The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I've been wanting a new "beater" and I just picked up a Benarus Sea Devil. It's got a Miyota movement (wish it was an ETA..) but not bad for the price. I liked the skeleton hands and fully-lumed dial. Reminds me a lot of Lum-Tec. I wish the dial and pearl were lumed the same color...

Thoughts?

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Mmmmm

I must be honest but I know absolutely nothing about Benarus. There are quite a lot of "boutique" watchmakers around who make very VERY good watches for very little money - predominantly for two reasons. Firstly, they don't tend to do much with the movements in terms of decoration or modifications : they just buy the ETA (or Miyota in this case) and drop it into the case. And secondly, they don't have a massive brand name to uphold, or "celebrities" to pay for their endorsement of their watches.

I don;t know what you paid for it, but I'm guess it was probably quite a reasonable deal, and as a beater I'm sure it'll serve you extremely well. It certainly looks quite robust.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Thanks Driver.

Benarus makes only 50 watches of each model, so they are "limited edition". I am pretty happy with what you get for the money: watch, screwed-link bracelet, rubber dive strap, two leather straps, 2 watch carrying case and a set of nice screwn-drivers.

It's just funny, because you can find a nice Debaufre or Steinhart with a plain-jane 6497 movement that sells for $600, then you see a base PAM sell for $4000 which has the same movement. At the end of the day, we pay for the name on our wrist

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Mmmmm

An LE number is always a nice thing to have!


Broadly speaking, I do agree...... BUT to give Panerai (and a multitude of other makers including Breitling) their due, they do rework the movement quite considerably, and their finishing is impeccable. However, there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever, that as soon as you buy any watch with a well known brand name on it, a huge amount of your money goes into servicing that brand name. But hey, as long as people know that and don't think they are paying for a totally handcrafted watch, then I don't see a problem with it.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

To me Benarus is one of those watches that make good value watches, but never really do anything to appeal to me. I always get the feeling that they aren't really designed, more a conglomeration of existing designs from other manufacturers (if that makes sense). That helps keep the price where it is, but I always find that I want something a bit different if they are going to spark my interest.

I'm with ya. That's why I opted for the fully-lumed dial - a bit different than most.

I do wish the dial had more detail - the printing just looks very plain...

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Mmmmm

To be fair, that's an inherent thing with most small manufacturers. They just don't have the cash or R&D capacity to come up with radical designs of their own, so they tend to play it fairly safe and produce pieces that bear more than a passing resemblance to other makes.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

I think these boutique brands offer a nice alternative to the Seikos and Citizens that one dominated this segment. 4-5 years ago when I began this insanity, the under-$500 market was primarily Japanese brands, with some chinese pieces like Alpha in there as well.

Now, the enthusiast just getting into this has a ton of watches to choose from. Sure, the majority of them come from off-the-shelf parts from one major Chinese factory (longio), but there is just enough difference and brand identity to make them interesting, for a while. I've done the rounds with them and owned many. For the most part, they provide adequate reliability and quality in line with the price. Benarus seems to have a good designer, who creates some interesting and balanced dials. The hands and dials match well and are different enough from the others. But I've always felt that they tried to capitalize on the history of Benrus when they created the brand name, and this bugs me a little. Kinda like buying a Breitlang.

Enjoy the Benarus, you chose one of the nicer designs.

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Thought I would share a few quick shots that I took tonight. It wears a lot like the SS Seawolf. I love the fact that it has 24mm lugs so that I can swap out with my selection of PAM straps. The lume is my favorite part of this

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Mmmmm

I like it! I am looking for a beater watch also & this one looks like it fills the bill. Where did you get & if I can ask how much did you pay for it??

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Breitling Hercules White Dial
Breitling Super Avenger Blue Dial
Tag Grand Carrera Calibre 17 Silver Dial
Mont Blanc Timewalker Silver Dial
U-Boat Flight Deck 50MM Black Dial
Boschett Cave Dweller Black Dial
Seiko Orange Monster
Casio G-Shock

Sent you a PM

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Mmmmm

Reply sent.

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Breitling Hercules White Dial
Breitling Super Avenger Blue Dial
Tag Grand Carrera Calibre 17 Silver Dial
Mont Blanc Timewalker Silver Dial
U-Boat Flight Deck 50MM Black Dial
Boschett Cave Dweller Black Dial
Seiko Orange Monster
Casio G-Shock