Webb C. Ball
Webb C. Ball (
October 6,
1847–
1922) was a jeweller and watchmaker born in
Fredericktown, Ohio. When Standard Time was adopted in
1883, he was the first jeweller to use
time signals, bringing accurate time to
Cleveland, Ohio.
In 1891 there was a collision between Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railways at
Kipton, Ohio which occurred because an
engineer's watch had stopped. The railroad officials commissioned Webb C. Ball as their General Time Inspector, in order to establish precision standards and a reliable timepiece inspection system for
Railroad chronometers.
He established strict guidelines for the manufacturing of sturdy, reliable precision timepieces, including resistance to magnetism, reliability of time keeping in 5 positions,
isochronism,
power reserve, accompanied with record keeping of the reliability of the watch on each regular inspection.
The
Waltham Watch Company complied immediately with the requirements of Ball's guidelines, later followed by
Elgin Watch Company and most of the other American manufacturers, later on joined by some Swiss Watch Manufacturers.
Webb C. Ball became the vice president of the
Hamilton Watch Company and started many watch oriented firms. One firm, Ball Watch Company began using other watch companies movements, perfecting them and then reselling them. Ball Watch Company also ordered watches complete from other watch companies. Ball used movements by Elgin, Hamilton, Waltham and many others including Swiss movements as early as the 1940's in their wrist watches. The firm was family owned by direct descendants until the 1990s when the right to use the name was sold. The new firm continues the tradition, using Swiss movements and making watches for sportsmen and even for some small railroads.
At the end of his career, Webb C. Ball was overseeing over 125,000 miles of rail tracks in U.S.A., Mexico & Canada, having greatly contributed to the security of all railroad systems. He died in 1922.
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History of Ball Watch Company*
Elgin Serial Numbers*
Waltham Serial Numbers
