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.

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