Phase Dial

There are six different versions of the Ball Engineer II Moon Calendar. I have the green dial here, but it’s also available in white, blue, silver, ice blue, or champagne. All colors have a smooth, even finish with no texture, brushing, or variation. There are also minor differences in the colors of different dial elements in order to ensure high contrast.

Around the outside of the dial is an internal bezel that functions as an outer index. It’s numbered from 1 to 31 in Arabic numerals, which indicate the current date. Inside of this is the primary index. This index has black hashes at the individual minute marks, with miniscule hashes at the 15-second marks. Every five minutes, there’s a large silver applied marker with a lume stripe down the center.

Ball Engineer II Moon Calendar Dial in Hand

Above the center of the dial is a pair of day and month windows. These windows show the day of the week and the current month in black text, with a clean white background that makes them very easy to read. Below the center of the dial is the element that gives this watch its name. It’s a lunar phase subdial, with a visual representation of the moon passing through the sky. On most versions of the watch, this subdial is the same color as the rest of the dial. The exception is the white dial version, which has a green subdial.

There are four hands on this dial, rather than the traditional three. The hour and minute hand are broad and silver, with pointed ends and lume stripes down the centers for visibility. The hour hand is slightly shorter and fatter, but they have the same general design. The second hand, by contrast, is very slender, and would be all but invisible if not for a square lume-filled block near the end. The fourth hand tracks the outer date index. It’s long and needle-thin, with a crescent moon-shaped tip.

Strap, Movement, and Extras

The Engineer II Moon Calendar secures to your wrist with a stainless steel bracelet. It has a standard three-link design with a folding closure that releases easily when you want to take it off. The outer links are brushed to create a duller finish, while the center links are polished to match the case.

Under the hood, the watch is powered by a Ball RR1807 movement. This is an in-house modification of the ETA 2836-2, one of the most popular movements on the market. It retains the same 38-hour power reserve as well as most of the other movement features. The only real difference is that it’s been adapted to show the moon phase.

For more information you can visit the official Ball Watches website here.

Filed Under: Featured, Luxury, Watch Reviews Tagged With: Automatic Watches

About Matthew Catellier

Matt is the Founder and Executive editor of The Watch Review Blog. For Matt, watches represent self-expression, art and freedom, and his ideal watch combines functionality with intriguing history behind it. Follow
                                him on Instagram @watchreviewblog.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get fresh watch reviews, HD photos and more direct to your inbox.

RECENT POSTS

  • Mido Ocean Star Decompression Worldtimer Watch Review
  • Farer Resolute Three Hands 36mm Watch Review
  • Rolex Predictions 2023: Our Top 5 New Releases
  • AVI-8 Hawker Harrier Farley Multifunction AV-4098 Watch Review
  • Ball Engineer II Moon Calendar Watch Review

BUYING GUIDES

Top 10 Best Luxury Watches for Small Wrists

January 23, 2023 By Matthew Catellier Leave a Comment

Top 5 Best Modern Tudor Sports Watches

January 20, 2023 By Matthew Catellier Leave a Comment

Top 5 Best Tissot Watches for 2023

January 19, 2023 By Matthew Catellier Leave a Comment

Top 5 Best Tachymeter Function Watches

January 18, 2023 By Matthew Catellier Leave a Comment

Top 5 Best Vacheron Constantin Watches for Collectors

September 1, 2022 By Matthew Catellier 2 Comments

Top 5 Best Grand Seiko Watches For Collectors

November 24, 2021 By Matthew Catellier 8 Comments

Top 5 Most Popular Watches of 2021 for Holiday and Christmas Gifts

November 22, 2021 By Matthew Catellier Leave a Comment

Top 5 Most Popular Luxury Chronograph Watches for Collecting

October 21, 2021 By Matthew Catellier 3 Comments

Top 5 Most Rare and Sought After Omega Speedmaster Watches

October 5, 2021 By Matthew Catellier 4 Comments

HOW WE WORK

Our blog is about honest and fair reviews of each timepiece we evaluate. We do not have any bias for or against any watch or company and work hard to maintain that neutrality. In this age of corporate placement everywhere, we just wanted to let you know we’re on your side, and always will be.

Get in touch?: If you notice something that needs fixing, or just want to say hello, please tweet us at @watchreviewblog or email us at matt@watchreviewblog.com.

INFORMATION

  • About
  • Masthead
  • Watch Q&A
CONTACT

  • General
  • Advertise
CONNECT
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • pinterest
  • youtube
Copyright © 2023 · WatchReviewBlog.com · All Rights Are Reserved! · Powered by Custom Dev · Privacy Policy

WatchReviewBlog.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.