What can your wristwatch do for you? Sure, it can point you in the right direction, inform you of your altitude, withstand pressures over 1,000ft underwater, and, if it’s a smartwatch, can track an assortment of health metrics and even detect sleep apnea and heart conditions. But can your watch literally save your life?
Ball Watch Company, which was founded in Ohio but has since moved its headquarters to Switzerland, was an important brand in the early days of the railroad pocket watches. But today, it has a limited-edition Engineer Master II Diver that celebrates a different accomplishment: stopping a speeding bullet.
In August 2023, a police officer — who wishes to remain anonymous — was involved in a critical incident where he was fired at with a 9mm bullet. However, owing to miraculous intervention and tank-like durability, the Ball Engineer Master II Diver he was wearing on his wrist stopped the bullet from doing any damage to his body.
As he puts it, “Around a month following the incident, I discovered the damage to my watch was the result of a bullet striking the watch face. I am truly blessed and thankful for the quality and construction of your watches. The spectacular build quality of my watch undoubtedly saved my wrist, hand and lower forearm from life-changing injury and quite possibly ending my career as a police officer.”
The officer had originally purchased the timepiece for himself as a one-year anniversary gift of being on the force, with hopes of passing the watch down to one of his kids. And while the watch now serves as a reminder of his terrifying experience, it can also be a celebration of meticulous craftsmanship.
Of course, if you know Ball, this craftsmanship is all by design. The company is rooted in a life-saving mentality. Its founder Webb C. Ball was a Cleveland-based jeweler when he was commissioned to be the first Chief Time Inspector following a fatal collision caused by the stoppage of a conductor’s watch.
Ball would implement standards and periodic inspections for these pocket watches, for things such as power reserve, accuracy, and magnetic resistance. In 1891, he debuted the Ball Watch Company, specializing in housing Swiss movements inside his own cases.
Ball’s watches are still made for toughness. For this Ballistic Diver edition of the flagship Engineer Master II, the company stuck with the case and dial design of the EM2 Diver Chronometer, which already modernized the more vintage-looking non-Chronometer version of the EM2 Diver that the officer wore when shot. It implements a COSC-certified movement, a cleaner black dial and bezel, a thicker case, and spaced-out crowns on the edge. It also swaps the day window for a date window and adds a cyclops bubble on top.
Bringing with it the Amortiser anti-shock system and increasing the anti-magnetism to 1,000 Gauss, the Ballistic Diver version does add numerals at the 3, 6, 9, and 12 positions for a vintage flair and a nod to the officer’s bullet-stricken timepiece. Also returning is the 60-minute interior bezel, which is rotated via the topmost crown.
Water-resistant to 300m, the watch is built with a 42m stainless steel case and houses the BALL RR1101 automatic movement. For an extra $300, you can get the COSC-certified version of the same exact watch. Both are equipped with a three-link stainless steel bracelet.
Like all Ball watches, the Ballistic Diver also comes equipped with long-lasting tritium lume, which is known for being able to glow at night without a charge. The model has 48 of these micro gas tubes — somewhere between the 36 on the Diver Chronometer and the 53 on the officer’s Diver.
Case Size: 42mm
Case Thickness: 13.5mm
Case Material: Stainless steel
Water Resistance: 300m
Movement: BALL RR1101 automatic (with or without COSC certification)
Band: Stainless steel bracelet
Limited Edition?: Yes, 1,000
Limited to just 1,000 pieces each, the Engineer Master II Ballistic Diver is priced starting at $2,299 but currently is up for pre-order for just $1,949. You can also engrave the caseback if you’d like. It won’t be available until March at the earliest but you can head over to Ball’s website for more information.
Ball celebrates the Engineer Master II Diver worn by a police officer who was shot at. The watch stopped the bullet, saving the man’s life. Now, the Ballistic Diver edition blends elements from the officer’s watch with that of the Diver Chronometer model.
