Then there is the matter of the Annual Calendar itself. Ball still uses base movements from Swiss ETA, but more and more they are developing their own modules and components. SpringLock is a good example – as is this unique annual calendar module over the base automatic movement. Ball claims that this will be the least expensive annual calendar watch with fully independent settings for each of the indicators. Inset pushers on the side of the case offer individual adjustments to each of the three calendar displays. This can make it easy to adjust the calendar data, but you of course need a pen or pin to do so.
What we like most about the calendar is the simple and attractive layout. Ball offers their own take on the classic “triple calendar” display, by offering windows for the day of the week and month, and a dial for the date. That makes it easy to read the entire date at a glance. Having said that, in my own opinion I like date windows a bit better for ease of use. All digital versus dials for calendar info is how I like it. Though such mechanical calendars are frequently rare. Aside from the date information that doesn’t get in the way much, you have a standard time display which is easy to read.
The durable steel case is about 43mm wide and comes with a domed AR coated sapphire crystal. The case is water resistant to 100 meters. We like the typical Ball-style steel bracelet, but the Engineer II Annual Calendar also comes with a leather strap option. The dial is given a vertical stripe texture and applied Arabic and baton style hour markers. Tritium tubes are placed in all the hour markers as well as the hands. You get a combination of straight-forward design with Ball’s signature “engineered” style.
A possible alternative to the Engineer II Annual Calendar would be something like the MIH watch (aBlogtoWatch review here), but there isn’t much else in this style that exists. With innovative durability features, and attractive designs, Ball seems to be gaining a lot of ground in terms of appealing to more traditional watch lovers. The Engineer II Annual Calendar should be released later this year with a price said to be around $6,000. ballwatch.com