BALL Watch Engineer Master II DIVER Chronometer RAINBOW

You know how they say that there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Perhaps it’s a leprechaun or unicorn or some other shiny happy entity; either way – they were wrong. 

There’s actually a wristwatch at the end of the rainbow or another way to look at it, is that you might just find your wrist at the end of a rainbow-sporting new diver from Ball Watch Co.

Remember back in the day (I think it was a Thursday) when Omega introduced a new PO collection that boasted a nifty new trick where two different colored lumes were applied to its dial to help its wearers more clearly distinguish those markers that were integral for the reading of dive-time. Lume has come a long way since those days – it glows brighter and longer and the idea of using two or more colors is no longer anything new; however even back in the day (whenever it was) there was one Swiss luxury watch brand that were already considered leaders in wristwatch illumination and that was Ball Watch Co.

Today (15 years on from their first-generation Diver) Ball introduce the Engineer Master II Diver Chronometer, and it’s available with their latest Rainbow illumination technology that makes use of 6 colors for a technicolored dial display that will likely illicit one of two responses being – 

whoa that’s trippie, dude or WTF’s the point of that?! If you fall into the latter, then Ball offer this new collection in what they are calling classic lume with only two colors (green and yellow) as opposed to the full spectrum.

Nevertheless, the new EM II Diver Chronometer collection is so much more than its lume; its internal diving bezel can easily be operated (via the crown at 2 o’clock) even underwater when timing safety stops which it can do in darkness thanks to its micro gas tubes that ensure elapsed dive-time is always visible. Meanwhile the automatic chronometer provides excellent precision to a depth of 300 meters – housed inside a robust 42mm Stainless steel case that is only 13.5mm thick and is also with 1,000 Gauss (80,000 A/m) anti-magnetic protection as well as patented shock-resistance.

There’s even some attractive craftsmanship on the case-back where you’ll find an olden days diver’s helmet flanked by a pair of seahorses – sure it’s all a bit predictable but it does its job. 

Finally this new Ball Diver is powered by an automatic movement that has been tested and certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC). And it is safeguarded by powerful resistance technology.

Ball’s special mu-metal shield surrounds the movement and delivers anti-magnetic protection to an intensity of 1,000 Gauss (80,000 A/m), ensuring that every component, especially the fragile hairspring, remains perfectly intact. 

In the event of a harsh impact, Ball’s patented Amortiser® anti-shock system absorbs the energy created by such an external shock.

The new Ball Engineer Master II Diver Chronometer is available with 2x dial colors (black or blue) with 2x lume options (rainbow or classic) and is limited to 1,000 pieces of each. It comes with 2x strap / bracelet options (steel or rubber). 

MSRP is approx. 2,624USD (bracelet variant). 

Thoughts? The rainbow lume isn’t for me – it’s all a bit gimmicky but what do you think, isn’t one or two colors already sufficient?