Benrus

 By Bruce Shawkey

Benrus was founded in New York by Benjamin Lazrus and his two brothers (left) and took its name from the first syllable of his name and the last syllable of the family name. The three young men combined $5,000 in savings and started importing Swiss watch movements and casing them in New York City. They headquartered the fledgling company in the iconic Hippodrome building, nestled in the jewelry district and what is known to still be the “heart” of the City. Today, the company’s headquarters remains in the same location.

Some Benrus watches through the years:

Creation Watch Co.

 By Bruce Shawkey

Breitling

By Bruce Shawkey

 

Watch and Clock Club

By Bruce Shawkey

Found this article in a 1960s issue of Europa Star magazine:

Keen on Old Watches and Clocks ? 

If so, you can become a member of the "Friends of Antique Watches and Clocks" which was recently founded by a German watch manufacturer, Mr. Philipp Weber, under the auspices of the German Chronometrical Society. An International Committee was set up consisting of: Prof. Dr. Hans von Bertele, Vienna (Austria) Dr. E. Gschwind, Basle (Switzerland) Director Gretzsche, Dresden (East Germany) and Mr. H. Alan Lloyd, Oxford (England) 

The Association intends to publish a Bulletin, open a library, organize lectures and visits to exhibitions of antique horology. Plans are being made to set up an archives department so that information and photographs may be available to all members and a reference file will be started listing all ancient clocks and watches belonging to members. In cooperation with museums and other institutions, the group will undertake research directed more particularly towards the technical aspects of early watches and clocks.

Contacts with foreign collectors will be sought, more especially in Switzerland, France, Great Britain and America in order to arrange exchanges of lecturers, publications and information. The final achievement of the "Friends of Antique Watches and Clocks" will be the publication of a volume containing a thousand illustrations of antique horological exhibits with descriptions in the principal languages. The first international meeting took place on June 30, 1960 in Stuttgart, just before the Annual General Assembly of the German Chronometrical Society and the first number of the Bulletin was issued on this occasion. 

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP FEES $53.75 for individual members, ($57.50) for institutes, schools, libraries, etc. Applications for membership may be sent to: Mr. Philip Weber, Arctos Watch and Clock Factory, Pfalzerstr. 1, Pforzheim (West Germany). 

Watchmaker Mends Heart

 by Bruce Shawkey

Found this interesting article in a 1960s issue of Europa Star magazine:

Watchmaker Mends Heart 

A Phoenix (USA) heart specialist, to compensate for poor heart functioning, had sewed two wires to a patient's heart and attached them to a small battery-powered device which sent periodic flows of current into the heart to keep it contracting. One of the wires corroded and broke, and at the physician's request, a jewelry and watch repairman did a careful soldering job while the patient stood by his bench. All went well, the pulse was found to be normal and the patient put on his shirt again and departed happily.

Incredible! Early use of a pacemaker, and repaired by a watchmaker! 

Micromate

By Bruce Shawkey

Found this interesting device in a 1962 edition of Europa Star magazine. It's called a Micromate

Crystal Manufacture

 By Bruce Shawkey

Found this interesting article in a 1960s issue of Europa Star magazine:

The very existence of the watch glass or "crystal" as it is sometimes called, gets to be forgotten by the wearer, and yet it has a vital function which is to protect the dial and hands and to prevent the penetration of any foreign matter Into the interior of the watch. The qualities that are expected from a watch glass are: clarity, resistance to shocks, impermeability. It must also be made of material that can be cut and turned accurately. For these reasons a brief glance at its manutaCture is interesting.

"Glass" is an incorrect term

One always speaks of the "glass" or "crystal' of a watch, but both these words are incorrect. Glass is no longer used or very rarely and has been replaced by newer products. Celluloid—cellulose nitrate hes also become obsolete; it is highly flammable. Its use presented serious drawbacks. For cheaper watches, a similar product Is now used called cellulose which although definitely combustible is much less dangerous. The material now currently used for watches is organic glass which combines most of the necessary qualities. As Its name indicates, it is a derivative of carbon, more exactly a synthetic thermoplastic resin of the methacrylic class. withstands changes of temperature, does rot under the effect of light, is not affected by alkaline solutions, diluted acids, benzine or similar products, largely eliminating cracking due to age or to the effects of tension engendered by fitting the glass into the bezel of the case. As it can easily be worked by means of a graving tool, grindstone, or file and polished, its shape can be modified under heat. Finally it is waterproof and often excellent resistance to shocks.