Reviewing a watch like the Benrus Series #3061 is pretty easy. You either love it or hate it and the goal of a watch like this is to offer a simple, wearable tool watch to the gent or lady who might be into a smaller, lighter watch with an amazing provenance and history.
The #3061 is one of Benrus’ classic pieces. Based on the military-issued DTU-2AP from the 1960s, it was a civilian watch with a military face. This means you get bold, broadarrow hands, large 12-hour numerals, smaller 24-hour numerals, and a running, hacking seconds hand tipped in red.
Put it onto a leather band with red stitching and you have a lovely little piece.
The watch itself is small. It’s 39.5mm which makes it about as big as a standard diver without the large bezel. The case is made of stainless steel and the back features the Benrus logo and little else – no military specs mar the back of this watch. The piece also doesn’t have a screw down crown but is water resistant to 5 ATM which is acceptable but should give you pause if you plan on doing any submersion.
The watch has a hacking seconds hand which means when you pull out the crown the seconds hand stops. This allows you to synchronize your watches with friends and fellow soldiers like in old war movies. It’s an interesting and important feature for this kind of military field watch. It runs a Swiss Soprod P024 movement, which is a fairly standard lower-cost automatic movement based on the ETA 2824-2. It’s an excellent movement for this type of watch since it’s rugged and nearly maintenance free in its first dozen years.
Why would you want this watch? Well, when it comes to a piece like this you have a few considerations. Do you like the design and stark black and white face? Do you like the band? There have been countless versions of this watch in the world, made by companies as disparate as Marathon and Hamilton. Field watches like this one is even available used and in very good condition for not very much money.
But Benrus is is the granddaddy of field watch manufacturers. People have been wearing their work for decades and you can still get some wild models – including this fixed lug plastic watch – for a few hundred dollars. If anything, this will show you how your Benrus might age over the years, from pristine to jaggedly used.
The #3061 hearkens back to those amazing military watches and at $595 you could do a lot worse. Again, there’s not much to review other than to say that Benrus makes a great field watch and if you’re looking for one then this is one to consider. The price is $20 more than Hamilton’s field watches but I’d say you get more history and utility with these guys.
You can check out the product page here and pick one up. If you’re into smaller, highly functional watches that go great with jeans and a leather jacket/black chore coat, this is the watch for you.
