Ball Kansas City Watches Repairs Services

Ball

Ball Watch Co., a name synonymous with accuracy and high standards. Ball was founded in 1891 by Webb C. Ball in Cleveland, Ohio, starting as a jewelry shop. At first, Ball would purchase other companies’ movements and perfect them, later packaging and reselling for a profit. Prior to long-distance railroads, there was no need for accurate timekeeping, most people only cared about where in the sky the sun was and what day it was. Once railroads started to become longer and connect farther and farther cities, there started to emerge a need for high accuracy timekeeping. This was further accelerated following a head-on collision of two trains due to an engineer’s watch stopping for 4 minutes. Webb was designated “Chief Time Inspector” by railroad officials for his extremely high horology standards for the time. Webb set requirements that all railroad watches must follow, these requirements were called the “RR Standard”. The RR Standard set strict rules to ensure accurate, durable, and reliable railroad timepieces. Most American watchmakers conformed to the standards relatively quickly, soon followed by some Swiss watchmakers. Webb’s rules massively improved railroad safety and oversaw over 125,000 miles of railroad tracks by the end of his career and was officially congratulated for his efforts by the Horological Institute of America in 1921. Karats is your destination for Ball watches in the Kansas City area. Karats has a large selection of Ball watches for sale. Karats also offers crystal, strap replacement, overhaul, oiling, movement servicing, or any other type of repair for your Ball watches. Karats is located in Overland Park, Kansas, and we look forward to meeting all your Ball watch needs.