Here Are the Most Important Facts Regarding Ball Watch Company’s History
Ball Official Standard railroad pocket watch in front of an American locomotive
Ball Watch Company Is a Tried-And-True American Brand
The Ball Storefront in Cleveland, Ohio – Webb C. Ball’s busy corner store was the initial headquarters of the Ball Watch Company
When people think American watchmaking, they often think old brands like Waltham, Elgin, Benrus, and Hamilton. The kinds of brands that were making pocket watches in the United States since the 19th century. One brand that should qualify for this list is Ball, Ball Watch Company. The perception of Ball is often that it is more of a ‘modern brand’, but its history could even be said to be instrumental to the proliferation of pocket watches in the United States!
I think that the main reason people, myself included, neglect Ball’s long history, is that it was originally started as a railroad watch company, and has always stuck to its ‘engineering’ roots; today producing tool watches with ‘modern flare’.
Webb C. Ball started off by purchasing an interest in Whitcomb and Metten Jewelers in the late 1870s. By the early 1880s, he had become the sole owner of the Webb C. Ball Company, which was located in Cleveland, Ohio on the corner of Superior and Seneca.
After Standard Time was adopted by the railroads in 1883, Ball then became the first jeweler from Cleveland to use time signals sent by the Naval Observatory in Washington. Ball was also the first Cleveland jeweler to display a chronometer, which allowed passersby to quickly check the time.
The Webb C. Ball Co. was incorporated in the early 1890s as a wholesale and retail jewelry business. After further expanding over the next couple years, Ball’s original jewelry business grew into the Ball Watch Company that we know today. Ball used movements from American watch manufacturers such as Elgin, Hamilton, and Waltham. These were movements ordered to meet specific requirements, in which they were rebranded and sold off as the Ball Watch Company’s own brand. Although the final tests and adjustments were all performed by Ball themselves.
The Kipton Disaster (1891)
Ohio historical marker for the Great Kipton Train Wreck / Credit: Ball Watch Company
An important part of Ball Watch Co.’s story happened on April 18th, 1891, an incident known to American history as the Kipton Train Wreck. What happened that day was that two trains collided at a station, resulting in the deaths of 8 people. The two trains were the Toledo Express, which was going along slowly, and the Fast Mail Train No. 14, which was going full-speed. And guess what? A reliable watch would’ve stopped this accident!
The story goes that the crew of the Toledo Express were ordered to let the Fast Mail Train pass them at Kipton after leaving Oberlin, Ohio, as they were late. The conductor did not check his watch, however, assuming the engineer did. And the engineer’s watch stopped running for about 4 minutes – leading them to leave their current station towards Kipton late. The engineer assumed he had 7 minutes until they would cross paths with the train at Kipton, but in reality, he only had 3…leading to quite the surprise…and unfortunate loss of life.
As a result of this, the superintendent of the train line, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, appointed Webster Ball to investigate the timing issue and develop an assurance system. Ball had watchmakers check the watches used on the line, developing a security system for the entire train line that he then extended to other jurisdictions (including Canada) a couple years after the disaster in Kipton. He also established the ‘RR Standard’ and was said to inspect nearly half of the United States’ railroads at his peak. This was the most widespread railway watch standard at the time. The popular saying "Get on the Ball" was derived after Webb C. Ball instituted the current railroad's timekeeping program, which specified watches trainmen could use.
As a side note, this was not the only incident of bad timing that led to death on a train in 19th century United States. There were several. One other such event happened in August 1878 in Mingo Junction, Ohio, when the conductor’s watch was 20 minutes late and 18 people were killed. A great incentive behind the development of pocket watch technology was the development of railroads as there was a primary need for timing. Today this need still exists, but isn’t usually fulfilled with mechanical watches.
Ball Watch Company’s Founder – Webb C. Ball (1847-1922)
Webster C. Ball, 1847-1922
Now, Webster Ball was a jeweler from Cleveland, Ohio who was born in Fredericktown, Ohio in 1847. He bought into a jewelry business in Cleveland called Whitcomb and Metten Jewelers in the late 1870s, when he moved to the city at the age of either 21 or 22. He was an early adopter of time signals in Cleveland when Standard Time was adopted in 1883 and successfully grew his jewelry business in Cleveland.
Webb C. Ball was the chief time inspector and developed time inspection systems for railroads in the Cleveland area. Through promoting watch standards and incorporating an inspection service, the Ball Railroad Time Service, Webb C. Ball was able to ensure timing accuracy on several railroads. Those same inspectors were also Ball Watch Co. dealers who were distributing their watches and jewelry – quite convenient. Ball contributed to the nationwide acceptance of the General Railroad Timepiece Standards in 1893.
The Development of Timepieces Within Ball Watch Company
The Ball Trainmaster Kelvin / Credit: Hodinkee
Initially, Ball presumably only sold 18-size Ball's Standard Railroad watches, in which an 1890 advertisement proclaimed they were made by Dueber-Hampden Works. Throughout the 1890s, Ball began ordering watches manufactured by E. Howard & Co. and Hamilton Watch Co., and by the end of the 19th century, Ball also began selling 16-size official standard watches produced by Waltham. By the 1910s, the 18-size watches were being phased out, and towards the end of the decade, you were able to trade in the 18-size for the now popular 16-size.
Heading to the mid-1950s, Record Watch Co. produced some standard watches for Ball, as Ball continued to make pocket watches and wristwatches into the mid-20th century; always sticking to their railroad/tool watch roots. In the late 1950s, they released the Ball Trainmaster (ironic as the Speedmaster/Seamaster/Railmaster was released only a couple years before). The Ball Trainmaster was a 21-jewel Swiss movement-powered watch that was approved for use on American railroads. It competed with models from other American brands like Elgin.
Today, Ball Watch Company has famous models such as the Trainmaster, Fireman Racer, Ball Engineer, Time Trekker, Master Voyager, Roadmaster, and the Watch Conductor, to name a few.
Ball Watch Company’s Change in Ownership
Ball Trainmaster Standard Time / Credit: aBlogtoWatch
Ultimately, Ball stayed in family hands until the mid-1980s when Jeffrey Hess, current CEO, and Francisco Herrera and other partners, came together to establish it as a Swiss company. The firm continues to sell Ball watches, using Swiss-made (ETA) movements marketed towards sportsmen and railroad workers. The Ball product line continues to include official railroad watches in their lineup to this day.
By: Eric Mulder