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| Joined: | Thu Mar 26th, 2009 |
| Location: | Colorado USA |
| Posts: | 10254 |
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The Spacemaster has been out a while, so I know it is not a new, hot piece to many here that know it very well, but hopefully some will find my post helpful.Got a great deal which caused me to finally pounce…this piece was sized by the original owner and then sat in a safe for months ever since (
)…as I received it, the piece looks brand new and in the first 24 hours is running at + 0.5 to 1 second…the Spacemasters are COSC certified (and come with a very fancy, thick, Ball presentation folio with the COSC certificate inside) so I guess not a complete surprise.
My first exposure to Ball watches was the Fireman II, which I still really love…great build quality, simple dial layout, and those wonderful Tritium Tubes that Ball does so well. I have always liked the Engineer Hydrocarbon line from Ball, and thought that I would someday have something from that lineup…I really thought I’d go for another very simple dial design without the added tritium numerals that can sometimes seem like “too much” going on, but ever since Ball first introduced the Spacemaster about a year ago, I’ve always been drawn to the Spacemaster X-Lume model due to that fantastic, count them, 80 Tritium Tubes on the dial, hands, and bezel pip. The three color tritium tube layout in Blue, Yellow-Orange, and Green with the Bezel is pretty much guaranteed to bring a smile to your face…and it brought a big smile to mine.
The bezel (except for the pip) is lumed with regular, non-tritium lume, which I've seen listed as luminova based and also Ball proprietary so I'm not sure which it is...but it is a very nice frosty blue which reminds me of the frosty blue superluminova...it is very bright. In going with this X-Lume model, you forgo the guilloche textured dial that comes on the regular Spacemaster, but you get 80 tritium tubes versus 29 tubes for the regular Spacemaster.
Ball made some design changes to the overall proportions of the Hydrocarbon case for the Spacemaster line including a larger diameter dial and a thinner bezel width which I think contributes to better wrist presence for a piece that is nominally 42mm wide and 17mm thick…I think the piece wears larger than those dimensions and, to me, feels like a 44mm piece on the wrist. (The case measures about 42.5mm at the widest dimension in reality). I really also like what Ball did with making the bezel height “less tall” relative to the case design…just seems more attractive and proportioned to me anyhow. Ball also redesigned the unique “crown retention system” which now covers the screw down crown completely, rather than having the crown stick into the retension device.
Anyone that has owned a Ball timepiece knows the high level of fit/finish that shows through when you hold one in your hand…the Spacemaster is no exception…this is a high quality built piece from the very tight tolerances of the bracelet and case, to the excellent finished “satin” ss on the case and bracelet that can go from a brighter, more typical ss look, to a more “dark grey” appearance (on the bezel for instance)…the level of fit/finish on this piece is right near the top of everything I’ve seen including the very big watch-making names.
Basic specs from Ball:
Movement : Automatic ETA Cal 2836-2 (COSC Certified Chronometer)
Case: Satin finish. Solid Stainless Steel, patented crown protection system
Bezel: Luminous unidirectional rotating bezel
Crystal: 4mm thick anti-reflective sapphire crystal
Band/Clasp: Satin finished solid stainless steel, Factory logo engraved/embossed
Water Resistance: 333m
Shock Resistance: 7,500 G’s
Antimagnetic: 12,000 A/m
In conclusion – Very impressed with the Spacemaster X-Lume, Ball continues to make some of the best built watches out there.
Some pics:
...and that Spacemaster X-Lume
