BENRUS TYPE 1 M1 Review

BENRUS is a brand that I've always had an interest in but never spent any time with their watches. Benrus is probably best known for their connection to the United States military supplying watches for such large conflicts as World War II and the Vietnam War. Being a big fan of military, field and pilot's watches, BENRUS watches and their no nonsense designs really appeal to me.

BENRUS was found by brothers Benjamin, Oscar and Ralph Lazrus is New York City in 1921. The name BENRUS was created by using the beginning of Benjamin's name along with the end of his last name. Benjamin brought his eye for design to the brand, while Oscar's talents were in advertising and Ralph excelled at sales.



BENRUS created their watches by importing high quality Swiss movements and putting them in American made cases. A key to the early success had by BENRUS stemmed from their use of celebrity spokespeople. Notable names that promoted BENRUS watches were Charles Lindbergh and Babe Ruth. Using such titans of pop culture gave BENRUS the sense of adventure and success. The strategy paid of well and BENRUS was seen by early watch buyers as being both reliable and desirable.

World War II proved to be a defining movement for BENRUS when the United States military requested that the brand become an official supplier of timepieces during the war. After the war BENRUS watches were now also viewed as being durable enough to withstand the rigors of combat. This was just the start of BENRUS watches being used on the battlefield. The Vietnam War of the 1960s saw the BENRUS DTU-2A/P become a standard issue timepiece to American soldiers. BENRUS would also create TYPE 1 and TYPE 2 watches for elite military units that were not available to the public and thus increased their desirability with collectors.



Besides military pieces, BENRUS also had extremely popular watches designed for the civilian population like the Sky Chief, which was a luxury pilot's watch that became extremely popular with both recreational and professional aviators. BENRUS was also known for experimenting with complications, like the jumping hour found on the Dial-o-Rama.

As with many mechanical watch brands, BENRUS found themselves struggling to stay in business during the quartz crisis of the 1970s. Cheap and extremely accurate Japanese watches powered by quartz technology pretty much erased the need for a mechanical watch except for collectors passionate about horology. After BENRUS changed ownership a few times, the brand finally filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations.

BENRUS made its comeback in early 2025 with the re-launch of several classic models including the DTU-2A/P as well as the Type 1 and Type 2 watches. While the designs are faithful to their decades old forefathers, the new BENRUS watches have been updated for the new century. Headlining the list of modern upgrades includes new Swiss made ETA movements, superior water resistance and modern luminous material. Led by industry veterans like Michael Sweeney and Vincent Perriard, BENRUS is set up to have a long lasting return to the watch world. The brand just opened a new manufacturing facility in La Chaux-de-Fonds that is poised to help BENRUS ramp up production and meet increasing demand.





Initial Thoughts

BENRUS recently released their TYPE 1 M1 a few weeks ago and the watch instantly struck a chord with me. The watch has the classic TYPE 1 look and features a stunning champagne dial and NATO style fabric strap. I instantly reached out to the brand to see if we could get a sample in for review and they agreed.

When the watch arrived the first thing I noticed about the TYPE 1 M1 was the fantastic dial. Traditionally TYPE 1 watches featured no branding on the dial, but the TYPE 1 M1 is a more civilian focused watch and has a bold BENRUS logo at 12 o'clock. The color of the dial can look anywhere from a pale champagne to a full rose gold depending on the light. To add a bit more charm there is sunray finishing that radiates out from the center of the dial.

Pulling away the fabric strap shows off the nicely finished ETA 2892 complete with a custom skeletonized BENRUS branded winding rotor. A display caseback is something you would never see on a military spec watch, so it's nice that BENRUS used a sapphire display window to show off the movement on the TYPE 1 M1. There is also no water resistance penalty for using a display back, with a full 200 meters of water resistance still available. The ETA 2892 has been around forever and is a total workhorse of a movement. Modified versions of the 2892 power two of my personal favorite watches in the IWC GST Aquatimer 2000 as well as the Porsche Design by IWC Ocean 2000.



The last thing I noticed during my initial time with the BENRUS TYPE 1 M1 was just the overall build quality of the watch. Besides the sides of the case and top of the crown being polished, the TYPE 1 M1 just looks like a solid tool watch. The heft of the watch along with the precise ratcheting of the uni-direction bezel make me feel like the watch would be just at home being worn on a special Ops mission as it would being on my wrist eating lunch out. The TYPE 1 M1 is the kind of watch you just get a feeling that it can take a beating and not be any worse for wear.



Technical Specifications

Now that we've gone over the history of BENRUS along with going over my initial thoughts of the TYPE 1 M1, let's now take a look at the technical specifications of the watch. The TYPE 1 M1 is crafted out of stainless steel and has a case diameter of 44 mm (measured from 50 minutes to 20 minutes) and a lug to lug length of 49.4 mm. On our scale the watch weighed in at 97 grams on the fabric strap and at its thickest point was 13.7 mm tall.



The TYPE 1 M1 uses a double domed sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating on both sides. Even with such a domed sapphire crystal there are never really any instances of distortion when looking through the crystal. Underneath the crystal clear sapphire is the star of the show in the champagne colored dial. As I spoke about earlier, the dial radiates out from the center of the dial in a sunray pattern. The TYPE 1 M1 uses a mixture of applied bar and circle hour markers that are coated with BW G9 Super-Luminova that glow a brilliant green in low light. The three centrally mounted hands, being hours, minutes and seconds, also are coated with matching lume. The hour and minute hands are fence post style and the seconds hand is tipped with an arrow and red tip. One super interesting detail about the seconds hand is that it is fully lumed. Typically you just see the tip of the seconds hand having lume on it.

Around the outside of the dial is a black printed minute track with each 5 minute interval being done in a thicker black bar. Like mentioned earlier, the TYPE 1 M1 abandons the non-branded TYPE 1 aesthetic and has the BENRUS logo done in bold at 12 o'clock. At 6 o'clock you have "200M 660FT" and "Automatic" along with "Swiss Made". Overall the dial takes the classic black and white look of the TYPE 1 dial and makes it a bit softer and inviting for non-military collectors.



The TYPE 1 M1 features a uni-directional rotating bezel with a dive scale. The bezel requires 120 clicks to complete a full rotation which is a nice step up from the standard 60 click bezels seen on dive watches. The insert of the bezel is done in high gloss black ceramic and the dive scale markers and numbers are all covered with luminous material the glow a matching green to the dial elements in low light. Each turn of the bezel creates a satisfying click and there is absolutely zero back play in the bezel. To be honest, the bezel on the TYPE 1 M1 might be the tightest bezel I've had the pleasure of playing with recently. The bezel is also scalloped nicely and offers great grip.

Being a military based tool watch you'd expect the finishing of the TYPE 1 M1 to be fully brushed. Just like the champagne dial added a bit of fun to the all business look of the TYPE 1, the sides of the case on the TYPE1 M1 are polished to add a bit of luxury to the watch. Looking at the profile of the case, you can also see the gentle curve of the case that follows the shape of your wrist.

The right hand side of the watch features once again a nicely scalloped screw-down crown that is polished on its top. The screw-down crown aids in the 200 meters of water resistance as well. Once the crown has been un-screwed the automatic movement can manually be wound in its resting position. Since there is no date on the TYPE 1 M1 there is only one additional crown position. Pulling the crown out to position one stops the seconds hand and lets you set the time. Pushing the crown back in causes no jump in the minutes hand and screwing the crown back in takes no extra care to get the crown to catch.



Flipping the watch over reveals the screwed in caseback complete with a sapphire crystal display window. There are engravings around the outside of the caseback with all the important information about the watch. Through the sapphire window you can see the Swiss made ETA 2892 automatic movement which is topped by a custom BENRUS branded skeletonized winding rotor.

THE ETA 2892 has been a staple in the mechanical watch market for decades. This movement can be worked on by just about any local watchmaker and parts are readily available. The ETA 2892 has a power reserve of 42 hours and beats away at 28,800 vph (4Hz). On our timegrapher the movement showed an accuracy of +3 seconds per day when averaged out over several positions. This is amazing accuracy and within chronometer specifications.



The BENRUS TYPE 1 M1 comes on a champagne colored NATO styled fabric strap with a satin finished pin buckle. The lug width on the TYPE 1 M1 is 20 mm and with that being the most common lug width you can pair the TYPE 1 M1 with practically unlimited amounts of aftermarket straps if the original strap isn't to your tastes. There is no taper to the strap and even though the strap goes underneath the case, not much extra height is added to the watch on wrist. The strap is extremely comfortable and did a great job of keeping the watch centered on the wrist.



On The Wrist

The lug to lug length of the BENRUS TYPE 1 M1 is right under my preferred lug to lug length of 50 mm by a fraction of a millimeter. This means that the watch is basically the exact size I like for my personal watches. The TYPE 1 M1 actually fits my wrist perfectly and there is no overhang from the lugs and it covers my wrist nicely. The watch never favored one side of my wrist over the other either, which is something I cannot stand.



Typically I'm not the biggest fan of NATO styled straps, but the one on the TYPE 1 M1 was really very enjoyable to wear. I'm not sure if it was that the strap color complimented the dial so well, or if there were no other options of straps available in the box, so I just forced myself to stick with the NATO and ended up liking it. NATO styled straps along with Velcro straps are probably the most comfortable and lightest weight straps types available. Even with being a lightweight strap, the fabric strap was able to keep the larger stainless steel case from feeling top heavy.

The BENRUS TYPE 1 M1 only weighs 97 grams when paired with the fabric strap making it a true delight to have on wrist. This made the TYPE 1 M1 a true pleasure as a wrist companion when running day to day errands as well as going out to dinner and drinks. Being under 100 grams the watch pretty much disappears on wrist and is only there when needed.



To test legibility I use a simple test of trying to tell the time at a glance while driving. In this test dive watches do the best with their focus on high legibility and skeleton watches typically do worst since aesthetics come first. While not technically a dive watch, the TYPE 1 M1 can be a serviceable diver with large lumed indices and hands as well as a uni-directional rotating bezel. While the contrast between the champagne dial and yellowed lume of the hour markers isn't the best, their black outlines as well as the black areas of the hands do provide enough contrast to make quick time telling somewhat of a breeze. Of course if the dial were black with white hands and markers, the result would have been a slight bit better. This isn't too much of a surprise, since the TYPE 1 M1 does sacrifice some of the pure tool watch design of the TYPE 1 for a more luxurious look. Low light time telling really couldn't be much better since the TYPE 1 M1 uses so much lume on both the dial and bezel. The watch really glows in low light and has been one of the better low light visibility watches that we have tested recently.

The look of the BENRUS TYPE 1 M1 is rather laid back and the color palette is pretty muted. This meant the watch went well with my typical dress of a black t-shirt, shorts and sneakers. I feel with the polished sides the watch could do well in more formal settings, but the strap would probably need to be changed to something less casual than a fabric NATO style strap. When I wore the watch out, I really didn't notice too many people looking at it. I think that can be expected for a military inspired watch, where flying under the radar is a requirement. I did show a few of my friends the watch when we were out for drinks and everyone I showed it to really liked the TYPE 1 M1. Most people commented on the champagne dial and strap and overall were fairly surprised by the price of the watch.





Value and Position in the Market

Speaking of price, the BENRUS TYPE 1 M1 retails for $1,900. For that price you are getting a handsome well built watch with a ton of military history. The watch is also Swiss made and has a proven and accurate workhorse of a movement in the ETA 2892. Finally the brilliant champagne dial and black ceramic bezel finish off what is already an impressive package. Now like with all of our reviews is the time to look at other watches with similar features and specs and see how the TYPE 1 M1 fairs value wise.

Up first we have the M100A from Vertex which has a 40 mm stainless steel case. The M100A is a modern take on the watches Vertex produced during World War II for the British Military and is the most honest execution of a modern field watch. The M100A runs on a highly modified version of the Sellita SW260-1 automatic movement with around 38 hours of power reserve. The M100A is water resistant to 100 meters, half of what you find on the BENRUS TYPE 1 M1. The M100A is also quite a bit more expensive than the TYPE 1 M1 at $3,445.20.



Moving on we have the Pilot's Watch Mark XX from IWC which has a 40 mm case made out of stainless steel. While the Mark XX is a pilot's watch, it exhibits much of what you'd find in a field watch. The Mark XX runs on an in-house IWC automatic movement with 120 hours of power reserve and has half the water resistance of the TYPE 1 M1 at 100 meters. The Mark XX is also much more expensive than the TYPE 1 M1 at $5,500.

Next up is the Seamaster Railmaster from Omega which has a 38 mm case crafted out of stainless steel. The Railmaster has the classic field watch look and is powered by an in-house Omega automatic movement with 55 hours of power reserve. The Railmaster has a bit less water resistance than the TYPE 1 M1 at 150 meters. Once again the Railmaster retails for much more than the TYPE 1 M1 at $6,000.



Finally we have the Black Bay from Tudor which has a 41 mm case made out of stainless steel. The Black Bay has more of a dive watch look to it but with the TYPE 1 M1 also showing some dive watch DNA, we thought it was a fair inclusion. The Black Bay is powered by a manufacture automatic movement with 70 hours of power reserve. The Black Bay has the same 200 meters of water resistance as the TYPE 1 M1. Finally the Black Bay is also a good deal more than the TYPE 1 M1 at $4,525.

Looking at the above four watches you can see just how good of a deal the BENRUS TYPE 1 M1 is. Besides power reserve, the TYPE 1 M1 pretty much leads the group in terms of specifications. One area where the TYPE 1 M1 falls a bit short of the IWC, Omega and Tudor is the lack of an in-house or manufacture movement. That does allow the TYPE 1 M1 to have a much lower price though, also the ETA 2892 is a proven movement with decades of development behind it.





Closing Thoughts

So in the end is the BENRUS TYPE 1 M1 for me? In all honesty I had a blast wearing the Type 1 M1 over the past few weeks. Typically I'm not a fan of stainless steel watches since they normally come with a decent weight penalty over titanium, carbon or ceramic, but the TYPE 1 M1 manages to avoid that penalty and stay under 100 grams. Also I like watches in my personal collection to be just over 50 mm of lug to lug length and the TYPE 1 M1 falls just short of that. On the wrist the watch does wear on the larger size, so that millimeter discrepancy isn't felt.

I'm also not a huge fan of NATO style fabric straps but really enjoyed wearing the TYPE 1 M1 on the supplied champagne colored fabric strap. The strap didn't add too much height to the watch and really did a great job of keeping the watch centered on my wrist. The sunray champagne dial along with polished case sides do a nice job of slightly elevating the all business looks of a TYPE 1 watch as well. The bezel feel of the TYPE 1 M1 was also a huge positive being one of the most sure and tightest bezels I have used in a good time. Finally the watch just feels so solid in hand and makes me think it could take just about anything dished out to it.



So would I then recommend the BENRUS TYPE 1 M1 to somebody looking for a military themed watch? The TYPE 1 M1 does an excellent job of straddling the line between field watch and dive watch. The 200 meters of water resistance is beyond what is required for such a watch and the uni-directional bezel and screw down crown ensure the watch can be deeply submerged. I'd say the TYPE 1 M1 excels the most at being a "Go Anywhere Do Anything" (GADA) style watch. With the 20 mm lug width you can put just about any strap you like on the watch as well, which will radically change the look and function of the watch. As is, the champagne colored fabric strap limits the watch to a more casual aesthetic, but a more formal strap would make the watch capable of being worn in more than just casual settings. That means with a strap change the TYPE 1 M1 could easily be an everyday wearer from the office during the week to adventures on the weekend.

The under $2,000 price tag of the TYPE 1 M1 should really make those looking for a luxury field or GADA watch take note. The watch is thousands less than similar watches from the large Swiss manufactures while still offering specs at least as good if not better than those watches. From my time with the TYPE 1 M1 I can't really see any shortcomings from the watch that wouldn't justify its price tag.



I'd really like to thank BENRUS for sending us the TYPE 1 M1 to review and it has served as a great physical introduction to the brand. I've read about some exciting new releases that the brand is working on and hopefully in the next few months we can get some more watches from BENRUS in for review.

For more information about the TYPE 1 M1 please visit : BENRUS

Technical Specifications

Reference Number: TYPE 1 M1

Retail Price: $1,900

Case Size: 44 mm

Lug to Lug: 49.4 mm

Thickness: 13.7 mm

Weight: 97 grams

Case Material: Stainless Steel

Bezel: Stainless Steel

Strap: Champagne NATO Style Fabric Strap with Pin Buckle

Movement: Swiss Made ETA 2892 Automatic Movement

Functions: Hours, Minutes and Seconds

Power Reserve: 42 Hours

Water Resistance: 200 Meters