The Benrus Sky Chief Takes Its Modern Maiden Flight

Now, here is where the Benrus “wrinkle” comes in. Many watchmakers of this breed tend to hew religiously to their vintage mil spec strengths, resulting in timepieces that can be tagged as faithful reproductions or reissues.

Benrus timepieces, however, while always honoring heritage associations, step beyond those descriptions, delivering a sense of thoughtful revival and modernity. The brand recognizes what made its archival designs so functional, dependable, and “badass” in the first place, and builds on that significance, which makes its timepieces special.
 

Tellingly, modern Benrus watches do not always lean too heavily into a military narrative, either. For instance, I’ve known about the watchmaker for a while, but Benrus really got on my radar in 2022 with its Series #3061, a collaboration with Windup Watch Shop.

While originally created as a commercial take on a mil spec timepiece, this Series #3061 was also a handsome ode to the watch worn by Steve McQueen in 1968’s seminal detective thriller Bullitt (they had me at “McQueen,” BTW).
 

Similarly, the recent debut of two executions of what is arguably Benrus’ most iconic model, the Sky Chief, presents a profound new chapter for the revived watchmaker.

Certainly, the functionality and precision of this pilot chronograph lend it some inherent military authenticity, but when first introduced in the 1940s, the Sky Chief became known as a preferred timepiece for high-flying commercial airline pilots. In this re-envisioning, the Sky Chief certainly retains its mid-century “Come Fly with Me” romance, with some apt au courant innovations, to boot.

Powered by a caseback-visible, COSC-certified ETA 2894 automatic chronograph movement (which provides a power reserve of 42 hours), the highly polished 316L steel case of the modern Sky Chief has been jumped up 1mm from the original’s 35mm case size.
 

Now, a 36mm case size syncs up nicely with the growing popularity of smaller watches, but that seemingly small size increase presents a kind of sweet spot. Especially with its abundant vintage references, it doesn’t wear overly small, even on larger wrists (guilty, as charged). Case height is an appropriately thin 11.9mm.

The squared-off chrono-pushers at 2 and 4 o’clock also strike an apt middle-ground between perhaps overly vintage mushroom pushers and modern sculpted activators. Moreover, the Sky Chief’s beloved three-register dial (with running seconds tallied at 3, 12-hour counter at 6, and a pilot-friendly 30-minute counter with special gauging for “dead reckoning” navigation at  9 o’clock) is given some legibility enhancement from a new double-domed box sapphire crystal.
 

Finally, the original’s slimmer bezel (for a tool watch) is kept for a sense of sophisticated, stylish appeal.

Dial color options include a clean Cirrus White and a dark, almost black Stratus Grey (both derived from popular vintage Sky Chief color ways). Both dials feature glossy, lacquer-finished sunburst main dials; snailed, azuré-finished sub-dials (to mimic the shifting shades of the sky); and the expected lume for the hands and indices.
 

Paired with a handsome grey leather strap or an optional black leather strap, both Sky Chief models are available for $3,950 each as you read this. You can do your pre-flight check (and learn more) at the Benrus website.