Ball Watch Co. is a brand constantly known for delivering top quality unique timepieces. The Ball Engineer III Silver Star is no exception as it offers a solid option for anyone in search of an excellent pilot’s watch. It has a distinctive watch appearance, making it a real contender in the pilots watch category with components constructed to withstand the most adverse conditions.
The Engineer III Silver star comes with an array of innovative technologies such as Ball’s SpringLOCK and Amortiser system and anti-magnetic metal mu shield, that ensure the safety of the watch fragile components and accurate timekeeping. Let’s review some of the features of this timepiece
Silver Star Case Design
The stainless-steel case comes in dimensions of diameter 40mm and height 13.45mm, moving away from the conventions of having oversized pilot’s watches. The Engineer III Silver Star is very different in look, size and function compared to our previously reviewed Hydrocarbon AeroGMT II. It has a fixed bezel, a solid metal caseback and atop the case is a slightly domed sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating which makes the watch readable when out on a sunny day. Its water resistant up to 100 meters.
The band comes with stainless steel bracelet with folding buckle or calf leather strap with standard buckle.
Automatic Caliber Ball RR1102
Inside the Ball Engineer III Silver Star is BALL’s automatic caliber RR1102. It was created off automatic winding ETA 2836-2 and provides reliable readings for hours, minutes, seconds, day, and date. It beats at 28800 bph, giving the watch greater accuracy and a smooth working sweep. It has 25 jewels and a moderate power reserve of about 38 hours.
Technological Functions
Innovative technological features incorporated into this watch makes it stand out among its peers. It features BALL’s SpringLOCK Anti-Shock System, acclaimed to reduce the balance spring’s shock absorption by 66%, consequently protects the balance spring of the movement as it is one of the most fragile part of a watch’s movement. The patented Amortiser anti-shock system protects the mechanical movements against shocks up to 5,000Gs. The Anti-Shock system works in conjunction with their Amortiser anti-shock system that prevents the rotor from damaging the movement in the event of any external shock.
Another notable technological feature is the anti-magnetic mu-metal shield that has very high anti-magnetic rating, enabling it to attract and deviate low-frequency magnetic field lines. This protects the watch from magnetic disturbances up to an intensity of 80,000A/m.
Also, this watch features excellent luminescent technology, BALL’s popular tritium gas tubes which offer more brightness than the typical luminous paints generally found in watches. It uses self-powered 14 micro gas tubes on hour, minutes and dial, that neither drains battery reserve nor require recharging from the sun. It allows you to read the time easily and quickly and it’s estimated to last for about 25years.
Dial and Hands
The dial of the Engineer III Silver Star comes in two variants: black or blue Legibility is a major requirement needed to classify a watch as a pilot watch; the Engineer III has a high-contrast dial with bold Arabic numeral hour markers and lance-shaped hands.
Legibility is further improved with the micro gas luminescent technology that emits a green lume in low-light. Practicality is provided with the day-date indicator featuring darker text over a plain white date wheel, enabling easy and quick watch reading. The aviation-inspired handset is evocative of an actual altimeter found in an aircraft and other essential flight instruments.
Little tasteful touches in the dial design give the watch a clean and elegant look and feel, touches such as the day and date window at 3 o’clock and Numeral indexes and second hand illuminated with LumiNova, which enhances readability of the watch in low-light conditions.
Final Thoughts
The Engineer III Silver Star has got a clean and attractive design, features that offer a wonderful time-reading experience, high resilience, durability and dependability, make it an excellent choice for a top-notch pilot’s watch. What makes this watch really stand out are the technological features packed into them.
BALL noticed that no matter how eye-catching a watch look, it should not be at the expense of legibility; with the self-powered tritium gas tube technology, the watch is visible even under low light conditions. Overall, the Engineer Silver Star is a highly functional and good-looking watch that’s suitable for everyday use and also does pretty well in extreme conditions, giving the wearer the splendor and practicality that accompanies a first-class Swiss watch. It’s just one amazing pilot’s watch, you seriously need to give this watch a trial if you’ve not tried one before, it’s simply a strong watch with lots of amazing features.
Ball Engineer III Silver Star is available on BALL’s website for a price tag of $1,650. You can further personalize your timepiece by engraving characters on the caseback of the watch.
To have a look at the entire Ball range of timepieces you can visit their Official website here.
An excellent review which has answered all questions for me. This watch appears to have pedigree without ostentation and would suit me perfectly as a wearable daily timepiece.
It would make for a great choice! Thanks for stopping by, cheers.