Ok. Check this one out. I know there are mostly Omega fans here but this just came in today. I have seen many Benrus Type I's in my day but never one like this. Odd dial and hands. Obviously old and an original Benrus diver. Dial is a little concave with strange markers. Judging by the age, if it has been repainted, it was a long time ago. Benrus ETA movement is correct. Not a reproduction as I have seen many of those. Solid case back. Crystal is mounted as originals (I have one). Only a serial number on the back. Nothing inside the case (as originals). Spring bars are not fixed and don't appear to ever have been as the originals bore all the way through then finish applied with the solid bars in place. The hole is not a bore through design. No dates anywhere. Curious. Prototype? Anyway, check out the pics and give me your opinion. I'm going to throw another ETA in there now and clean this one up later (stem rust, yuk).
Doubt it's a prototype; more likely a "sterile watch" commissioned by the CIA or other black ops. Zaf has one on sale that looks very much like this one: http://www.classicwatch.com/vintage-military-watches/ Could be worth some serious coin, if his price is what the market is commanding. If you can find out the story behind it, you may have a watch that has secrets to tell...or was that dead men tell no secrets?
Isn't anything with no manufacturer text on the dial "sterile"? I'd love to see any evidence that the first generation of these had no mil marking meant it was designed for covert use but it seems like an imaginative tale that has taken hold. Oh and cool project / rescue. Looking forward to seeing pics when you bring it back to life.
A bit of digging around brings up a credible explanation; I see that I was caught by a good watch nerd "urban legend". I can also see that such stories can drive up the price considerably! http://wornandwound.com/2015/09/30/benrus-type-i-and-type-ii-mil-w-50717-military-dive-watches/
Did I ever mention I hate 2 piece stems? Doinked a couple somewhere in my office. Anyway. Found a nice donor movement from a Hamilton. No hacking . Piece of paint fell off. I've found that it is better to leave them off than to try and reattach. Crown doesn't screw down but is tight.....enough. Original parts lovingly tucked away and will wear this as one of my daily "beaters" with a full restoration on the calendar someday. $100 ebay find. Not bad! Sorry about the focus. Getting late. Going to bed.
Haven't checked in years. Priceless to me. Last time I found one, they were around $3K for a nice example. Soooo many people making homage versions and with Benrus coming back alive and producing a good looking version for $1.6K. . https://www.benrus.com/
The type 1s shot up in recent months. They were 3k like beginning of last year. Last few I’ve seen were between 4.5-5.5k, seem to be going up. Sterile probably a bit more. They have to have the right crystal and insert though for the top prices.
FIFY. There was a crazy eBay auction recently where an ordinary one went for $9k. I wouldn't bet on that price holding up though.
Sterile military issue watches reminded me that at one time Airforce survival kits included civilian type watches with no military markings to be used as trade goods if stranded in third world or back country rural settings. IIRC these were of European manufacture with Swiss movements, rather nondescript in appearance. These were packed along with gold coins and/or gold chain links. Things of value but not quickly identifiable as being of USA origin. I suppose if a downed pilot were to don civilian clothing to avoid detection such a watch would would be better to wear than an obvious US Milspec watch.
Yup, totally. The good news is if you don’t care about a mm on the crystal or the dimple on the crown they might be sane.
If I only could find production volumes. The article says BIG government contract for Benrus. What's big?
Little reliable info out there that I have found, but the MIL-W-50717 spec contract ran from early '70's to 1984.
