Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Benrus Brings Back the Ultra-Deep as a Compact, Vintage-Inspired Compressor-Style Dive Watch
A compact, twin-crown Benrus diver that captures the silhouette and charm of the 1960s originals.
Benrus, founded in 1921 by the Lazrus brothers in New York, has always been at its best when it taps the things it once did for real: dependable field watches for the U.S. military, purpose-built dive pieces from the boom years of recreational diving, and compact daily beaters that wore smaller than their spec sheets. One of these watches was the compressor Benrus Ultra-Deep and, by popular demand, the watch is now back in a compact and accessible package.
In the 1960s, when half of Switzerland seemed to be making the same watch, Benrus joined multiple others in adopting EPSA’s Super Compressor case with dual crowns, an internal rotating bezel, and the clever spring-loaded caseback designed to seal tighter as depth increased. Those original Benrus compressor divers became cult objects for the tech and for the look. Today, the revived brand is rebuilding its backbone with faithful reissues (Type 1 MilSpec and Type 2 MilSpec, or DTU-2A/P field pieces), and now it circles back to the golden era with the Ultra-Deep, brought back by popular demand, sensibly modernised and priced accessibly.
The new Benrus Ultra-Deep does not offer a literal EPSA design, and Benrus doesn’t pretend otherwise. Instead, you get a compressor-style twin-crown construction in a classic 36.5mm stainless-steel case, with screw-down crown and gaskets for 200m of water resistance (20 ATM/660 ft). The proportions feel properly mid-century (41.5mm lug-to-lug, 18mm lugs), and the way the matte-black dial flows straight into the full-width internal 60-minute timing ring makes the watch appear larger without losing its compact stance. The case is topped with a double-domed acrylic crystal with an internal date magnifier, a period-correct choice. The crown at two is for winding and setting; the extra crown at 4 rotates the bezel.
On the black dial, Benrus keeps the characterful details: cathedral hour and minute hands and a clean minute track. C3 Super-LumiNova treatments extend to the geometric indices, hands, and bezel markings at the cardinal points (triangle at 12, then 15, 30, and 45-minute marks).
The watch is powered by Soprod’s P024 automatic, the proven ETA-2824 architecture with hacking, quick-set date and about 38 hours of reserve. The new Benrus Ultra-Deep is worn on a quick-release Jubilee-style bracelet that suits the scale and era, and Benrus includes a blue nylon NATO for swim days and rough use. Price is USD 1,195 or CHF 1,105 (excl. tax).
For more, visit benrus.com.
