Exactly six months ago we went on a deep exploration of what has become a staple in my personal watch box: the Benrus DTU-2A/P. The most authentic field watch I had ever looked at, analyzed, and gushed over. Born from the 1962 U.S. Government MIL-W-3818B specification which codified how field watches would look like for the many decades to come, and whose influence can still be felt today, the DTU is the quintessential discreet, legible, and robust utilitarian timekeeping device which was designed and manufactured for those who get shit done. And unlike what I feel about many professional-oriented tool watches which often appear to me as being over-the-top for a civilian life such as mine, the DTU has felt at home in my daily life since day one. I don’t do battlefields or guns but I feel at home wearing a 34mm sandblasted and matte field watch. But as it did in the 1960s as it does today, Benrus understands that some of you might prefer to sport a more elegant version of it. 

And so it had created and it just recreated an urban sibling of the DTU, the #3061 BU which stands for “Bullitt,” indeed the movie whose main character was always cooler than I ever would be wore the civilian version of the military watch whose main visual distinguishing features were the fully polished case, the red arrow tip on the seconds hand, and the brand’s wordmark printed above the pinion. Otherwise the watches were the same and built from the same horological stock. In 2022 Benrus re-issued for the first time the #3061 BU through a collaboration with Worn & Wound which came and went, but at last gave us all the opportunity to wear another slice of history by creating yet another version of it, but this time different in quite a few aspects as we’re about to see. It’s bigger, fancier, but still a Benrus, and the brand’s proposition for what an icon remastered for the 21st century should look like. Spoiler alert: I like it a lot and you might too. (You know what this means, don’t you?) 

Specifications

The first thing I loved about my DTU is the fact that Benrus preserved (and honored) the original 34mm case dimension which fits my 6.50”/16.5cm like a silk glove fits a prince’s delicate hand. One millimeter smaller or larger and it would have been a whole different watch and one which I wouldn’t have had such nerdy pleasure to wear. But as it is often the case when a brand recreates an old model, it puts it through a maximizer machine which transforms a small case (by today’s standard) into a normal case (still by today’s standard.) This is what Benrus did for the collab piece it worked out with Worn and Wound and what it did again with the #3061 BU: the case is now 39.5mm in diameter, 47mm lug-to-lug, 9.95mm thick, and comes with a 20mm lug width. So it’s large and a bit long but thin which makes it easy to sport and what makes for an actually interesting wearing experience because its dimensions make it into somewhat a statement piece but one which is averagely weighted on the wrist. 

As Benrus did with the DTU and which it also did here is to equip the watch with a screw-down crown and case-back for 100 meters of water resistance, so that we all can confidently wear the 3061 without any stress about something wet or dusty getting inside the case which would disrupt the proper functioning of the caliber. A perfect segue to talk about the ETA 2892 which ticks inside at 4Hz and which comes with 42 hours of power reserve which we can gush at thanks to a sapphire case-back. I personally love the look of the movement visible through a piece of glass and surrounded by a radially brushed ring of metal on which the essential specs are indicated. We also find a double-domed sapphire atop the dial, complemented by inner and outer anti-reflective coating, which is great to have as domed crystals tend to reflect light like an uncovered sniper’s scope in broad daylight. Lastly, Benrus was generous with the BGW9 lume it applied on the hands, applied hour markers, and printed triangles. 

Design

I do not have an insider’s scoop to share with you but it appears that Benrus was just recently re-revived as the collections it has added to its catalog in the past year or so have been quite exceptional. Yes, it first revived many of its iconic models without creating any new designs, but when it released the #3061 BU it quickly released actual new versions of a field watch, the #3061 GT for example, based I assume on the same Bullitt Hollywood inspiration, as it recreated the Type I and II alongside modernized versions of these models. So it offers the traditionalists watch nerds like yours truly a version for them, and it offers more daring watch enthusiasts an opportunity to get a taste for a particular segment of American and Swiss horology. It’s a smart move but one which doesn’t feel far-fetched as the #3061 BU isn’t just a more elegant version of the DTU, but an actual new design. And so building from its own history whilst proposing something different couldn’t be an easy path for Benrus to walk on. 

And so on that I already say “Bravo.” 

From a design perspective, there are two ways to look at the 3061: what it has inherited from the DTU and therefore the first Bullitt watch, and what it does differently from its forbearers. In the first case we find the full stack of Arabic numerals accompanied by the 24-hour military scale like a pilot fish always follows the shark, syringe-style hour and minute hands, a needle seconds hand with a red arrow tip, and the brand wordmark printed above the pinion in a small font. In other words, a classic layout for a military watch. Then there is what differentiates it from what came before: the Arabic numerals are applied and composed of polished metallic surrounds inside of which loads of BGW9 was deposited; the hour and minute hands are polished and faceted, elongated as well to match the larger dial opening; and therefore the dial is much larger than it was on the OG. So the brand moved from printed and matte elements to applied and polished ones, fitting inside a large body which by default in 2025 renders any watch contemporary and modern. 

Moreover, the case is endowed with a different silhouette compared to the DTU and original BU to make it more appropriate for urban and elegant environments. The step mid-case construction (the visible plateau where the lugs meet the case on the DTU) have been replaced by straight curves which depart from the lugs and continue into the mid-case with no chamfers, which are complemented by upper and side brushed sections, but a polished chamfer on the upper portion of the case-back, and a fully polished fixed bezel which adorns a beautiful domed profile. Seen from the side the crystal and bezel seem to have the same cuts which creates a delicate sense of harmony. So the lugs are narrow and long, and merge into the narrow case-flanks which melt into the bezel and dial when seeing the watch from above. This endows the #3061 BU with an indeed statement-like wrist presence save for the classically laid out dial, which to me indeed makes for a unique horological proposition and a smart transformation of an icon. 

The Heart of the Matter

Ten years ago we all were mesmerized by the revival of certain Swiss brands and the fact that they re-created all of their best songs with surgical precision. One-to-one copies but better produced, and so showcased a profound lack of imagination. And some of these brands continue onto this path many years later and have yet to come up with original designs. And a few years ago, when Benrus popped back from seemingly nowhere, it played by the same rule book and didn’t make waves. But it started to, eventually it seems, by first doubling down on its commitment to revive its old iconic models by daring to make a 34mm DTU-2A/P, which at last creating a bit of splash and got people’s attention, and then by upgrading and redesigning the models it was best known for alongside thoughtful re-editions of said models. So each collection comes in different styles to match enthusiasts' eclectic tastes, once again walking down a narrow path between the old and the new, in fact yesterday and tomorrow. To me the #3061 BU of 2025 is the perfect example of that. 

Conclusion

The boring and broken-record side of me will tell you that we don’t need yet another field watch in 2025. Hell, we don’t need watches at all in the first place. But if field watches are your jam and that you weren’t too sure about a 34mm sandblasted DTU-2A/P—oh poor soul you are!—then the #3061 BU might be better for you. It is as well-built and spec’ed out as the other one, but larger and more polished, so more contemporary and better suited, as people say, for the modern enthusiast’s wrist. To add the BU to your collection you will have to remove $1,895 USD from your wallet however, which is double what you would have to pay for my favorite field watch, but yet again you’re getting something very different from a design and finish perspective. What will you do, then? 

Thanks for reading.