Engineer Hydrocarbon Hunley

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Engineer Hydrocarbon Hunley - Ball Watch
Baselworld - A commemorative timepiece equipped with the new generation anti-shock Amortiser® system.

The year 2014 marks the 150th anniversary of the disappearance of the CSS Hunley. This submarine of the Confederate States of America Navy played a historic role in the country's Civil War. On February 17, 1864, off the port of Charleston, South Carolina, the CSS Hunley sank the Union ship USS Housatonic but then went down with its crew following the attack.

Ever faithful to its American heritage, BALL Watch celebrates this major event in the development of the modern Navy by unveiling the new Engineer Hydrocarbon Hunley.

This new timepiece incorporates the new version of the Amortiser® system that protects the automatic Swiss Made BALL RR1201 caliber against damage that may result from external impacts. Any significant impact on an automatic watch can cause violent and sudden oscillations of the rotor and result in considerable damage to the movement. The high inertia of the oscillating mass can also be troublesome when playing certain sports, such as golf, which expose the wrist to repeated external shocks.

To protect the heart of the watch, the Amortiser® system consists of a protective ring around the mechanical movement that absorbs the energy created by side shocks. This protective ring also has anti-magnetic properties to preserve the movement from magnetic fields that can affect the precision of a mechanical watch.

 

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Another feature of the Amortiser® system on this model is a locking rotor mechanism. A switch in the form of a submarine propeller is located on the case back, enabling the rotor to be locked and unlocked as desired. However, the watch continues to run when the rotor is immobilized by drawing on the power reserve of its caliber.

With the Engineer Hydrocarbon Hunley, BALL Watch has incorporated for the first time on the dial a power reserve indicator that displays the operational autonomy of the caliber when the device is activated. The Engineer Hydrocarbon Hunley fitted with the Amortiser® antishock system has been demonstrated to endure 5.2 meters free fall without any damage on the mechanical movement.

With a 42mm diameter, the stainless steel case of the Engineer Hydrocarbon Hunley houses the Swiss Made automatic mechanical movement, displaying the date and hours.  The black dial beneath the anti-reflective sapphire crystal boasts a striking and sleek style, in which not a single element is in excess. The coated flange of the dial incorporates the graduation of minutes and endows the watch with an immediately apparent and striking depth. The case back is struck with a representation of the CSS Hunley in tribute to this piece of American heritage.

The Engineer Hydrocarbon Hunley is equipped with a bezel benefiting from the pioneering BALL Watch process of adding luminescent paint to the ceramic. The BALL Watch Company was the first watch brand to offer the combination of these two elements. In this way, both the numbers and the graduation of the bezel are luminescent in the dark. The ceramic also renders the bezel extraordinarily resistant to corrosion, scratches and UV rays. The unidirectional rotating bezel is an additional guarantee of security that prevents unintentional manipulation from accidentally prolonging the duration of a time period.

BALL Watch has designed Arabic numerals for the hours using H3 micro-gas tubes that guarantee the dial greater readability. This state-of-the-art Swiss technology is 100 times more effective than conventional luminous paints yet requires no exterior light or energy source. The same luminescent micro gas tubes are applied to the hour markers and the hands.

 

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The construction of the Engineer Hydrocarbon Hunley guarantees perfect waterresistance up to 200 meters. The patented system protecting the crown completes the case by ensuring even greater security in the mastery of time. This device common to all models of the Engineer Hydrocarbon collection also protects the exterior elements of the movement, to which the crown is directly connected. The Engineer Hydrocarbon Hunley is also protected against magnetic fields up to intensity of 4,800A/m and from shocks up to a force of 7,500Gs. The tapered stainless steel bracelet is equipped with the BALL patented triple folding buckle.

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