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Benrus Revisits Ultra-Deep 

Benrus revives one of its best-selling dive watches with the new Benrus Ultra-Deep, a recreation of one of the watchmaker’s historic models from the 1960s.

The new Benrus Ultra-Deep.

Originally created in response to the rise of scuba diving for sport, the Benrus Ultra-Deep retains the 36.5mm case size of the original model’s ‘compressor’ case. Such cases, built for the U.S.-based Benrus by Swiss-based Ervin Piquerez, would become more water resistant as the diver went deeper because the caseback would pressurize. Modern screw-down cases fulfill the same role in new watches.

The revived Benrus Ultra-Deep also retains the dual-crown design found on the original model.  

One crown rotates an inner timing bezel instead of an external bezel, which makes it less likely the bezel will be shifted by mistake, leading to timing errors under water.

Also note the same cathedral-style hour and minute hands and magnified date window as the original.

The new models of course benefit from numerous technical updates, including a screw-down winding crown, C3 SuperLumiNova hands and dial markers. Inside, Benrus fits a reliable Soprod P024 automatic movement. The watch arrives on a high-end Jubilee-style stainless steel bracelet and also includes a blue nylon NATO dive strap.

Price: $1,095. 

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Featured Events

Planet Omega Exhibit Opens in New York 

 

Planet Omega, a special exhibit of historic Omega watches, is now on display in New York, where it will remain until November 19th.

The broad-based display not only exhibits vintage watches from the watchmaker’s storied manufacturing history, but also places many of its timekeeping endeavors into historical context using six additional, distinctive areas.

The Elvis Presley Omega.

The primary “Vintage” section that displays historic timepieces on loan from the Omega Museum in Biel, Switzerland. These watches include:

– The Omega watch worn by Elvis Presley, which was a gift from RCA Records in 1960. Omega calls it “perhaps the most historically significant Elvis-owned watch to ever appear on the market.”

The JFK Omega.

– The Omega Slimline timepiece worn by John F. Kennedy at his presidential Inauguration Ceremony in 1961.

An original Omega Ladymatic.

– An original Ladymatic watch from 1955 fitted with Caliber 455, which became the world’s smallest rotor-equipped automatic calibre to obtain an official rating certificate with special mention.

Within the remainder of the exhibit you’ll find watches related to these themes: sports and Olympic Games, Ocean, James Bond, Space, Friends and Precision. 

Highlights include: 

—One of the original split-seconds chronographs used to time the Olympic Games in 1932.

—An original 1932 Marine – known as the first divers’ watch that was available to civilian divers.

The 1932 Omega Marine.

—Recent Seamaster “Ultra Deep” watches. In 2019, the first of these models reached the deepest point ever recorded in the ocean. The model on display is an adapted version available to customers and is water-resistant to an incredible 6,000 meters, or 20,000 feet.

— The Seamaster Diver 300M 007 Edition from Daniel Craig’s final appearance in “No Time To Die.” This authentic film prop is crafted from lightweight Grade 2 Titanium.

Omega worn by Wally Schirra.

—The same CK2998 model worn by astronaut Wally Schirra in 1962 aboard Mercury’s Sigma 7 mission.

—The latest Speedmaster “Silver Snoopy Award” timepiece, and those created with real pieces of meteorite.

—- This year’s new Speedmaster Super Racing – introduced as the world’s first watch to feature the Omega Spirate system built with a new patent-pending spiral that allows for ultra-fine rate adjustments, making it possible to achieve a certified precision of only 0/+2 seconds a day.

The Planet Omega exhibit is located at Chelsea Factory, 547 West 26th Street. Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Source: Omega

 

 

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The Watches

Bulova Teams With Complecto for Jet Star 

Bulova partners with watch collector group Complecto to create the Complecto Jet Star, a limited edition ode to a 1973 Bulova watch.

The new Bulova Complecto Jet Star.

While the original’s turtle-shaped steel case is now modernized with a more angular eight-sided profile, the new release echoes existing updates to Jet Star and offers a distinctive retro flavor with a terrific dégradé effect grey dial, vintage markers and domed (sapphire) crystal.

Bulova pairs the vintage design with its own very contemporary Manufacture Precisionist High Precision Quartz movement, which boasts a 262kHz frequency, eight-times faster than traditional quartz calibers (32,768 Hz). The high frequency means the movement provides accuracy to within +/- 5 seconds per month.

Complecto is a new platform “dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices in the watch industry and collector community,” and the new watch is emblematic of both Complecto’s mission as well as the Bulova’s own broad-based work work celebrating underrepresented voices (exemplified by ongoing partnerships with the Latin GRAMMYs and the Apollo Theater).

The Bulova Complecto Jet Star also offers luminous hands, cabochon hour markers with luminous dots, a date window at 3 o’clock and fifty-meters of water resistance. Bulova attaches the new watch to an interchangeable stainless steel bracelet with easy release latched spring bars.

The watch is limited to 100 pieces and comes as a set with two additional custom straps: a Bulova black leather strap with orange contrast stitching and a bespoke Delugs charcoal Alcantara strap with light grey contrast stitch and orange rubber lining, both embossed with the Complecto logo. 

Price: $750.

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The Watches

TAG Heuer Launches Gold Carrera Chronograph

TAG Heuer concludes its year-long celebration of Carrera with a classy ode to a much-coveted gold-cased Carrera Ref. 1158 CHN from 1972.

The new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph with gold case and dial.

The new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph retains the original’s 39mm 18-karat gold case and integrated lugs, adding a modern chronograph movement and pushers, all set under TAG Heuer’s new domed and ultra-curved Glassbox crystal.

Heuer Carrera Ref 1158 (left) from 1972 and the new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph.

You may recall that TAG Heuer added the Glassbox crystal design to many models in the 2023 Carrera collection earlier this year.

The new design’s curves, more acute than earlier examples from the 1970s, are amplified with an equally curved flange that enhance’s the dial’s visibility while also simplifying the ability to read the 60-second/minute scale.

TAG Heuer also maintains the original’s luxe appeal with a yellow gold-plated dial and all-new contrasting black sub-dials at the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions, recalling the original’s reverse panda configuration.

 

Inside TAG Heuer fits its excellent in-house chronograph movement TH20-00,  boasting bi-directional winding and an impressive 80-hour power reserve.

TAG Heuer attaches the watch to a black perforated calfskin leather strap and yellow gold pin buckle. 

Price; $21,500. 

Specifications: TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph (gold case)

(Ref. CBS2240.FC8319)

Movement: Chronograph caliber TH20-00, automatic with date and 80-hour power reserve.  

Dial: 18-karat 3N yellow gold-plated vertical brushed dial and flange, with 60 second / minute scale, 3 counters. 18-karat 3N yellow gold-plated facetted, polished hour and minute hands with white SuperLumiNova. Black lacquered central hand, Black TAG HEUER printed logo, 6 o’clock date.


Case: 39mm by 13.9mm 18-karat 3N solid yellow gold fine-brushed, polished case with Glassbox domed sapphire crystal with double anti-reflective treatment, solid yellow gold standard crown at 3 o’clock, fine brushed, polished solid yellow gold round push button at 2 o’clock. Fine brushed, polished solid yellow gold round push button at 4 o’clock and yellow gold screw-down sapphire caseback. Water resistance: 100 meters. 


Bracelet: Perforated black calfskin leather strap, fine brushed, polished yellow gold pin buckle, TAG Heuer shield.

Price: $21,500. 

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The Watches

Bulova Adds GMT to Oceanographer 

Bulova adds a GMT function to its vintage-style Oceanographer dive watch collection and creates three models to inaugurate the new series.

The new Oceanographer GMT retains the retro look of the existing Bulova Oceanographer ‘Devil Diver’ models, but with a new GMT hand to account for a second time zone.

One of three new Bulova Oceanographer GMT watches.

Two of the debuts feature 41mm steel cases, steel bracelets and a corresponding bi-directional rotating 24-hour bezel.

The third 41mm steel-cased model (below) comes with a rubber-strap instead of bracelet and also differs with an internal 24-hour track in place of a 24-hour bezel.

You might recall that the original 1972 Oceanographer dive watch was often called the Devil Diver when Bulova inscribed “666 feet” on the dial to note its underwater depth rating according to the Imperial system, which differed from the Swiss rating system.

Bulova revived the Devil Diver monicker several years ago within its Archive series with a hot-selling vintage-styled Oceanographer model.  

Bulova calls on a workhorse Miyota 9075 automatic movement to power the GMT hand to keep track a second time zone while also displaying the local time and date indications. The movement maintains accuracy of -10/+30 seconds per day and offers a 42-hour power reserve.

Look for three models in the new collection. One combines brown and black tones with an IP-plated rose gold tone steel case and bracelet. A second steel-cased edition features a familiar red and blue GMT design often built into dive watches as well as a matching steel bracelet.

The third Bulova Oceanographer GMT model boasts a more monochrome look with a gunmetal IP-plated case and bezel set with a full luminous white dial.

Here the unidirectional bezel offers elapsed time indication rather than the 24-hour display, which instead is seen  on the dial inside the bezel. Bulova fits the watch with a matching grey silicone textured strap.

All watches in the trio offer a screw-down crown, a double-domed box sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating and, of course, the 200 meters of water resistance as symbolized by the “666 feet” displayed on the dial, just below the excellent vintage descriptor “snorkel.”

Prices: $1,295 (luminous dial and rubber strap) and $1,395 (steel bracelet).

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