2023 Benrus Sea Lord Classic Diver Black Automatic 39mm
Ref: Sea Lord
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : Manufacturer Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with its original Belrus box and paperwork. The watch comes paired with its original quick-release 20mm Belrus Tropic rubber strap with a signed pin buckle. The watch is from Circa. 2023 and is sold in worn condition, but overall is in very fair condition, likely worn only a handful of times, as you can see from the photographs. The watch comes with its Manufacturer's Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gB7YJ7FhICi_RKDkReM_ji4LxNt2i_kN?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 28:24 - https://youtu.be/umDC096ToZY
The Watch
Here we have a 2023 Benrus Sea Lord Classic Diver Black Automatic, a modern reinterpretation of their classic diver with a contemporary 39mm brushed stainless steel case that sits on your wrist with angled straight-ended lugs, and a lug-to-lug length of 45mm and a case thickness of 12mm give the watch an impressive wrist presence. On the right side is a signed screw-down crown with deep knurling for extra grip. The unidirectional stainless steel bezel has a coin edge for grip and a black ceramic 60-minute Dive insert coated in a cream Super-LumiNova BW G9. A flat sapphire crystal sits above a matte black dial, an outer minute track surrounds the disc and baton indexes, slender baton hands are coated in the same cream Super-LumiNova BW G9 for that vintage aesthetic, at noon we have the Benrus motif and at 6 o’clock “Sea Lord'' complete this vintage-inspired dive watch. On the reverse a screw-down case back with the details of the watch around its edge and the Benrus coats of arms in the centre, a nice nod to their original Sea Lord. Inside an automatic Soprod P024, 25 jewels, beating at 28,800 beats per hour, based on the ETA 2824-2, it has hand winding and hacking seconds for your convenience. The watch comes paired with its original quick-release 20mm Belrus Tropic rubber strap with a signed pin buckle, and this watch is sold with its original Belrus box and paperwork.
Personal Note
If great value is what you are after in a watch then look no further, this Benrus Sea Lord Classic Diver offers a ton of value for your money under £500 and still provides you with history and heritage! I think this watch would also make a fantastic gift for someone into watches or a complete newcomer to the watch world, it could very easily be the "gateway watch" to get someone into this wonderful hobby.
The Brand
Benrus was founded in 1921 by Benjamin Lazrus and his two brothers in New York. The brand name is made up of the first syllable of his name and the last syllable of the family name. With $5,000 in savings, they started importing Swiss watch cases and movements. Their headquarters can still be found in the Hippodrome building which sits in the heart of the Jewellery quarter of the city. During the 1940s their Sky Chief which is a combination of a pilot watch and their first chronograph became popular with the growing number of airlines and airline pilots around the world. The DTU-2A (MIL-W-3818) field watch was a common sight during the Vietnam War in both steel and later plastic. The use of plastic meant they could just throw away the watch when broken rather than get it repaired, something that is very much frowned upon today. The development of their 666ft compressor dive watches began in the 1960s. In 1968 the late Steve McQueen wore a Belrus watch in his film “Bullitt ''. Today their military field and dive watches can be seen worn by members of the Navy Seals and special operations, at the height of the ' 'quartz crisis'' in 1977 BENRUS declared bankruptcy. Their intellectual property was bought and sold many times over the years until the company rights were bought in lote 2017 by their former principal's solicitor Michael Sweeney who heads an investment group that has begun reviving some of their classic watches as part of the Heritage range. In 2021 they celebrated their 100th Anniversary.