Ball Watch Company recently debuted an illumination system that features the same high-powered tritium micro gas tubes they’ve used for years — implemented in an entirely new way.

Rather than placing the luminescent tubes directly on the dial, or using traditional lume for the bezel — Ball created an ingenious new design that places the self-powered H₃ tubes behind the dial markers, and underneath a sapphire crystal insert on the bezel. The result is a timepiece that maintains the company’s trademark illumination — but now with a more traditional aesthetic.

Presented in a 40 mm x 14.55 mm stainless steel case, the Engineer Hydrocarbon Original displays hours, minutes, central seconds, day, and date on a curved black dial. The bezel rotated unidirectional from 0-60. And while the hour markers and bezel feature the new lume system, the three hands utilize the traditional, fully visible micro tube design.

Ball makes professional timepieces and accordingly this model has a patented Amortiser® anti-shock system that results in a shock resistance rating of 7,500Gs. Additionally, the case also features a Mu-metal shield against magnetic fields to 80,000A/m (or 1,000 Guass as denoted on the dial).

Powering the time and date functions is an outsourced automatic Swiss movement that’s been COSC certified and is protected by a solid caseback,a  crown protection system, and a thick sapphire crystal on the front. The water resistance rating is 200 meters. (Ref. DM2118B-SCJ-BK)

The Engineer Hydrocarbon Original retails for $3,199 on a tapered stainless steel bracelet.

Learn more at Ball.