Ball Watch Co.

History

Webb C. Ball founded the company in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1891. After that year's Kipton train collision, attributed to a conductor's watch that had stopped for four minutes, Ball was named Chief Time Inspector and set the RR Standard, which required at least 17 jewels and a maximum error of 30 seconds a week. Today it is based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, and makes rugged watches, most lit by gas tubes.