Ball Engineer Master II Diver Chronometer Review

Recently we reviewed the excellent Ball Engineer III Marvelight Chronometer Day-Date which is more of a traditional stainless steel sports watch. The Engineer III Marvelight was included in a package of four watches Ball sent us to review that covered a broad selection of their collections. Today we're going to be reviewing a diver from Ball in their Engineer Master II Diver Chonometer.

If you'd like to know more about Ball watches, please check out our previous review of the Engineer III Marvelight Chronometer Day-Date where we go over a very detailed history of the brand. If not, here is a quick overview of the Ball Watch Company before we get into the review of the Engineer Master II Diver Chronometer.



The Ball Watch Company traces its unique origins to the aftermath of the tragic 1891 Kipton Train Wreck, caused by an engineer's faulty watch which underscored the critical need for standardized timekeeping across the burgeoning American railroad system. To address this, the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad appointed Cleveland jeweler Webster Clay Ball as Chief Time Inspector. Ball's initial focus was not watch production but establishing the rigorous "RR Standard," a set of demanding criteria for accuracy, reliability, legibility, and specific technical features that all railroad watches had to meet.

Initially, Ball certified timepieces from major American manufacturers like Hamilton and Waltham before branding pocket watches under his own name, later transitioning to wristwatches as the railroad industry declined. Facing hardship, the company was sold in the 1990s, leading to a revitalization effort marked by a strategic move to Swiss production. This modern era saw Ball embrace innovation, introducing advancements like micro tritium gas tubes for constant visibility, the Amortiser anti-shock system, and culminating in their first in-house movement.



Initial Thoughts

Now that we've gone over the history of the Ball Watch Company we can look more in-depth at the Engineer Master II Diver Chronometer. When I took the watch out of the travel case it was shipped in, the first thing I noticed was the stunning blue sunray dial. Depending on the lighting the dial can appear a nearly black Deep Blue in low light to a brilliant blue reminiscent of a tropical ocean in bright light. The sapphire crystal gives a unique look to the dial where the inner rotating dive bezel seems to jump off of the dial. The dive bezel is actually covered by another rounded sapphire underneath the primary sapphire crystal connected to the bezel of the watch. The dive bezel reminds me of the curved sapphire bezel you see on a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. The combination of the brilliant blue dial color and the mixed use of sapphire crystals make the Engineer Master II Diver's dial something truly beautiful to behold.

The next thing I noticed about the Engineer Master II Diver during my initial time with the watch was the usage of lume on the dial and bezel. Ball uses their famous micro tritium gas tubes to bring the watch to life with an array of colors which shine bright in lowlight. The markings of the dive bezel are done in a brilliant green and once again add to the 3D depth of the dial. These markings are recessed into the bezel in a sandwich dial type effect. The twelve hour markers are done in six different colors of lume creating a rainbow effect. 12 and 6 are done in green, 1 and 7 are done in yellow, 2 and 8 are done in white, 3 and 9 are done in a purplish pink, 4 and 10 are done in orange and 5 and 11 are done in blue. The effect is crazy to look at especially under a UV light where the markers just glow.



The final thing I noticed about the Engineer Master II Diver during my first time with the watch was just how well built and sturdy the watch felt in hand and on wrist. While I didn't get a chance to take the watch swimming or light diving, the feel of the watch really makes it seem as it could take a beating and come out just fine. The watch has great weight to it and the two crowns worked perfectly as expected. The bracelet and lug tolerances were very tight showing the level of craftsmanship on this watch.

Technical Specifications

Having gone over my initial thoughts of the Ball Engineer Master II Diver Chronometer let's now take a look at the technical specifications of the watch. The watch is crafted out of stainless steel and has a case diameter of 42 mm with a lug to lug width of 50 mm. The watch weights 205 grams on the stainless steel bracelet with all of its links in place. The Engineer Master II Diver has a thickness of 14 mm without counting the magnifying crystal and 15.2 mm including it.



The Engineer Master II Diver uses a flat sapphire crystal and at three o'clock above the date window is an additional magnifier that sits on top of the primary sapphire. The sapphire crystal is super clear and underneath you find the brilliant blue dial. The dial has a sunray style finish where it radiates out from the center. As mentioned earlier the dial can appear anywhere from a brilliant blue to a near black depending on the lighting.

There is a white printed minute track between the outside of the dial and the start of the inner rotating bezel. The large stick hour markers are made up micro gas tubes in six different colors. The color of the hour markers alternate and repeat after six hours and cover the full spectrum of the rainbow. The micro gas tubes are filled with H3 gas which require no form of charging and ensure that the dial is legible even in the darkest of situations. A real light show is on display when the dial is hit with UV lighting and the micro gas tubes really light up.



Ball uses two large sword style hands for the hour and minute hands. The hands are high polished and have a micro gas tube set on each hand that glows a bright green in low light. The polished seconds hand has an orange tip and a smaller micro gas tube inserted on it as well. The counter balance of the seconds hand is done in the double R Ball logo.

Completing the dial is the Ball Logo and branding printed in white at 12 o'clock and Chronometer and "300M-1000F" and "1000 Gauss" printed at 6 o'clock. Chronometer is printed in orange and provides a nice contrast to the blue dial. Finally there is a white backed date window at 3 o'clock that resides under the magnifying crystal making reading the date easier.



The final aspect to the dial is the inner rotating dive bezel found underneath the primary sapphire crystal. Unlike most dive bezels, this bezel is bi-directional and controlled by the crown at 2 o'clock. The bezel has markings for each 10 minute increment designated by an Arabic numeral. 0/60 minutes has been replaced by a triangle marker and there are stick markers for each minute between 0 and 20, then a stick marker for every five minute interval thereafter.

In low light the inner dive bezel glows a brilliant green, making it easy to decipher in less than ideal conditions such as diving. The bezel has a sandwich dial like construction where the bezel markers are recessed adding to the depth of the bezel. Another interesting design decision on the bezel was to encapsulate the bezel in a curved sapphire crystal. This might be one of the only times I can remember a secondary crystal being used underneath the primary crystal containing a dive bezel. The effect is very interesting and really adds to the visual appeal of the dial.



The bezel holding the primary sapphire crystal is sloped inward and has a polished finish. The top of the stainless steel case including the lugs has a brushed finish that transitions into polished chamfers and a polished mid case. Looking at the profile of the case you can see that there is a gentle curve to the case that follows your wrist.

The right hand side of the case features two polished crowns with one at 2 o'clock and the other at 4 o'clock. Both crowns are nicely scalloped and feature the double R Ball logo on top of them. The upper crown controls the inner rotating bi-directional dive bezel. The crown spins freely and doesn't move the dive bezel until the crown is pushed in and then turned. This is an added safety feature that should stop the bezel from moving while diving. The bezel operates in silence and does not produce any audible clicks.



The lower crown is screwed down and controls all time setting functions for the Engineer Master II Diver. Once the crown is unscrewed you can manually wind the automatic movement in the resting position. Pulling the crown out to position one lets you set the date and pulling the crown all the way out to position two stops the seconds hand and allows you to set the time. Pushing the crown back in causes no jump in the minute hand and screwing the crown back in requires no extra care to get the crown to catch.

The Engineer Master II Diver has a lug width of 21 mm and comes on a stainless steel bracelet. The bracelet has an h link construction where large "H" shaped links are connected via a center rectangular link. The H links are brushed in finish with polished sides and the center link is polished. This mixture of finishes makes the watch seem a bit more upscale and luxurious then if the links were all just brushed. There is a slight taper of the bracelet from 21 mm at the lugs down to 20 mm at the deployant clasp. The hidden deployant clasp is engraved with "Ball" on one of the opening links. The butterfly clasp requires two buttons to be pushed to release the bracelet and each side of the bracelet clicks in securely. The links are removed via screws, which is my preferred method of attaching links. There is no quick release system on the bracelet and the clasp does not feature micro-adjustments.



Flipping the watch over shows the brushed stainless steel solid caseback complete with an engraving of two seahorses and a divers helmet. Along with the screw down crown, the screw down caseback aids in the 300 meter water resistance of the Engineer Master II Diver. The case also gives the movement 1,000 Gauss of anti-magnetic protection. The watch uses Ball's Amortiser anti-shock system to keep the movement safe from harsh impacts. The specific limited edition number of 1000 is also engraved on the case back.

Underneath the caseback beats the Ball RR1101-C Swiss Made automatic movement. The movement is based off of the ETA 2892-A2 base caliber and has 42 hours of power reserve and has a frequency of 28,800 vph (4Hz). Ball has the movement Chronometer certified to have an accuracy of between -4 and +6 seconds per day. On our timegrapher the RR1101-C showed an accuracy of +3 seconds per day, well within Chronometer specs.



On The Wrist

The Ball Engineer Master II Diver Chronometer falls right inside of my Goldilocks zone for case diameter and lug to lug length. The watch covers my 7.25 inch wrist with a flat area of 55 mm nicely and never favors one side of my wrist over the other. Being a stainless steel case with a full stainless steel bracelet the watch is heavy. I personally like larger watches that are crafted out of lightweight materials like carbon, ceramic or titanium that mostly disappear on the wrist. The heft of the Engineer Master II Diver definitely lets itself be known when being worn but never gave me any wrist fatigue. Most of the watch collectors I know actually prefer a watch with this type of weight, it's just not something I'm used to or collect.

That being said, the watch is stunning on wrist though. The mixture of polished and brushed surfaces of the case really catches the light nicely, as does the dual finished bracelet. In brighter conditions the blue dial really shines and the added complexity of the rounded sapphire dive bezel gives the watch a very unique and appealing look to it. In lower light conditions the rainbow micro gas tubes and green inner dive bezel markings really shine as well, making the dial completely legible in any condition.



Speaking of legibility, I normally test how legible a dial is by trying to tell the time while driving with only a quick glance. The Ball Engineer Master II Diver passed this test easily. The combination of large polished hour and minute hands along with oversized stick indices that contrast well with the blue dial really helped out the legibility of the dial. The only thing that could have made the dial easier to decipher would be the use of large Arabic numerals instead of stick indices, but honestly that's just nitpicking.

If you've read many of my reviews, you know that I'm not the biggest fan of metal bracelets. Having grown up in Texas where it can be in the 60s inside and 110 degrees outside during the summer has mentally kept me away from bracelets. Even now with some watches offering micro adjustments on the clasps, I still tend to shy away from bracelets. I did put the Engineer Master II Diver on a spare 21 mm rubber strap I had laying around and really liked how the watch wore on rubber. It did seem a bit more top heavy on the rubber strap since the heavier stainless steel bracelet averaged out the weight of the watch head. Personally I would prefer to wear the watch this way, I also know Ball does offer rubber straps if needed.



During my time with the Ball Engineer Master II Diver Chronometer I wore it on all my boring daily errands as well as out to dinner and drinks. The stainless steel case and bracelet didn't clash with any outfit I picked which was mostly t-shirts, shorts and sneakers. The watch is a great casual wearer, but looks classy enough to fit in more formal settings as well. For the most part the watch wasn't really noticed on wrist, this is mainly since we live in an area just jammed packed with stainless steel Rolex sports models. It really takes something crazy looking to get noticed around here. I did show the watch to a few friends and they were mostly intrigued by the rainbow micro gas tubes when I lit them up with a tiny UV flashlight I keep in my wife's purse. They were also surprised by the price with most guessing the watch cost at least twice as much.

Value and Position in the Market

Speaking of price, the Ball Engineer Master II Diver Chronometer retails for $2,599. For that price you are getting an extremely solid and well built diver with a more than capable 300 meters of water resistance. You are also getting a workhorse of a movement in the ETA 2892-A2 that can be serviced by any watchmaker and also is Chronometer certified. The use of a rainbow array of micro gas tubes and an innovative design in the round sapphire covered inner dive bezel also really sets the watch apart. Now would be a great time to compare the Engineer Master II Diver to other watches that offer similar specs and see how much of a value the watch is.



Let's first take a look at the Submariner Date from Rolex which has a case diameter of 41 mm and is crafted out of stainless steel. The Submariner was the second commercially released dive watch and is the most copied watch of all time. It has a water resistance of 300 meters like the Ball and also features a magnifier over the date window. It has a more traditional outer dive bezel and runs on an in-house Rolex movement with 70 hours of power reserve. The Submariner is much more expensive than the Engineer Master II Diver at $10,400 though.

Next up we have the first commercially available dive watch in the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms which is crafted out of titanium and has a case diameter of 42.3 mm. The Fifty Fathoms has an outer dive bezel made out of curved sapphire that reminds me of the inner dive bezel on the Engineer Master II Diver, it's a very unique look. The Fifty Fathoms has the same 300 meters of water resistance as the Ball and Rolex and is powered by an in-house movement with 120 hours of power reserve. Like the Submariner, the Fifty Fathoms is much more expensive than the Ball at $19,300 on a titanium bracelet.



Moving on is the Aquatimer Automatic from IWC which has a 42 mm case and is crafted out of stainless steel. Like the other watches we've compared so far, the Aquatimer also has 300 meters of water resistance and it runs on an in-house IWC caliber with 120 hours of power reserve. Like the Engineer Master II Diver, the Aquatimer also has an internal rotating dive bezel but instead of having both crowns on the right hand side, it has a crown on each side at 3 and 9 o'clock. Once again the IWC is much more expensive than the Ball at $7,000 on a stainless steel bracelet.

Finally we have the recently released Tudor Black Bay 68 which is crafted out of stainless steel and has a case diameter of 43 mm. The Black Bay is much more of a traditional dive watch with a standard outer dive bezel. The Black Bay has the least water resistance of the bunch with 200 meters and is powered by an in-house movement with 70 hours of power reserve. While less expensive than the other three watches we've compared to the Engineer Master II Diver, the Black Bay is still a lot more expensive at $4,700.

Looking at the four other watches we compared to the Engineer Master II Diver, the real difference is that the others all featured in-house calibers with longer power reserve. These in-house movements mean that not every watchmaker can service them and could lead to higher service bills. The Ball has just as much if not more water resistance and none featured such innovative lume solutions as the micro gas tubes used on the Engineer Master II Diver. The Ball is just as competent of a diver and delivers tremendous value for its asking price.



Closing Thoughts

So in the end is the Ball Engineer Master II Diver Chronometer for me? Not to sound like a broken record, but a stainless steel watch with a stainless steel bracelet is just too heavy for my preferences. Switching over to a rubber strap does move the watch more into my wheel house, but not enough. If this watch was done in titanium it would be a different story for me.

Would I then recommend the Engineer Master II Diver to somebody looking for a luxury diver? I would 100% recommend the watch to somebody looking for a luxury diver. Most people don't have the weird lightweight material hold up that I have, so you can't ding the watch for that. The Engineer Master II Diver is a very capable and well produced watch, it also has a very unique look to it and doesn't look like all the other "me too" dive watches. While it doesn't use an in-house movement, it does have a super accurate Chronometer certified movement and also doesn't carry with it the in-house movement tax.



I'm a sucker for round sapphire bezels like the one of my Fifty Fathoms 500 Fathoms, so seeing Ball using this, albeit on an internal bezel, is a huge plus for me. I've always loved the idea of using micro gas tubes for lume and the fact that Ball used them here and that they are also rainbow colored is another big positive. With the Engineer Master II Diver priced well under $3,000 the watch is also a great value when comparing it to other luxury dive watches. I'd say that if you are in the market for a luxury diver that you owe it to yourself to see the Engineer Master II Diver in the metal, it could save you a ton of money and you'd end up with a very well done timepiece.

Once again, I'd really like to thank Ball for sending us this watch to review. After reviewing the Engineer III Marvelight and now the Engineer Master II Diver, it's very obvious to me that Ball really does produce top quality timepieces. Now that Watches and Wonders is out of the way, we should be able to review the other two watches that Ball sent us over the next two weeks.

For more information about the Engineer Master II Diver please visit : Ball Watch

Technical Specifications

Reference Number: DM2280A-S1C-BER

Retail Price: $2,599

Case Size: 42 mm

Lug to Lug: 50 mm

Thickness: 14 mm (15.2 mm with Magnifying Lens)

Weight: 205 Grams (All Links)

Case Material: Stainless Steel

Bezel: Stainless Steel

Strap: Stainless Steel with Deployant Clasp

Movement: Ball RR1101-C (ETA 2892-A2) Swiss Made Automatic, Chronometer Certified

Functions: Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Date

Power Reserve: 42 Hours

Water Resistance: 300 Meters