Webb C. Ball
Webster Clay Ball ( born October 6, 1847 in Fredericktown, Ohio; † 1922, shortly: Webb C. Ball ) was an American jeweler and watchmaker.
After a two-year apprenticeship with a jeweler to let ball in Cleveland down as a partner in a jewelry store. When the American standard was adopted in 1883 time, he was the first jeweler that uses the time signal of the United States Naval Observatory to provide Cleveland with a precise time.
In 1891 it came in Kipton (Ohio ) to a train accident that was caused by a stopped pocket watch a train driver. The American Railway Authority then commissioned ball Chief Time Inspector to design reliable control systems and quality standards for railroad chronometers.
He introduced strict guidelines for the production of robust and reliable precision timepieces. These included guidelines for use antimagnetic housing, keeping the time in five positions, a sufficient power reserve and the design of the dial. Each clock successfully tested according to these Richtlininen received a certificate. The current criteria for the certification of chronometers by the COSC based on the standards of Webb C. ball
The Waltham Watch Company immediately agreed to the requirements of Balls guidelines, later followed by the Elgin National Watch Company and most of the other American watch manufacturers: Aurora, Hamilton, Hampden, E. Howard, Illinois, Seth Thomas. Later, some Swiss watch manufacturers such as Audemars Piguet, Longines and Vacheron Constantin followed.
Ball was Vice President of the Hamilton Watch Company and concentrated his efforts on developing watches for the railroad. On 10 February 1907, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers acknowledged his efforts by an honorary membership. The Horological Institute of America celebrated its merits on 20 October 1921.
Ball died in 1922.
Ball Watch Company
Balls original jewelry business in Cleveland became the Ball Watch Company. It Rohwerke or complete pocket watches were purchased by other manufacturers, which are then refined and resold. One first used works of Elgin, Hamilton and Waltham, but then changed in the early 1940s to Swiss movements. The company remained in the hands of lineal descendants, to 1990, the naming rights were sold.
The new company Ball Watch, based in Neuchâtel continues the tradition, but using Swiss movements. In addition, sports watches are made .