Ball Watch
Swiss watch brand built on Webb C. Ball's American railroad-timekeeping standard. Sells rugged watches with self-powered tritium lighting.
Status: Watchlist
- Founded
- 1897
- Website
- ballwatch.com
- HQ
- Switzerland
- Manufacturing
- Switzerland
- Ownership type
- Investor-owned
- Parent
- BALL Watch Company SA (private investors)
- Acquired
- 1990s
- Status since
- 2026-10-30
Ownership
Private investors bought the Ball name from the founder's descendants in the 1990s and moved the brand to La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The first Swiss-era watch came in 2001.
Why Watchlist
The homepage title reads "Swiss Luxury Watches Since 1891" and the Trainmaster line is sold as a tribute to American railroads. Ball's own museum page dates the incorporation of the Webb C. Ball Watch Company in Cleveland to November 1897. 1891 is the year of the Kipton rail crash that made Webb Ball's name.
Reversibility
What would change our verdict
The site dates the company to its incorporation and states that the current company is a Swiss revival of the name.
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