Review of my Benarus Bronze Moray 44mm Watch
I’ve always been interested in dive watches. I don’t dive, but I love swimming and I’m fairly active, so I like a watch that can take a beating and keep on working. Dive watches are notorious for being durable; they’re often referred to as “tool watches” because they are intended to be used (as a tool) under harsh conditions. I needed a diver to fill an empty spot in my watch lineup, and I had been doing plenty of research on all the types and best brands. I eventually concluded that I wanted a bronze diver. Most dive watches are made out of titanium or steel, but bronze divers start off with a beautiful new shiny bronze color and gradually darken and patina over time, resulting in a unique color and texture created by the climate and activities you engage in.
So I knew I wanted a bronze diver, but I had several to choose from. You don’t have many options when choosing a bronze diver from one of the larger brands, and the Panerai, while totally gorgeous, is a bit out of my price range. Luckily, there are a number of microbrands making them. Probably the most notorious (yes, notorious) bronze diver is made by Olivier. I loved the look of it, but Olivier quickly alienated their customers by not being able to fulfill orders. Customers were waiting seven or eight months and not receiving their watches nor hearing any news from the company. I had no desire to deal with this kind of behavior, so I looked at some alternatives. I narrowed down my choices to those by Helson, Armida, and Benarus, eventually settling on the Benarus Bronze Moray (the 44mm one). I liked the minimalism of the Benarus dial, the size was just right, and the watch (and Benarus' other models) got stellar reviews. You can view Benarus' offerings on their website.
The specs on this watch as as follows:
- I have the 2013 model with the black face. Specs are as follows:
- Case: Cusn8 Bronze, Titanium crown and case back
- Width: 44 mm
- Thickness: 16 mm
- Movement: ETA 2842-2
- Illumination: SuperLuminova
- Crystal: anti-reflective sapphire
- Water resistance: 1000 meters
This is definitely the largest watch I have, in both width and height. Despite it’s size, it fits quite nicely on my wrist. I have a larger than average size wrist (7.5"), but this watch is not too large. The bronze is beautiful, it has definitely patinaed nicely. It is a perfect watch for casual wear, with a t-shirt and jeans. It would go perfectly in a nautical setting, bronze is very much a nautical metal. I really enjoy wearing this watch!
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the lume. There is a lot of lume paint on this watch, the lands are oversized with a ton of paint, and the dial itself has quite a bit on it as well. With just a little bit of sunlight it glows brightly for quite some time. This is my first experience with SuperLuminova and I’m pretty impressed. Initially it glows significantly more brightly than my tritium watches, but it does die eventually. Honestly though, having to choose between SuperLuminova and tritium is a good problem to have – both of them are wonderful!
This watch also came with two Benarus leather straps, a black and a brown, with bronze buckles. I’ve had it on the black strap exclusively, and I’ve been very impressed. The strap is very well made, it’s thick and vulcanized on the sides, the stitching has held up well, and the bronze buckle is beautiful. It’s been really nice having a bronze buckle, the buckle has patinaed with the watch itself and it matches it perfectly. The buckle has the name Benarus on it, which is a nice touch.
The caseback features an engraving that’s typical of all of their watches. I think the design of that is probably the only thing I dislike about the watch. I simply don’t think it’s a very nice design. It’s not interesting or beautiful. In this area, I think they could really take a lesson from Ball, who always puts significant effort into making their casebacks look good, and Ball designs different casebacks for each of their models.
Overall, I’m extremely happy with my watch. I love my Bronze Moray, and I’ve heard amazing things about their other models. I can’t recommend Benarus highly enough!