Benrus Launches the Sea Lord, a New Version of a Classic Dive Watch

When it comes to watches associated with the United States military, the Benrus name looms large. Beginning in the 1960s, Benrus supplied service members with simple, tactical, and reliable watches that have gone on to be quite collectible, including the legendary Type 1 as well as simple field watches like the DTU. Watches made specifically for diving applications are also part of the Benrus story, if not as well known. The recent reintroduction of watches bearing the historical Sea Lord branding seek to change that for the modern watch enthusiast.

The Sea Lord line was not part of the brand’s move to outfit the US military, but was strictly aimed at civilians. But the watches were made to the same high standards, and the brand’s core design language of rugged simplicity has an inescapable military vibe. While the Sea Lord watches Benrus has chosen to debut for this reintroduction of the line are as about as pure as it gets for a functional tool watch for divers, the Sea Lord line featured watches in a variety of styles (including dress watches), so it’s interesting to consider the possibilities of where the modern incarnation of Benrus might take the Sea Lord in the future. 

For now, Benrus has added a pair of watches based on what most consider the rarest and highly coveted vintage Sea Lord diver. This Sea Lord is built on an almost rudimentary vintage dive watch platform with proportions lifted from the historic references of the 1960s. That includes a 39mm case, but with modern additions like a 120 click bezel with a ceramic insert, and a full 300 meters of water resistance. This Sea Lord runs on a Soprod P024 automatic movement with 38 hours of power reserve. 

There are two variants available at launch. One is true to the original Sea Lord, and features a black dial with cream colored lume on the hour markers and hands. The dial has minimal text, with only the brand’s wordmark at 12:00 and “SEA LORD”  at six. This variant ships on a black tropic strap, adding considerrably to the vintage vibes. The other option is quite a bit more contemporary, and features a dial and bezel in a bright shade of green. The hour markers and hands on this version are in an identical arrangement as the black dial, but the color is a crisp white rather than attempting to evoke aged lume material. The green version is available on a bracelet with both brushed and polished links. 

The retail price for the black dialed Sea Lord on a rubber strap is $995, and the green dialed version on the matching stainless steel bracelet is $1,095. Both are available to order right now through the Benrus website. Benrus