Short lugs keep the overall length to just 47.5mm, providing an appropriately sporty yet not overwhelming wrist presence, even small-wristed fellows like myself (6.75″). More importantly, it is a perfectly appropriate modern substitute for the original, also an ETA-based movement.Ĭounting its tall, double-domed sapphire crystal, the Type II is a stout 15mm thick. It has a 28.8k BPH sweep and a 38-hour power reserve. Like its other Swiss competitors, the Soprod is based on the rock-solid ETA 2824 architecture. Inside this vault hums a Swiss Soprod PO24 automatic. Benrus has even stamped the same government-issue caseback inscription, updated with your watch’s build date and serial number. It has the same finished and same distinctive asymmetric shape, bulging on the right side to swallow its sizable crown. The new Type II’s case is spot-on, although it has a removable caseback. Given that these were tool watches that were likely “rode hard and put away wet,” survivors have become relatively rare, making the prospect of a reissue highly appealing. That’s right, when your watchmaker needed to service the Swiss automatic movement, he entered from the front. They were imposing units for the time, featuring sandblasted stainless steel cases that measured 42.5mm wide and were sealed for over 300m water resistance thanks to a screw-down crown and a monocoque design. Both watches were identical except for the dial, so if you want a Time Bum review of the Type I, just picture this very watch with a diver’s layout, and you’ll get the gist of it. The Type II (and its sibling Type I) both came from the US Government MIL-W-50717 specification for a heavy-duty dive and field watch. We have already reviewed the outstanding DTU-2A/P reissue of the 1960s vintage field watch, and today we’ve got the Benrus Type II field/dive watch first issued in the 1970s. After all, when you have a brand with a history as storied and respected as Benrus, you’d be crazy not to reach into the vault and retrieve some of the most beloved watches America has ever produced.
In 2020, Benrus Watches launched its first model as a newly resurrected brand, and while the Heritage Field Watch was nice, I lamented the fact that the brand had not started off with something closer to its roots.
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