Founded in 1921 in New York, Benrus was once a player among the major American watch companies and produced a range of timepieces throughout its history. Benrus aimed to produce affordable watches by importing movements from various sources, and became especially known for its military watches. The name Benrus is a combination of the first and last syllables of its founder’s name, Benjamin Lazrus, who started the company with his two brothers.
Benrus (not to be confused with the modern microbrand Benarus) changed hands several times and survived the Quartz Crisis in name only, but the brand’s legacy has lived on in some sense via homages such as MKII’s Paradive. The brand’s military field and dive watches, particularly the field watch produced under military contract during the 1960s and the Type I and II divers, represent the brand to many vintage fans today. While the below three dive watches don’t quite have the awesome story of the Type I and II that was designed for the likes of special operations personnel and naval UDT divers in the Vietnam War, they still offer window to this interesting brand’s history.
Benrus Citation
What We Like:
Though the Citation name of this 1960s dive watch sounds odd, it is apparently named after a famous racehorse of the time. It’s got a cool turtle-like case shape, an automatic movement, a “cyclops” magnifier over the date, and an unmistakeable look representative of an era that now provides so much design inspiration for modern brands.
From the Seller: Overall this watch is in very good condition considering its age.
