what is more prestigious? hamilton or ball ? thanks!
Prestigious? I would say Hamilton. They've made many more contributions to horology while Ball is mainly responsible for railroad watch standards.
Quality though, imo Ball is on the next level. But that is also because they are in general more expensive as well.
Not much difference in prestige in my opinion, both safely in the mid-range.
Can't comment on relative quality as I haven't owned a Hamilton, but owned two Ball divers and been very happy with them.
I would choose a Ball over a Hamilton any time (I love those tritium tubes even though I don't have a tritium tube lit watch in my collection).
Not a great deal in it to be honest... both make use of a similar range of movements as far as I can see.
I'd say my Ball EMII Diver GMT seems better built than my Hamilton Khaki GMT... but then the RRP of the Ball was more than twice the Hamilton, so I'd be disappointed if it wasn't.
I guess the above may actually answer it then... Hamilton always seem to get comments like "A lot of watch for the money"... which they are.
Ball gets those comments less. Comments such as those don't really sit with 'prestigious' typically..... so the Ball, that's my answer... lol.
I would say Hamilton but that is based purely on aesthetics. I just don't like those tubes on Ball watches.
Oh yeah, for those who did value in-house movements Ball's prototype was finished last year but there is no word on when they will begin actual production. This was from an issue of WatchTime.
I think Ball are slowly trying to position themselves a notch above Hamilton, maybe nearer to Longines. Hamilton probably still have more prestige in he USA, with the Elvis connection.
Hamilton have a better known brand, but the quality and ingenuity of Ball makes them my choice every time. What an awesome watch for the money.
All I can say is that I own a Hamilton Lord Hamilton Chrono. For the money it is very well constructed and put together. Everything lines up the time keeping is very good and it looks amazing. All for under 1k. It does have an Elabore 7750 with a sea through caseback, not everyone's cup of tea movement wise, but cracking value.
I have also owned a Ball Trieste chrono and apart from the bracelet on the Ball, Hamilton are just as good.
Both make some nice watches, the quality of Ball has risen over the last year and this new model is well put together.
Elvis AND Will Smith wore the Ventura. That should settle the question.
I would still go with Hamilton, although Ball watches are pricier. Ball watches still seem a bit down-home to me, with their super-duper 1950s marketing names ("Ball Watch Company Mad Cow Hydrocarbon Master Engineer II" and all that). For what it's worth, there was a clear, decades-long break between the end of the old Ball and the beginning of the new one, a Honk-Kong-based investor group with a growing Swiss operation. There's not much that's American about them.
By comparison, the "old" Hamilton moved its production from Philadelphia to Switzerland, by acquiring Buren (so, not an organic move). But even though the combined Hamilton-Buren business went bust by the early 1970s, the name was bought by a Swatch predecessor company and the name continued to be used. But again, aside from the marketing and Americana-style names ("Route 66", "Jazzmaster", "Railroad") there's not much that's actually American about them.
Prestige and quality (or price) aren't synonyms, and since the old Hamilton used to make very fine movements of its own, whereas Ball only tweaked other movements to offer chronometer-style accuracy, that's why I go with the Hamilton name.
...but what do I know; I don't even like watches!
I'd also say that prestige is transitory, and the fact that Hamilton used to make nice movements has limited impact on current prestige. Still not much in it though.Originally Posted by andrew
That's a good point, and if Ball continues its march upmarket I can see it becoming perceived as more prestigious, with its more complex and expensive cases, higher price tags and use of "tubed lume". For WIS, Hamilton's illustrious movement-making history will continue to be a draw, especially as several manufacturers are making new watches with reconditioned Hamilton movements. Although Hamilton itself is not one of those manufacturers, granted :).
...but what do I know; I don't even like watches!
Thank you very much indeed for you valuable advice. I'll keep them in mind and hopefully I will own one of them at some points towards the end of this year. If I'm lucky enough to go on sales at EJ.
Ball is on the way up. Hamilton is pegged by the Swatch group as a "Middle Range" brand & its history is utterly irrelevant to their current line-up.
This help, thanks a lot!
I have a Hamilton Kharki GMT and whilst the aesthic is good, I am not overly happy with the time keeping, intially after purchase the watch lost a lot of time so took it back to get it seen to, got it back and it was much better, but still the watch needs its time checking on weekly basis...... sigh
theyre both mid range.. but i think ball are tacky so id go hamilton every time.
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