BALL Watch moved its headquarters from New York to Neuchâtel
BALL Watch Co.’s history is deeply intertwined with railroad pioneers. It began on April 18, 1891 with the head-on collision of two trains near Kipton, Ohio, resulting in eight fatalities. When it was shown that the direct cause of the catastrophe was that one of the engineer’s watches was inaccurate, it deeply shocked contemporaries. In fact, the watch was over four minutes late. The accident was due not to human error, but to the consequence of a faulty simple time-device.
As soon as the cause of the accident was disclosed, the managers of the two main American railroads of the time called upon Webster Clay Ball, a small watchmaker from Cleveland, whose reputation in the watch industry was well established. Promoted to Chief Inspector, Webster C. Ball was entrusted with the task of testing all watches of railroad employees. In his new capacity as ‘Chief Time Inspector’, Ball forbade all watches which were off-time by more than thirty seconds per day and simultaneously designed a strict standard time system to ensure precision and reliability.
Soon, watches certified ‘BALL’s Standard’ extended to almost the entire U.S. railroad network and their fame spread overseas as well. Subsequently, Webster Ball received many international awards for his civic duty in saving human lives but also for his unique role in the history of watchmaking.
In 1999, the BALL Watch Company changed hands but remained faithful to its original philosophy. The brand extended its expertise to the conquest of new horizons, and to surpassing its previous achievements. BALL watches became universally recognized for their accuracy, reliability and sturdiness, even in extreme conditions, serving all adventurers looking for new personal challenges while fighting the most extreme natural elements. BALL Watch has made all the world’s adventurers its ambassadors.
Since 2006, following its conquest of the United States and Asia, BALL Watch Company has pursued its development in Europe, focusing primarily on Spain, England and Switzerland; the same year, the company moved its headquarters from New York to Neuchâtel.
Today, BALL Watch continues to enlarge its horizons and has decided to move to new premises maintaining stringent quality control criteria. The company’s primary aim is to integrate its production site and its R & D department to enlarge its offer, enhance its creativity and reinforce its presence on the European market. This expansion not only responds to the requirements of the brand’s ongoing development, but also creates new jobs.
BALL Watch Company continues to pursue its aim and in so doing confirms its role as a major player in the development and history of watchmaking.