Introducing: Ball Engineer M Skindiver III Beyond

Long-time readers will no doubt have realized that, yes, I do have a thing for tritium tubes on watch dials. Particularly as the wider tubes have gotten more traction, I’ve been watch for them to start showing up on handsets. While the Ball Engineer M Skindiver III Beyond’s hands don’t have as wide of tubes as the dial, they’re definitely not the traditional narrow tubes.

As we’ve seen on prior Ball models, the Ball Engineer M Skindiver III Beyond also features tritium lighting underneath the domed bezel, meaning that this is a watch that will put on quite a light show, whether or not you’re diving with the watch (because, yeah, this is supposed to be a diver).

I’d argue that going with the deep blue dial means that Ball knew this one wasn’t going to be going deeper than the local pool, but really, do we care? Many of us (myself included) are drawn to dive watches for the style, and the implied capability of a watch. That the Ball Engineer M Skindiver III Beyond is cleanly legible on land, day or night, that’s a bonus in my book.

I’d also argue that the cyclops on the date window (another feature I’m liking more and more these days) is another nod to the Ball Engineer M Skindiver III Beyond being more of a desk diver, though it would be happy to swim deep with you of course. And really, any Ball watch is going to be up to whatever you can through at it, with the various resistances (anti-magnetic, anti-shock, water resistance) that all of their watches have built in. If you’re looking for one dive watch to rule your collection – without breaking the bank – then the $3,699 one here is a solid place to start. It’s got a great mix of modern and vintage elements in the design, and of course those wider tritium tubes all over the place. You can get one of the 1,000 they’re making over at ballwatch.ch

Tech Specs from Ball

Movement
- Automatic BALL Manufacture caliber RRM7309-C
- Chronometer certified COSC
- 80 hours Power Reserve, 28,800vph
- Amortiser® patented anti-shock system
- Anti-magnetic to 4,800A/m
35 micro gas tubes for night reading capability

Hours, minutes, sweep seconds and magnified date
Case
- Ø 41.5mm, height 13.8 mm
- 5,000Gs shock resistance
- Stainless steel case
- Uni-directional rotating sapphire bezel with micro gas tubes