A watch honoring the inventor of the modern temperature measurement scaleBALL WATCH Trainmaster Celsius
Anders Celsius, a Swedish scientist born on November 27th, 1701, developed the world’s most widely used temperature measurement scale. As astronomy professor at the University of Uppsala in Sweden, he devoted his life to understanding and studying astronomical and physical phenomena, such as the aurora borealis. It was through his meteorological observations that Anders Celsius developed a temperature measurement scale using 0 as the point at which water solidifies and 100 for its boiling point under normal atmospheric pressure.
Use of his measurement scale rapidly spread to the majority of nations. Its unit, the degree Celsius (°C), was officially baptized with the inventor’s name in 1948 by the International System of Units.
Like Anders Celsius in the scientific field, Webb C. Ball can also lay claim to the same pioneering role in the history of watchmaking, as he introduced the first chronometry standards used by the American railroad companies. The system developed by Webb C. Ball at the end of the 19th century was based on such stringent precision criteria that it was used by the Swiss Society of Chronometry (COSC) as the basis for its own certification system in 1973. These same values of precision and reliability shared by the measurement of time and temperature have inspired BALL Watch to create a watch that celebrates the memory of Anders Celsius.
This timepiece is included in the “Trainmaster” series with its models that naturally hark back to the first watches bearing the “BALL’s Standard” marking and which ensured the safety of trains thanks to their unparalleled accuracy. The Trainmaster Celsius has naturally been equipped with the BALL 9018 caliber including the TMT mechanical thermometer module. This function, developed and patented by BALL Watch, measures the outside temperature between -35°C and 45°C with an accuracy of 97% that only a mechanical thermometer can achieve. The thermometer readings are given in increments of 5°C in the half-moon shaped window at six o’clock on the dial.
BALL Watch produces its TMT module using bi-metallic materials of the highest quality. Bands are carefully wound, heat treated, cut according to very precise specifications, their ends folded and then laser welded. The plate and bridge are then custom-manufactured. BALL watchmakers place, decorate and then assemble the jewels and pins. The same procedure also applies to the patented screw adjustment system. This essential component ensures extremely high temperature measurement precision by stabilizing the position of the bi-metallic coil while still allowing it to expand or contract in response to the changing temperature.
The stainless steel case is set off with a crocodile leather strap with pin buckle. The dial and the hand are equipped with the luminescent technology developed by BALL Watch. Micro-tubes of 3H gas, requiring no external source of light or energy and 100 times more effective than conventional luminescent paint, ensure perfect legibility in the dark. As a final homage to the inventor of the modern temperature scale, the caseback bears the portrait of Anders Celsius.
Produced in a limited series of 310 units to commemorate the anniversary of Anders Celsius’s birth, the Trainmaster Celsius is the highest mark of esteem that BALL Watch Company could offer this exceptional scientist whose most renowned invention is still used in our day-to-day lives. Today, more than ever, BALL Watch is continuing its journey and asserting its role as a key protagonist in the evolution of watchmaking history.