Ball Watch Collection

[ballaviator]

Hi all,

As a beginner in watch collecting i was wondering whether to start a ball watch collection?..Just want to ask the sifus out there is it worth the money spent on ball watches? Cos i have a friend who told me that its much better if i could save up my money and buy something more valuable such as a panerai or jaeger..

what do you guys think?

[kltime]

Looking at ur nick in MWF I thought this is a foregone conclusion

[peanut]

Ball watches are more affordable and they retain their residual value quite well in Pre-owned market. Personally I only own 1 bola so cant say I am sifu. If you look for a good value for money watch and solid one and you can sell off quickly when you are readily to upgrade then Ball is worth considering

[G.MAC]

Rolex. My Ball watch i let it go at 75% the value of the price I bought and the watch was still under warranty. Still Rolex has a better resale value. Panerai also not too bad.

[chrisyen]

Different brand different positioning and aim for different Market

is rolex n pam better than ball?
Yes in certain points
no in certain points

resale value
- depend on which model... Those who bought milgauss gv at rm40k plus n sub date lv at rm25k now won't smile. Those who bought president n cellini series will never expect their rolex to appreciate
- buy a 40mm pam n sell, it's hard to sell before u talk bout the resale value
> so all depend on which model at what price

built quality n packaging
- rolex hv a gd tough accurate movement
- pam is good in design
- ball hv the superb bracelet n case finishing with high spec on toughness

price
- no commend here

function
- I believe ball hv n advantage here with best night readability
- pam hv long power reserve but reliability still to proof
- rolex only with minimum function

so? What u want? Design? Price? Function? Investment? Accuracy?

[ballaviator]

for me i do not really mind about the accuracy or those complications.. i just love watches because each and every model has their own distinctive features and design. for me i love ball maybe its because of the youthfulness in the design and also affordability for a student like me.. I have a dream to set up a collection of ball watches but i just do not know is it really worth it, thats why im asking for some guidance here.

[jacky8888]

get one BALL enuf.... save up and buy Rolex next... IMHO

[Angryrodent]

was playing around with a ball GMT at the gardens mall today.. feels like a very sturdy and nice watch 4 money brand... if its "worth" it only you can say, if flipping the watch prolly wont get a great price (im no sifu so dont take my word for it) but if ure gonna keep it i bet its gonna be a precious piece in ure collection
(if buying make sure to check around... the ball gmt i was checking out had a starting price (b4 x%) rm6600 something... the seller said she could go aslow as xxx if im ready to buy... then i show her buisnesscard from the same branch but at other mall where i got a price at xxx.. and she went down to that price in a blink... )

[no discount discussion as per forum rules]

[rioet]

Hi all,

As a beginner in watch collecting i was wondering whether to start a ball watch collection?..Just want to ask the sifus out there is it worth the money spent on ball watches? Cos i have a friend who told me that its much better if i could save up my money and buy something more valuable such as a panerai or jaeger..

what do you guys think?

you cant compare pam n jaeger to ball coz they are diff level. if you only have the budget to spent tat amt, then ball is not a bad choice overall. but if u not in a hurry then u may consider to save abit bullet more to get a pam basic model or a rolex exp II. much higher resell value.

[kltime]

At the end of the day, as it is often repeated in other topics in this forum, watch collecting/buying is very personalised and individualistic- buy what appeals to u.

As for the differrent price levels , to me it I am always of the view that its more a result of the manufacturer's branding/placement/marketing cost rather than anything else. I am a Ball fan and to me a 4k-5k Ball with an ETA base has a higher price/value ratio than some other heavily marketed/promoted or hypped to the max brand endorsed by some hollywood/sports star(who is paid to endorse it anyway) costing 10-20k or more.

And when it comes to servicing or replacing the mechanical parts down the line when the watch needs it, an established ETA base is probably  easier/cheaper to service than some exquisite in-house movement.

[Friedrice]

Hi all,

As a beginner in watch collecting i was wondering whether to start a ball watch collection?..Just want to ask the sifus out there is it worth the money spent on ball watches? Cos i have a friend who told me that its much better if i could save up my money and buy something more valuable such as a panerai or jaeger..

what do you guys think?

Ball watch are nice for their price point. But do note that their bracelets, straps and buckle are not Swiss made. Otherwise, they are really nice. I already have a pair of steel balls and so far I'm quite happy with my 40+mm balls. But building a mono brand collection is always a bad idea. You should diversify and go for other brands like Bremont (which makes beautiful watches) and omega. Which are currently on their way up due to the china effect.

[chrisyen]

Hi all,

As a beginner in watch collecting i was wondering whether to start a ball watch collection?..Just want to ask the sifus out there is it worth the money spent on ball watches? Cos i have a friend who told me that its much better if i could save up my money and buy something more valuable such as a panerai or jaeger..

what do you guys think?

Ball watch are nice for their price point. But do note that their bracelets, straps and buckle are not Swiss made. Otherwise, they are really nice. I already have a pair of steel balls and so far I'm quite happy with my 40+mm balls. But building a mono brand collection is always a bad idea. You should diversify and go for other brands like Bremont (which makes beautiful watches) and omega. Which are currently on their way up due to the china effect.

whats the problem with strap, buckle n bracelet is not swiss made?

which brand bracelet is better than ball? in terms of finishing on the steel, the toughness, the design?

[Friedrice]

Personally I feel that charging RM500 for a buckle and an additional RM500 for a leather strap is a bit expensive for something that is not swiss made. Omega leather straps go for RM1000 and they are of much better quality. And their deployment buckle is only RM700 which is a mere RM200 difference from the Ball press and pull buckles.

Which mass market luxury brand's bracelet is better than Ball? Well, Omega and Rolex feature better quality steel bracelets and better finish on their bracelets (check out the bond bracelets and jubilee bracelets respectively).

There is nothing wrong with Ball at that price point but it does look cheap when compared to the Rollies and Omegas. Ball watches were undervalued 5 years ago. But now, they are at almost their fair price in terms of quality. Omegas are still undervalued (but on their way up rapidly), especially the Aqua Terras 850x and Speedmaster 186x series.

[duke916sps]

When comes to Ball watch, the question is, how do u push the price 5 times over within the last 15 years? Hence the low resale value.

I bought a ball back in 97 for RM 1,000.00 new. And now u walk into any watch shop, it's price beyond comprehension... It's just a toolm watch back then, now I have no idea what they are.

[hanz079]

I think that's called market positioning.
When other brands hike prices, the ones that stay cheap will... look cheap I guess
Price increase not only effect Ball watches but ALL watches.
I remember way back when an Omega costs around 3k brand new... now?
When brands try to bump up their status, marketing will say things like "new innovation" "since 18xx" "Official watch for xxxx" and with that comes price increase...

[Friedrice]

I think that's called market positioning.
When other brands hike prices, the ones that stay cheap will... look cheap I guess
Price increase not only effect Ball watches but ALL watches.
I remember way back when an Omega costs around 3k brand new... now?
When brands try to bump up their status, marketing will say things like "new innovation" "since 18xx" "Official watch for xxxx" and with that comes price increase...

But at least Omega are justifying their price increase with :

a) new movements (ie. the 8500 and the 9000 series chronographs)
b) superior/improved finishing on the newer model when compared to the RM3k older model omega (ie. white gold indices, co-axial movement, free-sprung gold regulating screws, Si-14 hairspring, double barrel mainspring, rhodium finishing and the list goes on...)

[hanz079]

I think that's called market positioning.
When other brands hike prices, the ones that stay cheap will... look cheap I guess
Price increase not only effect Ball watches but ALL watches.
I remember way back when an Omega costs around 3k brand new... now?
When brands try to bump up their status, marketing will say things like "new innovation" "since 18xx" "Official watch for xxxx" and with that comes price increase...

But at least Omega are justifying their price increase with :

a) new movements (ie. the 8500 and the 9000 series chronographs)
b) superior/improved finishing on the newer model when compared to the RM3k older model omega (ie. white gold indices, co-axial movement, free-sprung gold regulating screws, Si-14 hairspring, double barrel mainspring, rhodium finishing and the list goes on...)

And the list goes on...
You're right... which is exactly what I mentioned. It's all marketing.
When a brand decite to hike prices, they will give you 1001 reasons to do so.
If you ask them to lower prices, they can give you 1001 reasons not to...

[duke916sps]

Well said, so the moral of the story is - know what u are buying... know their history, know their movement, know what u are paying for.

I think all watches are nice - to a price point.... I would not pay more than RM 4k for a ball at today's price level.. Gas tube illumination? - Lumibox has it milllion years ago....

I don't mean to say Ball is bad. I have one myself - All I am saying is - 10k for a Ball?

Anyway... will put mine up for sale soon.... as soon as I drag myself to shoot some pics and post it up..

[Friedrice]

+1 Totally agree with the statement above.

RM10k+ for a Ball watch is fair price for it's fit and finish. Anything higher and they will lose their mass market luxury appeal.

I purchase all my Balls for less than RM5k year ago. I think it is also time for me to offload some Balls to fund my JLC Grande Taille Reserve De Marche...

[siodee]

I recently just bought one and it is worth it...

[Gigi]

the later Bola model is not so worth it compared to early bola model... why?

Look at it the new GMT magnate.
-Dont have Antimagnetic shileld (only 4800 AM which is standard for all watches)
-yo paid more for the watch too

The Spacemaster glow/non glow version.
-All stainless steel compared to mad cow which is Tita and SS mixed.
-Not all links on bracelet are removable compared to mad cow so it will be hard for the small wristed folks like me
-More expensive too.

IMO, I rather get the Ball hydro triste chronograph cause ball put all of its trademark feature into one watch. Even for small wristed ppl like me i can pull it off man.

[hanz079]

Since we're at the discussion of Ball features...
Tell you the truth, I dun really know the features of Ball watches that are exclusive only to Ball
Maybe Mr.Gigi can enlighten me since you're like the Ball diehard fan?  Thanks

[chrisyen]

Not all links on bracelet are removable compared to mad cow so it will be hard for the small wristed folks like me

i knew y u tendang bola... Lol

all watches price go up almost every year
ball been praised For Building Watch at superb spec
solid steel case b bracelet
gd wr
gd am
gd sr
compare with brand more populat at same price range

So whether THE range of increase in recent yr justifiable? THE market will determind...

[Friedrice]

Ball is great about up till about 2 years ago. As of now, it is trying to compete in the big leagues with it's 'in-house' movements and really chunky watches which are more trend oriented than trendsetting (didn't anyone tell them that thin is in at the moment). And the prices have gone through the roof in recent years. I do miss the time when Balls can be had for less than RM5k...

[David_cheong]

I was at the Sunway recently. Pop into a shop that sell Ball. Saw the latest Fireman / Trainmaster? with the cyclops lens that listed at 3k a pop...and with some discount thrown in. There you are (according) to the sales people... the cheapest Ball around. Its a good looking watch too.

dc