Benrus watches has been a bit of a mysterious brand for me. I’ve seen them around, sometimes popping up on my instagram feed, other times being featured on other watch publications. Each time I see a Benrus, it always looks good, they seem to have a nice aura surrounding their watches – and after handling this Benrus DTU Shield for about a month now, I think I understand why.
Benrus specializes in Military watches that are built to spec to withstand the abuse of a soldier. What we have here today with the DTU Shield is a very high quality field watch, just think Hamilton Khaki Field, but finished to a higher standard with better materials and components. Not only that, but the watch fits better on wrist, seems to be significantly better proportioned than a Khaki Field, and in my opinion looks better as well.
Case Shape and Design
While in photos the watch may not jump out as anything extravagant when it comes to its case shape and design, when first handling the watch I immediately noticed how incredibly thin it is for a military grade field watch. Usually, at least in my experience reviewing watches for so many years, when you hear the term military thrown around, the watch tends to be physically bloated and over protected in appearance. I’m happy to report that is absolutely not the case here, and actually, I’d say the opposite. This is a very slender and compact wearing field watch with a 38mm case diameter, 10.7mm case thickness, and super slender curved lugs.
Another very neat aspect of the watch, that I hope you’re able to pickup on from our photos, is the case finish and color. In the flesh, the watch can appear a little bit like titanium, but it’s actually a sand blasted 316L stainless steel. The sand blasting effect is extremely fine and thoroughly applied, it’s just barely noticeable when grazing the case with your fingers. Appearance wise, the sandblasting certainly tones down the sheen to a very attractive and tool like matte finish. The caseback also has the same finish, and is also engraved with the Benrus logo and shield emblem, it feels soft and supple on the wrist due to the excellent brushing.
The lugs are very thin and perfectly curved, matching the overall proportions of the watch to perfection. I’m truly taken aback by the attention to the proportions on this watch, and it has me wondering how I’ve never reviewed (or purchased) a Benrus before this one, as the watch truly could not fit my 6.5 inch wrist any better. The lug width is a standard 20mm, great for experimenting with aftermarket straps, and the lug to lug length is a short 44.9mm. The crown of the watch ties the whole appearance together, retaining a very flat profile just like the case itself, ensuring no unwanted snagging will happen on any equipment you could be transporting with you wearing this type of watch. The crown is very well knurled though, and in my experience so far, has been hassle free to operate.
Old Radium Dial
Field watches are usually quite plain Jane in appearance, but the deeper you look at the DTU Shield, the more details begin present themselves. The dial may be silver in color, but it has a very neat vertical brushing that’s really only apparent when viewed under a direct stream of light. The Arabic numerals and markers are painted on rather than applied which is pretty much on theme here, as having them applied would elevate the watch into a more glamorous tier of watches.
Now the fun part, the Super-Luminova that’s been applied on this watch is what Benrus is referring to as “Old Radium”. Don’t be fooled though, there is no actual radioactive material in this lume, rather it’s simply a patinated hue of lume that’s been pigment matched to mimic the look of vintage watches that used radioactive lume in the past. On the bright side, it has been engineered to provide enhanced performance in dark settings, and if I may say so – the cream colored tone looks great against the bright silver dial during the day.
The rest of the dial is fairly standard, and the layout is not far off from a Khaki Field. The hour numerals are in full display, from 1 to 12, on the outer portion of the dial, and their military time equivalents are on the inside with a smaller font. The hour and minute hands are what is called a “tapered” shape, although I like to casually refer to them as “needle nose” hands. The legibility and speed of reading the time is excellent as it should be on a field watch, with the black hands contrasting with strength against the lighter dial.
Movement
You may be wondering, as I was, what movement is housed inside such a thin 10.4mm case. The answer to that is simply an ETA 2892, often considered a premium movement from the Swiss manufacturer. It’s realitvely known in the indsutry as being a “thin ETA movement”, and often used as a go-to automatic movement for brands that put emphasis on the proportions of their watches, just like this DTU Shield. It’s a 4HZ movement with 21 jewels and 42 hours of power reserve. While we can’t see the inner workings of the watch due to the closed caseback, the ETA 2892 is a good looking movement for what it is. The thickness of the movement is only 3.6mm, which is very impressive, and if you do the math with the total thickness of the case you’ll see that the case walls still get to retain some pretty decent heft for shock absorption.
This is a fantastic watch from a low key brand, offering a unique and premium twist on a classic field watch. It currently retails at 1,480 CHF, and for more information you can visit their official website here.
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