STATEMENT
At BENRUS, nothing is more important to us than the integrity of our brand and the authenticity of your customer experience. Earlier last year we were excited to learn from a long-time, trusted supplier that we would be able to purchase historic, vintage movements that we used to craft our new Wrist Alarm Watch.
Subsequently, some credible comments have been made regarding the authenticity of these movements and whether they meet our exacting standards.
In response, and in an abundance of caution, we’ve decided to suspend sales of our new Wrist Alarm watch until our master Swiss watchmakers can conduct the research required to fully document and verify the authenticity of these movements. We will update you as appropriate as the process continues and appreciate your patience in the meantime.
For everyone who has subscribed to purchase our striking new wrist alarm watch, we will be in touch with you once we have completed our research and certification process. Meanwhile, please feel free to contact us at any time.


THE WATCH WITH THE "MECHANICAL MEMORY"
THAT RINGS TO REMIND YOU
Powered by a vintage 1970's movement

Throughout history BENRUS Watch Company always looked for the opportunity to take an idea and bring it to the greater American audience. BENRUS developed multiple Wrist Alarm styles from dress to rugged, making the wrist alarm accessible to many. These proved to be some of our most popular watches in the days before digital watches and cell phones existed to remind us.

The project to recreate this specific design began in 2019 with a trip to La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. A most useful complication, the mechanical wrist alarm movement has a long history in watchmaking and was used by BENRUS throughout the 50’s and 60’s. A. Schild SA originally manufactured the movements used by the brand, so in order to maintain the authenticity of today’s Wrist Alarm it was an important element for BENRUS to consider when searching for movements that fit the specifications. BENRUS was lucky enough to come across a treasure trove of new old stock (NOS) AS 1930 and AS 1931 mechanical movements from the 1970's, known at that time to be the best in the industry. Never used, they were meticulously disassembled and fully refurbished by master watchmakers in Switzerland to ensure that these 50-year-old movements would offer you the reliability of a modern day watch, with an interesting story of a vintage movement and all the fun of an alarm on your wrist.
The BENRUS Wrist Alarm is inspired by the past, but modernized for today’s wearer and is the perfect combination of refined style with old-world flair. Powered by a refurbished vintage AS 1930, Swiss Made manual wind alarm movement, the watch is limited to 500 pieces.
Reviving a 50-year-old movement
In 1954, ASSA launched what is believed to be the most successful movements of all time, the AS 1475 and AS 1568. More than 781,000 movements were sold to a variety of watchmakers until 1970. The alarm sounded for ten seconds and the balance rotated every hour at a conventional 18,000 A/h.
In 1970 AS increased vibrations to 21,600 A/h to improve precision. In the process AS 1475 became the AS 1930, and the AS 1568 became AS 1931. When these movements were introduced to the marketplace, industry analysts believed it was too late. When quartz mania began to take over in the west, alarm timepieces were sold for a fraction of their cost.


The mechanical movement powering the new BENRUS Wrist Alarm is Swiss Made in accordance with the Swiss Federation. In many instances of vintage movement restoration, Swiss replacement parts have to be sourced. For this project, replacement parts were sourced from various Swiss manufacturers.

The movement that beats inside our new BENRUS Wrist Alarm is a Swiss Made movement and every replacement part used during the refurbishment process is Swiss Made, including parts from Poljot and other Swiss manufacturers. Ironically, the Poljot parts used were even made on A. Schild machines purchased by the company after the merger of A. Schild and ETA.
Due to parts availability this movement beats at 18,000 A/h instead of the original 21,600 A/h, which actually provides for an increased power reserve.
SET YOUR WATCH FOR THE TIME YOU WANT TO BE REMINDED TO:
Wake you up mornings
Meet an appointment
Catch a train
Take vitamins or medicine
Make an important call
Watch a TV program
Leave a meeting or party
Turn off
the lights
Attend an
interview
Bring
something home
CASE DIAMETER:
38mm
CASE TYPE:
Polished 316L stainless steel
MOVEMENT:
Refurbished AS 1930 manual wind with mechanical alarm function
STRAP:
Navy blue genuine leather
WATER RESISTANT:
50M
Domed sapphire crystal
Applied polished stainless steel numerals and markers
Limited edition engraved case back
Approximately 50-hour power reserve
Swiss Made