Founded in the USA in 1921 by Benjamin Lazrus and his two brothers, Benrus started life as a watchmaker’s shop in New York where it continued until the late ‘20s when the company transitioned into manufacturing watches by importing parts from Switzerland. Built on the back of the popularity of those watches, Benrus emerged as the watch of choice for soldiers within the US military, with their watches becoming synonymous with the Vietnam war and WWII.

Offered here, we have the Benrus Type II Class A US Military Dive Watch, built to appease the United States Department of Defense’s MIL-W-50717 standard, which was devised after the need for a more robust dive-orientated watch for military personnel was identified. Built for almost a decade from circa 1972 until 1980, these watches featured an asymmetrical monocoque bead-blasted stainless steel case, a black dial with large luminous Arabic numerals and triangular indices and hands that created its incredible legibility.

Featuring a caseback with the mil-spec number, manufacturer, NSN, manufacturer part number, contract number, production date, and serial number stamped into it, the Type II Dive Watch is a true military-issue piece of kit. Powered by the automatic Benrus cal. GS1D2, which is based on the ETA cal. 2620 but modified to military specifications to have hacking seconds, the Type 11 is as robust and capable as any other watch from its time.