Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon Hunley

2014 marks the 150^th anniversary of the disappearance of the Confederate Navy’s H. L. Hunley, the first military submarine in history to sink an enemy vessel. Ball, faithful to its American heritage, celebrates this important event in the development of modern Navy by launching the Engineer Hydrocarbon Hunley, taking advantage of the Ball patented Amortiser system that protect the RR1201 against damage on impact.

Any sudden oscillation of the rotor, for example when playing golf, can result in serious damage to the mechanism of the watch. To counter such shocks, the protective ring around the movement of the Amortiser system will absorb the energy created by a sudden impact. This ring with its anti-magnetic properties adds further protection to the movement. Thanks to the Amortiser, the Engineer Hydrocarbon Hunley is protected against magnetic fields up to intensity of 4,800A/m and from shocks up to a force of 7,500Gs. 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.

Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon Hunley

The 42 mm diameter stainless steel case is water resistant to depths of 200 m and it comes equipped with the patented crown protector, a standard feature of the Hydrocarbon collection.

The black dial is highly visible thanks to the contrast with the rectangular numerals, indexes and the bold hands. The visibility is maintained in total darkness too, due to the powerful light emitted by the H3 micro-gas tubes applied on the hour markers and the hands.

The date window is between four and five o’clock, while at seven o’clock there is a power reserve indicator, a first with the Amortiser anti-shock system.

The unidirectional rotating ceramic bezel too got it’s fare share of luminescent treatment, using a process pioneered by Ball. Both the numbers and the graduation of the bezel are luminescent, allowing them to be instantly read in the dark.

The case back is struck with a representation of the CSS Hunley in tribute to this piece of American heritage.

The Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon Hunley is limited to 1864 pieces and it retails for $3,899.

For more information about Ball, go to www.ballwatch.com

About the CSS Hunley

Used by the Confederates during the Civil War, the CSS Hunley, named after her inventor Horace Lawson Hunley, was a 12.04 meters long and 1.17 meters wide submarine, weighting of 8 tons. Powered by a crank wielded by a team of eight men, the CSS Hunley was designed to attack ships from the North which were blockading Southern ports. The submarine had a long pole towards the bow fitted with an explosive charge called a “torpedo mine”.

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. Although its role in the conflict was limited, the historic success of the
CSS Hunley demonstrated both the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare.