Ball Caliber RR1103 Watch Movement

Brand	Ball
Caliber Number	RR1103, RR1103-C
In-House?	No
Base Caliber	ETA 2824-2 or Sellita SW200-1 (see below)
Movement Type	Automatic, self-winding mechanical
Lignes	11.5”’
Diameter	25.6mm
Thickness	4.6mm
Power Reserve	~38 hours
Jewels	25 or 26 (see below)
Vibrations Per Hour	28,800 bph, 4Hz
Lift Angle	50 degrees
Shock Protection	Incabloc
Regulator	Etachron
Rotor Type	Ball bearing
Rotor Winding Direction	Bi-directional
Hand-Windable?	Yes
Hand Winding Direction	Clockwise
Hacking?	Yes
Functions	Central hours, central minutes, central sweeping seconds, date at 3:00 (could be different depending on the date window cutout on the dial)
Country of Manufacture	Switzerland, Swiss made
Known Models	Engineer II Pioneer (ref: NM2026C-S4CAJ-SL), Engineer Master II Skindiver II (ref: DM3108A-SCJ-BK), Ball Fireman NECC (ref: DM3090A-SJ-BE), Ball Engineer II Magneto S (ref: NM3022C-N1CJ-BK) (Add your watch in the comments below…)

The Ball caliber RR1103 is a Swiss made automatic watch movement. It is not manufactured by Ball, and can be based on either an ETA 2824-2 or Sellita SW200-1.

Some of the topics covered in this caliber listing:

25 or 26 Jewels?

You may have noticed that the official Ball site says this about the caliber RR1103:

“Jewels: 25 or 26 (depending on the execution)” –source

The difference in execution that they are referring to depends on whether the base movement is an ETA 2824-2 or Sellita SW200-1 (a clone of the ETA 2824-2). If the rotor on your watch says 25 jewels, it is powered by the 2824-2. If it says 26 jewels, it has the SW200-1.

Note: If you look closely at the image Ball uses for the RR1103, it is an ETA 2428-2.

Ball Caliber RR1103-C:

Ball only lists the calibre RR1103 in their catalog of movements, but some watches are listed as having the RR1103-C. The C appears to designate RR1103 powered watches that are using chronometer grade movements.

Ball Caliber RR1103-CSL:

Similar to the caliber RR1103-C above, the RR1103-CSL movements are chronometer grade, but also have Ball’s patented SpringLOCK technology to protect the hairspring against shocks.

Incabloc Anti-Shock:

All of the examples we’ve seen so far of the Ball RR1103 are using Incabloc anti-shock devices. This can give some insight as to the grades they are using for the non-chronometer movements, and also possibly some insight as to whether they do any modifications on their own (other than the custom decorated rotor). If you have an RR1103 with Novodiac anti-shock, please post it in the comments below.

Additional Resources: