Is there anything special about the last review of the year? It seems there should be. After making it through another journey around the sun and telling you about all the cool watches I encountered along the way, I feel like my final watch of 2023 should be more than just the last sample to cross my desk. It should be exceptional. It should say something about the year that passed. It should make you think, “2023 was a pretty good year for watches, and maybe I need to buy one more to ensure I enter 2024 brimming with watchy goodness.” And that, my friends, is why I have chosen to cap off 2023 with the Benrus Ultra-Deep.
In the American watch industry’s heyday, Benrus was an icon, producing a wide range of dress, sport, and tool watches for both the civilian and military markets. About four years ago, the brand was revived in its native New York City, remarkably occupying the original office suite. We at The Time Bum have followed Benrus’s growth ever since, reviewing the Heritage, the DTU-2A/P, and the Type II, each time applauding their efforts to resurrect the brand’s spirit and recreate iconic pieces from its rich history.
When Benrus first sold the Ultra-Deep in the 1960s, it was a serious diving instrument featuring a Swiss ETA automatic in a stainless steel EPSA case that was good for a claimed 666ft (200m) water resistance. When today’s Benrus team set their sights on this model, they wisely focused on improving its materials and construction to create a thoroughly modern tool watch that looks identical to the original. The new case is a correct 36.5mm wide and 41.5mm long. It maintains a true Supercompressor style with two big, crosshatched crowns to operate the hands and the internal bezel. Those old EPSAs were brilliant in their day, but dive watch technology has changed over the past 60 years, so the new Ultra-Deep features a screw-down crown at 4 o’clock and high-tech seals to ensure its 200m water resistance.
Benrus chose the Soprod P024 for the Ultra-Deep’s heart, a 28.8k bph automatic with a date wheel and a 38-hour power reserve. Based on the venerable ETA 2824-2, it is a sturdy, reliable unit that any competent watchmaker can rebuild in their sleep. As such, it is an excellent choice for a tool watch.
Like its ancestor, the Ultra-Deep reissue has chiseled lugs set 18mm apart that drop precipitously from the central barrel. Brushed surfaces, steep case sides, and the 90º angle of that fixed bezel let you know that this watch is ready to get down and dirty. At the same time, the few polished accents add a touch of visual interest, breaking it up just enough to prevent the otherwise stout case from appearing too blocky.
Topping it off is a gloriously tall, double-domed acrylic box crystal that brings the overall thickness to 13.8mm. Some of you are angrily pointing at my previous paragraph and wondering why Benrus did not upgrade to sapphire. I’d argue that sapphire is more prone to shatter on impact, and while it boasts excellent scratch resistance, you can’t just buff those scratches out by hand like you can with acrylic. More important (at least for me) is that acrylic has an entirely different aesthetic that is softer, warmer, and firmly rooted in the past. In my opinion, a ’60s reissue with a sapphire crystal will always lose a point, while one with acrylic will gain a point. Yes, I realize that view is highly subjective, and no, I cannot be talked out of it.
The folks at Benrus felt the same way, leading to one of the more challenging moments in the Ultra-Deep’s creation. As you undoubtedly noticed in the photos, the watch has an internal date magnifier. Now, I know full well that the Rolex Submariner, the god-emperor of diving watches, has a cyclops. I respect it as an integral part of the Roller’s DNA, but I don’t love it as a design feature. I have little need for the magnification and can’t get past the tumorous appearance of that extra external lens. An internal magnifier, on the other hand, is pretty damned cool. You get the bigger date, clean lines, and, if you like to play with off-axis angles like I do, some seriously trippy effects.
Chatting with the Benrus designers at Wind-up NYC, I learned this element became a giant pain in their collective posteriors. Internal magnifiers are not unheard of, but also not terribly common, and while the factory would have been happy to deliver it in sapphire, achieving the same in plastic was far more difficult. It took no small effort to get it right, and I think it makes the watch. Not only does the integrated acrylic lens create a pleasing effect, but it also cements the brand’s commitment to its history.
The Ultra-Deep’s dial is nearly identical to its forebearer’s in terms of its traditional diver’s layout and cathedral handset. Is that hour hand a little short? It is – just as it was back in the day, so deal with it. The minute hand is far more important for a diver, and it is perfect. The most significant deviation on the dial is the addition of potent C3 Super-LumiNova.
You will find the case back is polished and engraved. It may seem plain in a world where every other microbrand commissions a tiny work of art to press against your wrist, but that kind of decoration would have been out of character for this watch. As it stands, this case back is ten times fancier than you would have found back in the day.
Benrus ships the Ultra-Deep with a military-style nylon pass-through and a stainless steel bracelet. The nylon is navy blue and precisely what you would expect. It is a heavy weave with brushed hardware to match the head. It’s perfectly fine, but not the star of this show.
That honor goes to the jubilee-style bracelet. I love those rounded links and the smooth articulation they provide. Dual finishing reflects that of the case and cuts a handsome figure. Quick-release springbars are a nice modern upgrade, as is the signed, low-profile, push-button clasp. You can have a great deal of fun strap-swapping on this watch. Tropic rubber, old-school Perlon, or a vintage-style beads-of-rice bracelet would look equally at home on the Ultra-Deep, but I suspect you will eventually gravitate back to the excellent Jubilee.
On my 6.75″ wrist, the Benrus was an ideal fit. There is no mistaking its purposeful bearing, but the watch takes up little room on the wrist, and despite its height, it will slip easily under all but the tightest of buttoned cuffs. This is good because the Ultra-Deep looks pretty spiffy on the bracelet and begs to be dressed up a bit.
You can purchase a Benrus Ultra-Deep for $1,095 from the brand’s site and authorized dealers. That is right on the money for a watch of this caliber — indeed, maybe a bit of a bargain. After all, that crystal didn’t internally cyclops itself. It is also worth noting that the price is at least half of what good vintage Ultra-Deeps are going for, and I wouldn’t trust any of those around water, whereas the reissue can do whatever you like.
And there it is. My last review of 2023. It was all about history and attention to detail. It was about knowing what to improve and what to leave alone. It was about one of the most satisfying watches I’ve worn all year. If you love vintage divers, don’t want to spend a small fortune, and want to actually, dare I say, dive with it, then you need to get your hands on the Benrus Ultra-Deep. Head over to Benrus.com for more.
