Creativity in case design has been an extremely popular trend in collecting over the last 12 months. Although, there are many collectors that collect watches exclusively with cases that do not fit into the norm of case design. The one of the era’s of extreme creativity in case design was the 1950’s, although the 60’s and 70’s also had designers pushing the boundaries. Today, this could really be equated to some of the independent watchmakers who are reimaging watch cases.

Benrus was a brand that pushed the boundaries of traditional case design in the 1950’s. Benrus was founded in 1921 in New York by Benjamin Lazrus and his two brothers and took its name from the first syllable of his name and the last syllable of the family name. The three young men combined $5,000 in savings and started importing Swiss watch movements and casing them in New York City. They headquartered the fledgling company in the iconic Hippodrome building, nestled in the jewelry district and what is known to still be the “heart” of the City. Today, the company’s headquarters remains in the same location.

While the headquarters remain the same, Benrus does substantial amount of manufacturing in Switzerland. Benrus owns a factory in La Choux de Fond where watch movements are assembled. This was also the first major Swiss company that was run by a women.

Throughout their history, they produced significantly historic watches, like the Airman watch with it’s cut-corner case, their art-deco style full calendar watches, and the Sky Chief. The company also was extremely involved with World War II which lead to a huge amount of growth for the company. Benrus manufactured watches for serviceman, and also worked closely with the USA military to produce timing devices for use in bombs and weapons.

The Benrus covered today is a time-only piece with a beautiful honeycomb dial. Although some research is documented online about historical Benrus watches, There is sparse information about this particular piece. This Benrus was manufactured in the 1950’s. The watch has a 10k gold filled case that is 32mm in diameter. The case stands out because of its lug design. The watch features hooded lugs, that then twist seamlessly into the brown leather strap. The watch features an incredible honeycomb dial that has developed a warm hue over time. It has gold applied hour markers and signed Benrus name. The watch features its original crystal that has some light scratches. The watch runs on the caliber DN21 movement, based on the ETA 1280 movement.

The watch has an incredible presence on the wrist. Even the way the lugs sit on the wrist leads to an interesting experience for the wearer. It also is eye-catching - it is not the typical shape of a watch and so the eyes are drawn to it. With a closer look, one sees the honeycomb dial. Honeycomb dials were extremely popular during the 1950’s and is a technique whereby a pattern is applied to the dial using machinery, often referred to as ‘tapisserie’ ante litteram. This dial pattern can be seen on many vintage watches including vintage Omega’s and vintage Rolex Explorer’s.

Watches tell stories. By the way they look and the adventures they go on. Although documented history of this particular reference from Benrus is hard to find, what isn’t hard is to wear this incredible watch. The lugs and honeycomb dial make wearing this watch exciting and such a pleasure.

Enjoy!