The Ball Watch Company is promoting the toughness of its watches with the story of how a police officer was saved from a speeding bullet.
Alongside a video of a damaged watch put to dramatic music, a voiceover tells of “when a time-keeper becomes a life-changer”.
The watch that took the impact was an Engineer Master II.
In August 2023, a police officer was involved in a “critical incident” where his watch was struck by a 9mm bullet.
We do not have any other details about the incident, only that the unnamed officer is very grateful for the toughness of their watch.
“Around a month following the incident, I discovered the damage to my watch was the result of a bullet striking the watch face,” the officer said. “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. I originally purchased it as a one-year anniversary gift to myself for becoming a police officer and planned on passing it on to one of my children. You have earned a customer for life… there will be no second thoughts.”
Ball has celebrated the incident by making a limited edition of the Engineer Master II.
The Engineer Master II Ballistic Diver has a crown at two o’clock with a “push-and-turn” mechanism to set the bezel at any time in both directions.
It has a screw-in crown and the 42mm case is water resistant to 300m.
It is fitted with Ball’s patented Amortiser anti-shock system which, Ball says “absorbed the incredible force of the impact and shielded the automatic movement from damage”.
The Ballistic Diver is powered either by BALL RR1101 (non-chronometer) automatic movement or RR1101-C COSC-rated movement).
It is a limited edition of 1000 pieces, with prices starting at $2,299.