BALL Watch Co. give their entry level, internal bezel diver, the Engineer Master II Diver a smart new look for 2012. It’s amazing what a few subtle changes can do to improve the appearance of a watch. Even at first glance, the updated version seems more utilitarian looking, so more evocative of diver. I mean we like our dive watches to look like dive watches, right? Below is a breakdown of the new features and revisions of the 2012 Engineer Master II Diver, the ones that I have spotted, anyway:
CASE The case retains its 42mm diameter whilst reducing its thickness to 13.3m. I believe the older version had a thickness of 14.9mm; despite this Ball have maintained its water-resistance of 300m. Personally I like thicker cases, but I’m sure it will wear better with shirt-cuffs now. The case also features a new integrated crown guard for its winding mechanism.
DIAL The dial has had much more of a revamp than the case. A lovely new green color has been used for the internal bezel’s dive-time scale. It’s what I would call a sea green. It has also been used for the head of the new large arrow-head minute hand, making it more distinguishable from the hour hand than it was.
The dial itself has been cleaned up. BALL have removed the unnecessary green five minute markers along with some text. The Arabic numerals seem to have increased in size, too. They've also combined the date and day windows. Finally, and I’m not too sure about this because I don’t have the data, but it would appear that dial aperture has increased a little, too.
This is much nicer looking version. I wonder if there will be additional colors such as red / orange and if BALL will update the Engineer Master II Diver GMT and Chronograph next? The new version will be on sale from October 2012.
Discover the watch in more detail below and read about Champion Free Diver and BALL Watch brand ambassador, Guillaume Néry. Also read about the new ENGINEER Hydrocarbon NEDU and the 3000M DeepQUEST.
From BALL A new diving instrument for the constant weight free diving world champion French 30-year old elite sportsman, Guillaume Néry holds several constant weight free diving world records. At the AIDA Individual Depth Championships in Kalamata (Greece) in September 2011, he won the world championship title in his category reaching a depth of 117 meters simply using his monofin. BALL watches ambassador since 2006, Guillaume Néry ideally personifies the link between watchmaking and free diving, as both share the same demand for precision, rigor, reliability and performance.
Guillaume Néry has transcended the boundaries of his sport to apply his values of integrity, youthful spirit, enthusiasm and determination to take human performance to the next level. By popularizing the discovery of the underwater world, he has earned worldwide fame through his active participation in numerous associations and artistic, cultural and educational projects.
Thanks to its long-standing partnership with this outstanding sportsman, BALL Watch has included over the years in its “Engineer Master II” collection a wide range of watchmaking instruments that comply with meet the many requirements imposed by deep-sea diving. These watches are robust, aesthetically functional and deliver remarkable performance. The latest addition to these exceptional timepieces is the new Engineer Master II Diver, a reinterpretation of the essential characteristics that have underscored the success of this collection.
A characteristic feature of the Engineer Master II diving watches is the internal rotating bezel used to count down dive time using an extremely precise notch system. Operated using a screw-in button on the case, its unidirectional rotation ensures diver safety by preventing any accidental movement that might otherwise overestimate the maximum dive time. The bezel remains visible in all circumstances thanks to the micro tubes of luminous 3H gas used for the graduations and the Arabic numerals.
Also applied on the dial markers and hands, this state-of-the-art Swiss technology provides Guillaume Néry with assurance in the darkness of the deep where the ambient light can be as little as 1% of that at the surface. Another essential advantage of this technology is that the micro tubes do not need any external source of light or power but still produce light up to 100 times more intense than conventional luminescent paint.
Subtly echoing the marine environment, the black dial is finely engine-turned with a wave pattern and is protected by a convex sapphire crystal with special anti-reflective treatment. The metal indexes indicating the hours and the circular graduation also add a refined contrast to the dial. The automatic ETA 2836-2 movement ensures precision display of the hours, minutes, seconds, day and date.
With its standard diameter of 42 mm and a height of 13.3 mm, this sporty timepiece naturally targets a young clientele keen to add a modern and dynamic touch to their wrist. It is available with a stainless steel bracelet with a folding buckle or a rubber strap with a standard buckle.
The robust construction of the brushed stainless steel case with a screw-in crown provides this model with exceptional water resistance up to 300 meters. The unparalleled safety features of this watch also include resistance to shocks of up to 5,000 Gs and to magnetic fields with an intensity of up to 4,800 A/m. The Engineer Master II Diver can be worn by the most audacious divers and sportsmen safe in the knowledge of its robustness even in the most adverse conditions.
Today, more than ever, BALL Watch is continuing its journey and asserting its role as a key protagonist in the exploration of modern time and the evolution of watchmaking history.
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