Born with the epic of American Railroads

The Kipton (Ohio, USA) railroad accident. 1891. DR

Ball Watch Co.’s history is deeply intertwined with railroad pioneers. It starts on April 18, 1891 with the head-to-head collision of two trains near Kipton, Ohio, resulting in eight fatalities.

Union Pacific Steam Locomotive 4-8-4 #8444. The 20th Centruy - 1st half. DR

When it was shown that the direct cause of the catastrophe was that one of the engineer’s watches was inaccurate, it deeply shocked the contemporaries. In fact, the watch was over four minutes late. The accident was not due to a human error, but to the consequence of a faulty simple time-device.

Denver and Rio Grande Western Steam Locomotive 2-10-2 #1403. Thistle Utah (USA) 1951. DR

As soon as the cause of the accident was disclosed, the managers of the two main American railroads of the time, called upon Webster Clay Ball, a small watch manufacturer from Cleveland, whose reputation in the watch industry was well established. Appointed ‘Chief Time Inspector’ to the American federal railroads, Webster C. Ball was entrusted with the task of testing all watches of railroad employees. In his new capacity as ‘Chief Time Inspector’, Ball forbade all watches which were off-time by more than thirty seconds per day and simultaneously designed a strict standard time system to ensure precision and reliability.

Advertising Poster „BALL Watches The Railroad Standard”. © Ball Watch

Webb C. Ball’s recommendations were of such validity that they actually formed the basis of the COSC certification system established by the Swiss Society of Chronometry in 1973 and which is still applied today.

Soon, watches certified ‘Ball’s Standard’ spread to almost the entire U.S. railroad network and their fame spread overseas as well. Subsequently, Webster Ball received many international awards for his contribution in terms of saving human lives but also for his unique role in the history of watch-making.

Ball & Co., Cleveland, Ohio (USA). Vacheron & Constantin, Switzerland, No. 288336. © Ball Watch

Ball & Co., Cleveland, Ohio (USA). Order of Railway Conductors, No. 307412, Series VIII. Circa 1893. © Ball Watch

BALL & Co., Cleveland, Ohio (USA). Brotherhood of Locomotive Fireman and Engineers, No. B269465. Circa 1922. © Ball Watch