Ball Watch’s New Ice Blue Roadmaster Rescue Chronograph Presents a Glacial Colourway

Glaciers provide ripe inspiration for watchmakers. Giant rivers of flowing ice that capture the imagination of adventurers and designers alike. There have already been a surprising number of watches with glacier themed dials in 2022, including the Montblanc Iced Sea and Seiko ‘Save the Ocean’ 2022 Collection. Joining that list is the new ice blue Roadmaster Rescue Chronograph from Ball Watch Company, a watch designed for rescue operations on a glacier.

The Roadmaster Rescue Chronograph itself debuted last year but this update introduces two new colourways. One version has a full ice blue dial while the other’s vertically stacked, bicompax subdials are dark blue, matching the colour of the ceramic, unidirectional rotating bezel. The way light plays across the dial and circular guilloché subdials is reminiscent of light shining through a block of ice.

Both of the new versions feature the signature titanium case with a diameter of 41mm, which makes it light weight and durable. Well, durable might be an understatement since the Roadmaster has been designed to take an absolute beating with shock resistant protection up to 5000G. Vital in high pressure environments, such as mountain and glacier rescue, when your watch simply must not fail and you can’t afford to drop the ball. Although, I suppose with shock resistance as high as this, you actually could drop this Ball.

In addition to its robustness, what makes the ice blue Roadmaster Rescue Chronograph suited to the role of glacier rescue is its combination of functions. Namely its chronograph complication consisting of chronograph seconds, a 30-minute timer and a 12-hour timer. When it comes to surviving in freezing conditions, a few minutes can be the difference between life and death, so it’s important for rescuers to have an accurate picture of the timeframe they’re working with. Plus, thanks to Ball’s innovative micro gas tubes it’s totally legible in low light conditions.

Another important function of the Roadmaster is the Pulsometer scale, a function typically used by doctors for determining the pulse rate of a patient. In the context of this watch, it allows the rescuer to establish the condition of any survivors and take immediate action that may be required.

Housed inside is the Ball RR1402 as automatic movement based on the ETA 7750 with 42-hour power reserve. However, what’s impressive is that this movement is better protected than Fort Knox. As well as its 5000G shock resistance, the calibre features special cold resistant oil that will continue to operate at temperatures of -45°C and on top that, it’s also magnetic resistant to 4,800 A/m.

Both versions of the Ball ice blue Roadmaster Rescue Chronograph are priced at £2,200 and limited to 1,000 pieces each. Although, if it takes your fancy, pre-ordering it before 21 September will give you a discounted price of £1,590, savings that can’t be overlooked easily.