Horological Meandering

cazalea
[Seiko Moderator]
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Benrus origins?

In the 1920’s “three Romanian immigrant brothers, Benjamin, Oscar, and Ralph, launched watch company Benrus in New York with their combined $5,000 savings. Benrus imported Swiss movements to the United States and put them into cases in New York. They soon connected with celebrities like Babe Ruth and Charles Lindbergh. The affordable watch brand soon began competing with American watch manufacturers like Bulova and Hamilton.”
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“1964 brought a large win for the company as they were given a government contract to create the field watch for U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War. These watches were created in both steel and plastic and worn by the military through the late 1960s.”
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The DTU-2A Vietnam Field Watch, one of the most popular military-grade watches, was made in 1964 through the mid-Seventies. These watches come in steel and plastic, and the MIL-W-4634 version is thought to be the first military watch made from plastic.





Perhaps the most collectible of all vintage Benrus watches is their 1970s military dive watch series, the iconic Type I and Type II. These two dive watches were adopted by the elite forces of the United States military during the Vietnam War, and were never sold to the public, making them both difficult to find and highly collectible.
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From its modest beginning, Benrus was family-owned until 1967. Before being sold, the company tried to take over the Hamilton Watch Company which was based in Switzerland. They did so by purchasing a large quantity of Hamilton stock. This move was countered in court and Benrus lost its hold on Hamilton (now part of the Swatch Group).

Victor Kiam purchased Benrus in 1967. He is most famous for his later purchase of Remington Products Company in 1979.

Kiam was a prep school classmate of future President George Herbert Walker Bush. After serving in the US Navy and attending Yale, the Sorbonne, and Harvard Business School, Kiam worked for Lever Brothers and Playtex. He bought the Benrus Watch Company in 1968.

He also made a fortune as owner of Remington Products, which he purchased in 1979 after his wife bought him his first electric shaver. Kiam unintentionally became its spokesman due to his catchy phrase, "I liked it so much, I bought the company" which made him a household name.

This early example of a leveraged buyout helped Remington, which had lost $30 million in the previous three years, make a profit in his first year as owner.

Kiam held Benrus for a decade and competed against Japanese watch companies by diversifying into military pieces and costume jewelry. Despite this, he filed for bankruptcy in 1977 which led to a joint venture with the Wells & Roka Watch Company.

During this joint venture, watches were marketed under both Benrus and Sovereign names. In 1981 Benrus filed for bankruptcy again, and in 1984 changed its name to Wells-Benrus Corporation.

Shortly thereafter, Clinton Watch Company of Chicago purchased Benrus and renamed itself the Benrus Watch Company. This spread the Benrus brand into big-name department stores.

After various subsequent owners, the Benrus seemed to have reached its end … but a group of investors relaunched the popular brand in 2017. Benrus trademarks now reside with Benrus Holdings, LLC.

Sources:
Vintage Benrus: Identification & Value Guide by Megan Cooper

Benrus Watch Identification & Price Guide by Noname Antiques

Wikipedia

Cazalea