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. 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. Well, the folks at Benrus are no fools. 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.
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. 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. 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. That’s right, when your watchmaker needed to service the Swiss automatic movement, he entered from the front.
MIL-W-50717 saw service from 1972 through 1980. 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. The new Type II’s case is spot-on, although it has a removable caseback. It has the same finished and same distinctive asymmetric shape, bulging on the right side to swallow its sizable crown. Benrus has even stamped the same government-issue caseback inscription, updated with your watch’s build date and serial number.
Inside this vault hums a Swiss Soprod PO24 automatic. Like its other Swiss competitors, the Soprod is based on the rock-solid ETA 2824 architecture. It has a 28.8k BPH sweep and a 38-hour power reserve. More importantly, it is a perfectly appropriate modern substitute for the original, also an ETA-based movement.
Counting its tall, double-domed sapphire crystal, the Type II is a stout 15mm thick. 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″). At least this is true when it is worn with the supplied two-piece, 20mm strap. This brings us to the only significant departure from the original specs: the lug bars. Where the originals were fixed, the new models are not, allowing the use of spring bars and two-piece straps. You could, of course, fit it with a period-correct nylon pass-through but I honestly cannot imagine why you would do such a thing. The Benrus strap is a thick and smooth seatbelt-style nylon weave. It has quick-release pins, a sturdy signed buckle, and it is exceptionally comfortable.
Like the original, the reissue’s black dial is all business. It has a most traditional field watch manner featuring Arabic numerals, triangular markers, and an inner track for 24-hour time, all printed in bright white. BWG9 SuperLuminova lights up the hands, hour markers, and bezel triangle, which makes this a reissue of the Class A field watch. Back in the day, there was also a more stealthy no-lume Class B, but I suspect there would be few modern buyers for that one.
Bezel action is firm and precise, just as you would expect. The insert is engraved aluminum that has such a deep gloss I mistook it for ceramic — another improvement on the original — and engraved with both minute markers (to 20) and 12 hours so it can function as a poor man’s GMT. Given that it is a field watch, its bidirectional travel makes perfect sense.
A quick search of vintage Type I and II watches shows some well-worn watches starting at about $3000 and quality survivors climbing steeply from there. By comparison, the Type II reissue’s list price of $1,495 is quite reasonable, if not exactly cheap. Sure, you could get a reasonable facsimile of the Type II elsewhere (I’d vote for the $485, Seiko-powered Dagaz Cav-1), but there is a big difference between a close homage and near-identical reissue. For me, Benrus’s price is justified by both its heritage and its faithfulness to the original.
You can buy a Type II Reissue directly from Benrus. It arrives in a neat little zippered canvas pouch. Additional straps are offered for $25-35, and they offer a 15% discount to current and former military, first responders, medical professionals, teachers, and non-profit owners or employees.
Ok, Benrus, now do a 1:1 reissue of the 1940s Sky Chief!
