Ball Watches

Lots of fans here and by all accounts make very solid watches that are especially a good value pre-owned. They are no longer from the US. They are based out of Switzerland with a Chinese parent company. From friends experiences, they are also serviced in China. That is not a slight, lots of good parts manufacturers in China, but it is worth noting.

I’m in the same boat and really want to pre-order one of their new Engineer III watches in 36mm. However, I’ve seen people mention how Ball watches have terrible resale value and to avoid buying new.

My only other gripe is their use of butterfly bracelets. Wish that I could try one in person!

I love Ball and enjoy mine a lot but they are not on the same level as GS.

Their marketing and general brand claims are a bit dubious in modern times but the retail price is worth it. However, outside of very select editions, you can almost always find them on the secondary market for significantly less and that’s the sweet spot for the brand.

Nailed it. They do tend to delete questions of China when asked. I do not care about that, but silly to do that. Why not own it? AND, from some youtubers, how they go out of their way to make sure they do not mention the current owners and to intentionally mention Swiss origins several times in the video.

Again, all of that seems silly to hide, or ignore. Owners love, them, why not lean into it and the impact on pricing vs. others?

I 100% agree, not a 1-1 comparison with GS, I just find them beautiful.

Maybe it is a price thing. 2000 USD is pricey for a China watch, you can get a tourbillion for that. But for a Swiss watch not unreasonable.

I like the butterfly clasp a lot. I prefer the compact nature as appouse to having an on the fly adjustment like with my CW.

The only problem is if you’re really exerting yourself, you can pop the bracelet open but it’s not really a big deal as it’s already a flashy bracelet so it’s not like you’re gonna be wearing it while mowing the lawn.

I hear that, but they do use Swiss movements vs. Chinese ones. There are several well regarded brands with manufacturing or parts suppliers in Hong Kong. Like anything there are varying levels of quality from one manufacturer to the next. We do not have any insight into how much and what is made where. Their site does state their watches are built in Switzerland and they carry the Swiss made label, which we do not need to rehash that debate.

Good to know. I do have a butterfly clasp bracelet laying in my pile somewhere. I did manage to get a good fit on it but found no micro adjusting being annoying at times.

And you're right about it being flashy...I'd probably end up being more careful while wearing it and continue to use my beaters for more adventurous tasks.

Every watch has a crap resale value apart from a selective few. If you like it then why would you want to sell it?

Should be compulsory that every Ball watch photo includes a lume shot as that’s their real trademark

That's fine and dandy for cheaper watches and I don't concern myself with re-sale value typically. But for any watch that I deem to be pricey for myself, and one that I can't see in person before buying...resale value is something to heavily consider. There's a chance that I may not like the Ball watch that I'm eying.

I have only bought one watch I haven’t seen in person apart for some microbrands that allow you to return them. Each to their own however unless you are pooring offer WatchCharts monitoring resale like stock values then it is what it is. You will see that most lose a bit and level off however are your resale expectation realistic? Most Rolexes are returning to RRP. The hyperwatches as in the 10s of thousands so not really in this conversation, looking Chrono24 values seem ball park to me.