The Ultimate Halloween Watch: 2022

Right off the bat, I know what you’re thinking — a watch in orange and black, or a novelty character dial, or a classic costume pairing.  Well, I hate to disappoint.  Those tricks may be for kids, but here we’re treating you to something different.  A little devilish.  Macabre even.  After all, isn’t Halloween all about confronting the unknown and celebrating the occult?

So if you’re prepared to face this Hallow’s Eve head on (or off…!), we just may have a watch story to take you to the other side and back — perhaps a bit wise for the wear.  Zombies love a fresh wrist.

We began this magical mystery tour last year on the heels of a ghoulish pandemic — seemed like a good time to face the demons.  And so the Ultimate Halloween Watch 2021 was born, or resurrected, with really just one criterion: that it captures the true essence of Halloween.

In the case of the Gruen Watch Company that meant the ability to look death in the eye and wink.

A watch can really do that?  Sure can.  Read the whole story here, but in brief: as Gruen Watch Company was preparing for its impending closure it had one last production from its Time Hill factory in Cincinnati.  And as it turned out, one last trick up its sleeve — as it released the most fierce, rebellious, yes bad-ass design of any mid-century model.

Originally named the Barclay, history rightly anointed it the Spider. The 30 mm 10K gold case houses the 21 jewel Cincinnati calibre 335 movement — the only US-made movement Gruen would produce — and crawls along your wrist with the name-defining twisted leg lugs.  Pure elegance with a piercing bite.

Ok, perhaps you buy that watch story with a “deeper meaning” Halloween connection.  But could there possibly be another one?

Well dust off that old flashlight, come circle ’round the campfire once more, and hear the tale of Benrus Watches.

Founded in New York in 1921 by Benjamin Lazrus and brothers (that Lazrus namesake foreshadowing an eventual rise from the dead for this company), Benrus quickly ascended to prominence among Swiss-importer watch brands.

Just as the aviation industry was taking off in the 1920s-30s both commercially and among public imagination, Bernus capitalized on that lift with celebrity marketing campaigns, “Charles Lindbergh wears a Benrus,” and promptly garnered name-brand recognition for their Airman model as the “official watch of National Air Transport” — later to become United Airlines.

Soon other airlines followed suit, and by the 1940s the new Benrus Sky Chief was on so many pilot’s wrists it earned the moniker, “Official Watch of Famous Airlines.”  By the way, hard to find a better-hidden gem vintage triple calendar.

 

By the 1960s Benrus had found its way into the halls of power — becoming a custom-made gift for John F. Kennedy at the 1963 Democratic National Convention.

 

But its star shined brightest in 1968 when it reached peak zeitgeist on the wrist of the Steve McQueen in the detective thriller Bullitt.  This film flexed its might: Steve McQueen as the “King of Cool” highest-paid actor in the world, the Ford Mustang GT 390 at its prime in 1960’s dark green, and a San Francisco car chase scene so influential it would be copied for generations (see, Nicholas Cage in The Rock).

On McQueen’s wrist during these fast and furious moves up and down Lombard Street was the Benrus #3061 — a civilian version of the battle-tested Vietnam War era Benrus models GG-W-113 and Mil-W-3818B.  Recall too that McQueen performed his own stunts — he himself an avid motorcycle and race car driver, as well as a former member of the US Marine Corps.

Hard to think of a character with more death-defying swagger.

If this combination of cars, watches, and famous actors sounds a bit familiar — he and Paul Newman were contemporaries and well-known rivals, frequently clashing with studio executives for top billing.  Given the astronomical success (and price hike) of models like the Paul Newman Daytona, it might seem curious that the Benrus Bullit hasn’t received more enthusiast acclaim.

One potential reason is that while Rolex and other Swiss brands enjoyed post-WWII commercial success, most brands from elsewhere entered a 1960’s death spiral, including US brands like Benrus, Gruen, and Waltham among others.  So to find an original Benrus #3061 you would have to scour eBay and the like or navigate the minefield of the preowned market.

 

For an even deeper dive — and hit to your wallet — you could entertain the Benrus #3061 Wrist Alarm. Aesthetically it’s a dead-ringer for the traditional #3061, and based on the near-giddy response to the Omega Chrono Chime, this might be the right time to invest in things that go ping.

For the Bum Faithful you may prefer the budget-friendly and character-rich Vietnam-era US military field watches: covered here in great detail.  These troopers match the #3061 with rather few differences from the civilian model: no Benrus script, no red tip on the second hand, less shiny case.

But this Halloween something has risen from the dead.

After decades in hibernation, in 2014 Benrus became the latest “zombie brand” to return with a full legal trademark and they’ve been resurrecting greatest hits ever since.  Lazrus would be so proud.

They began with their iconic 1970’s Type 1 and Type 2 divers, then moved to the DTU-2A Vietnam era field watch.  Now the King of Cool has returned with the re-issue Benrus #3061.  And they absolutely killed it.

First, they got all the little things right — good sizing at 39.5 mm x 12 mm, no fake lume, no date window, no modernized logo that looks out of place.  Basically a faithful rendition of the original #3061 now in modern proportions with a solid Soprod P024 hacking movement and at the right price of $595 USD.

 

 

But they captured the mythology too.  Maybe minor changes like a red-tipped second hand and Benrus script shouldn’t make that much of a difference — but in the watch world, they do.  Here Benrus has a live one that makes you feel like you’re careering in a sports car around a tight bend, or firing on all cylinders in hot pursuit, or yes — dodging a bullet.

There you have it, the Ultimate Halloween Watch 2022: an iconic field watch with death-defying swagger from a zombie brand exhuming relics from the crypt.