Benrus
Masonic Watch REAA - Fellow symbols

Vintage Masonic Benrus watch from the early 1950s, featuring a small seconds subdial at six o’clock and a white dial decorated with the symbols of the Scottish Rite (REAA), including the square and compass at twelve o’clock. This watch is based on the 1951 Benrus "Sir Carvel" model with 17 jewels. Benrus is a watch brand founded in New York in 1921 by Benjamin Lazarus, originally a watchmaker and repairman. World War II gave the company the opportunity to contribute to the war effort by producing instruments and watches for the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force — a vocation and direction that continued until 1977, at the end of the Vietnam War. Benrus is renowned for having designed the Type I and II dive watches used by SEAL teams and the CIA.

This collector’s watch is a typical product of the 1950s, a time when American watch companies that had previously produced for wartime military forces shifted toward the civilian market. Like Waltham and Elgin, these companies entered the North American market by leveraging their design expertise and offering exclusive customizations for administrations, states, or associations. Freemasonry was widespread in the U.S. after the war, and strong demand for Masonic watches led manufacturers to produce high-quality models tailored to the rites practiced in American lodges. This model features a Benrus BB4 hand-wound mechanical movement with 17 jewels, using the same blued steel hands as military watches of the time. Operating at 18,000 vibrations per hour, this Swiss-made movement (based on the ETA 930) provides a 41-hour power reserve.

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