There are a lot of famous military watch brands across the world. To name only a few, in the UK you have CWC, in Germany there’s Hanhart, in Italy there’s (historically at least) Panerai and in Switzerland Rolex produced some of the most famous military watches of all time with the MilSub. In America though, the leading name in historic military watches is Benrus, who today revive one of their signature military watches, the Type 2 Mil Spec, the latest in a series of reissues of this model.
As far as military provenance goes, you don’t get much better than a watch designed in 1972 specifically to meet MIL-W-50717 specification for use by US Navy SEALs, Underwater Demolitions Teams and other special operatives. This is the watch designed for the elite of the elite. Precision, clarity, reliability, the Type 2 Mil Spec had to be trusted enough to support soldier through dangerous operations in any and all environments.
That attitude is replicated in the modern Type 2 Mil Spec by the fact that it’s sort of a hybrid between a dive watch and a field watch. This is a timepiece designed to be at home both on land and in the water without sacrificing utility in one area to favour the other. You can see that in its 39.5mm x 14.4mm case with 365m water resistance rating.
It’s large enough to have a legible display and support a really good water resistance while also not being so large or heavy as to impact wrist movement and mobility. Additionally, while the bi-directional bezel is primarily used for its 12-hour scale in order to coordinate military operations, the first section features a 20-minute scale allowing it to be used as an immersion timer in diving situations.
The dial is also free of any extraneous adornment. Not so much as a logo. Just the oversize, Super-LumiNova Arabic numerals arranged in a 24-hour scale, minute scale and large, lumed hands. It’s also in the classic high contrast black and white colour scheme made famous by the Dirty Dozen watches of WWII, promoting clarity. As yet another contribution to clarity, the double domed sapphire crystal features two layers of anti-reflective coating so that it’s easier to read while also dulling down any reflection that may give away the soldier’s position – one of the most famous snipers in history, Simo Häyhä, used an iron sight because he was worried about the reflection of a scope lens crystal.
It is a pure utilitarian object, reduced to only its most essential parts. For the movement, rather than keeping it heritage, they’ve opted for the contemporary ETA 2892 automatic with 42-hour power reserve. This is something Benrus has done each time it produces a reissue of their heritage models, keeping up with modern standards. The previous reissue of the Type 2, which was a limited edition in 2022, used the Soprod P024 with 38-hour reserve.
Priced at $1,790 (approx. £1,330) it’s also pretty damn good value. A 365m water resistant automatic watch with military heritage and a design honed in to its purest form over years of development. No wonder it’s a design Benrus like to revisit.
Price and Specs:
More details at Benrus.
How is this a “pretty damn good value” when all you’re paying for is a reference to past glory from an old brand name that was purchased by an investment company? Sorry, this is waaaay too much money for a very basic watch with an old, dead name.
Hi there is this nil spec 2 really using eta movement. Or selita sw200 like the other watch company’s outside of swatch group.