Ball produces natural steel versions of the Engineer Master II Diver, but these TMT models all have dark gray DLC-coated cases. This makes for a good look with a lot of scratch resistance, but for some reason the two crowns along with the caseback and strap buckle aren’t in a matching DLC color. At this price I feel Ball should have matched the case with these elements being DLC-coated in the same color. The screw-down caseback has another one of those funky images in relief that Ball likes to engrave. These are sometimes so weird that they actually add value to the watches (in my opinion) for being strange.
Rather than use an external rotating diver’s bezel, the Engineer Master II has a useful inner rotating diver’s bezel with a 60-minute counter ring. What’s great about the inner rotating bezel is not only its detail and depth, but also its use of tritium gas tubes. Ball is still more or less the only high-end watchmaker to make use of tritium gas tubes for illumination – and they use as many as they can on the dial (legally).
Ball brand devotees will recognize that this reference DT1020A-P1-BEORF model family is not the first to be an Engineer Master II Diver. As I said above, Ball released a new limited edition batch (of 2,006 units in each color) of the Engineer Master II Diver. The updates are all in the dial as far as I can tell, and are seemingly designed to improve legibility and to give the dial a cleaner, more classic look. Given what a dive watch is supposed to be about, I think these updated dials for the Engineer Master II Diver are the best ones they’ve done for the collection so far. I can even handle the odd position of the round date window at 1 o’clock.
Tritium gas tubes offer effortless darkness viewing for at least 15 years – which makes this a compelling sports watch – especially for poor visibility situations (and diving, of course). Ball also includes a host of other durability features including magnetic resistance and shock protection to the case.
I also want to give the Ball Engineer Master II Diver high marks for overall wearing comfort. The case is rather simple in its execution, but that also means you don’t have any serious ergonomic sacrifices to make for some type of exotic look. Having said that, the Ball Engineer Master II Diver isn’t an ordinary-looking watch, even though it pleasantly wears like one. Though, it isn’t cheap and its relatively high price might hold some potential customers back.
Ball is increasingly becoming a very reliable high-value watch brand. You get a lot for your money. The Engineer Master II Diver TMT isn’t the brand’s most expensive model, but it is priced at over $3,000. It’s possible that there is a good reason for that, but for me the novelty of the thermometer is not outweighed by its limited capabilities. The watch is handsome and genuinely fun to wear. I do like the watch, but would probably personally opt for a less expensive model with the time only (though I do wish Ball produced it in the DLC case). Having said that, the time-only Engineer Master II Diver isn’t all that much cheaper. What I’m really curious about is how those tubes look underwater… Price for the Ball Engineer Master II Diver TMT is $3,299 USD. ballwatch.ch
Necessary Data
>Brand: Ball
>Model: Engineer Master II Diver TMT reference DT1020A-P1-BEORF
>Price: $3,299 USD
>Size: 42mm wide, 14.9mm thick
>Would reviewer personally wear it: Yes, if diving in really cold water and wanting to be reminded of that.
>Friend we’d recommend it to first: Guy who simply must have all gadgets and can’t escape the appeal of the weirdness of having a sealed dive watch with an air temperature measurement complication inside.
>Best characteristic of watch: Facelift on previous generation Engineer Master II Diver is nice. Fun colors and comfortable to wear on the wrist. Tritium gas tube illumination.
>Worst characteristic of watch: Main point of seemingly high price is a complication that has very limited real world utility. For a watch at this price, more of the watch case should be coated. Missed opportunity for better looking caseback art.
