Benrus

The Benrus Watch Company is a Belgian-American luxury watchmaker. It was founded as a watch-repair shop in New York City in 1921 by the American-Romanian Benjamin Lazrus. The name "Benrus" originates from the combination of Benjamin Lazrus's first and last name.

Before 1930, the company transitioned from watch repair to the manufacture of watch cases and assembly of completed watches using imported internal components from La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. During World War II, the company stopped manufacturing watches and switched to the manufacture of timing systems (e.g. fuses) used in munitions. In the 1940s and 1950s, Benrus released the Sky Chief (a chronograph), the Dial-a-Rama, the Wrist Alarm and a bracelet watch called Embraceable.

In the early 1950s, Benrus failed in a hostile takeover of Hamilton, and subsequently lost a legal battle with Hamilton in which Benrus had acquired Hamilton stock for the stated purpose of investment but for the actual purpose of control. The decision in this case has become a part of the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Manual in regard to the establishment of preliminary injunctions in antitrust cases.

In the 1960s, the company introduced self-winding watches and entered into the automobile market with steering wheel-mounted self-winding clocks. Also in this decade, Jerry Lewis was hired as a pitchman for the company's Belforte brand.

In the early 1960s, the Federal Trade Commission determined that Benrus' marketing practices--specifically, its published "list prices"--were misleading for a substantial minority (about 14%) of potential customers at the time.

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