Font of Happiness

It was a bit of a rough weekend. But this little ray of sunshine arrived in the mail yesterday.

I was writing a story about the historic Benrus brand, which has been recently revived by a group of entrepreneurs. While researching the story, I spent some time looking at vintage models on the internet and I came across this late 1950s/early ‘60s baby on eBay. The pictures weren’t great but I fell in love with the Art Deco styling of the numbers. The starting bid was low, so I took a chance.

And boy am I pleased. Yes the base metal case has a lot of pitting and wear but the silvered dial is flawless. And the applied numbers stand out even more sharply in person. The lume is darkened but present and the signed crown is practically mint.

To top it all off, it’s running like a charm. I love it so much that I just want to buy it presents like a new strap and a cozy little box to sleep in!