My BALL Timepieces : Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon Spacemaster Orbital II

Looking at the earlier picture of the watch case sizes in my frequently-worn pieces, I could see that I have settled rather comfortably within the <45mm genre. These sizes tend to be easier on the wrist, and would not feel like that watch was hampering one's activities. There were also less tendency to knock watches of these sizes against the elements, when one was up and about.

I have had my fool-hardy days, of course- when I was experimenting with Planet Ocean 45.5mm, BR01-97 46mm, SevenFriday P3 47mm, EcoZilla 48mm, Aqualand 53mm, etc. These watches were flipped over time as part of the catch-and-release process, as I learnt to get more comfortable ones to add into my collection.

The recent Submersible 47mm in titanium, showed that the watch case could still be large yet wear comfortably on the wrist as the heft was more controlled with the lighter construction.

(Which was a dilemma in itself, as I really liked my Pelagos Ti5 42mm but felt that it was just too light on the wrist; yet when I flipped it for my SD4k 40mm [which was heavier and thicker], it was just about my fave go-to watch size. So now, I'm experimenting with the reverse i.e. a larger piece but with lighter construction.)

This points towards a new direction in watch-collecting on my side, which I intended to try it out and see if it sticks.

Which brought me to the aforetitled piece. I have had 4 Ball watches in my collection over time- Fireman Night Train DLC 45mm (flipped), Engineer Hydrocarbon Mad Cow 42mm (flipped), Engineer II Genesis 125th Anniv 43mm, and the crown of the jewel in the Engineer Spacemaster Orbital II 45mm. More about this piece later...

I don't really have any loss feelings for the Fireman, but I do missed the Hydrocarbon for its superb built. 

The Genesis is a handsome piece, which I intended to keep on for collection given its historical significance as Ball's 125th anniversary-released LE.

Another piece that I almost added was the Engineer Hydrocarbon NEDU 42mm (to replace the Mad Cow); but somehow or another, the chance came and go but I didn't quite felt the urgency to grab it eventhough I chanced upon the NEDU at the boutique on a few occasions.

So to scratch that Hydrocarbon itch, I went the full route direct to the top-of-the-range Spacemaster Orbital II 45mm. 

Introduced during Baselworld 2014 and being of titanium construction, it should be wearable despite its bigger 45mm footprint; and professional reviewers had remarked on its robust yet comfortable titanium bracelet. This was a piece that was very elusive in the wild, no thanks to its RRP : USD5,999 price tag, which placed it above the normal threshold for more comfortably-priced Ball watches. Read on about this piece in an up-coming blog entry one of these days.

Look at the above picture and you could imagine what a marvel the Orbital II looked, spinning lazily in the watch winder in the still of the night, with it's many tritium micro-tubes like stars in the skies.

Surprisingly, there has only been a couple of professional reviews on this Orbital II online; and none as yet from an amateur watch hobbyist's standpoint. So there you have it, keep your eyes peeled hereabouts as there may be a personal review upcoming shortly.

(NB : And the funny coincidence was- Orbital II has micro-tubes for the nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 while Genesis has for 6, 9, 12 so placed together as a pair of Balls in the winder, one would have micro-tubes from 1 - 12 sans 3 for the Date position.)