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Old 25 December 2021, 01:20 PM   #1
WatchEater666
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First Custom Watch...Finally Here....

Just received this and thought I’d put a quick review together.

I modified one of Benzinger’s models to reveal the balance - which is just the right amount of skeletonization in my opinion.

Wait time, I think I ordered this in May, and received it today, on Christmas Eve. Pricing was very reasonable too for what I paid.

His guilloche work is awesome, you can tell it’s done by hand and deep. The engraving is great too. If you love engraving and guilloche, then Benzinger is probably the watchmaker for you.

Process wise, he basically drew out different ideas and iterations until we settled on something. He was super patient with me and the process was quite smooth despite the slight language barrier.

The quality of work is quite good. Is it as pristine as something like the Gronefeld Principia or Lange Zeitwerk I’ve had? No. But at the price point and for the level of handwork + features Benzinger is doing, it’s 100% acceptable. It’s basically stuff you would find from other independents around this range. You won’t find thick anglage or extensive black polish here, but that’s not the kind of finishing you’re paying for - it’s all in the engraving.

I am already thinking of a second watch. :)

Btw he also included a rubber strap which is curved to fit the watch perfectly as well as a Milanese bracelet. I’ll probably keep it on the rubber.

One other thing I’ll mention, his work seems to have improved noticeably from the other pics floating around.

This watch has led me to put my Breguet Marine on the chopping block too. The last thing I wanted to mention is that I’m a lot happier with this watch than others because of how fun the process was with Benzinger. Being a part of that makes it feel much more impactful than watches I’ve had that are 10x the price.

Lastly, these are really difficult to capture well via camera. Do not photograph well at all. In particular the blued wheels + screws look "faded" VS how vibrant they are in reality. The guilloche is very 3D as well, again, difficult to capture.




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Old 25 December 2021, 06:11 PM   #2
fmc000
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Congrats, love the idea of a very unique and customized watch.
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Old 25 December 2021, 10:17 PM   #3
enjoythemusic
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Major congrats!!! Looks stunning
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Old 26 December 2021, 02:19 AM   #4
uniqueMR
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Congrats.
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Old 26 December 2021, 03:16 AM   #5
Berto1
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Congrats amazing watch.

Wear it in good health
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Old 26 December 2021, 06:43 AM   #6
AG23
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Congratulations- that looks fantastic
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Old 26 December 2021, 11:10 PM   #7
G8RDPM
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Beautiful watch.
Congrats!
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Old 26 December 2021, 11:11 PM   #8
winst
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Nice - congratulations!
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Old 27 December 2021, 07:21 AM   #9
DJ2020
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congratulations, Stunning watch.
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Old 30 December 2021, 12:26 AM   #10
WatchEater666
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Thanks guys!
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Old 30 December 2021, 12:35 AM   #11
brandrea
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That’s a beautiful watch, congratulations
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Old 30 December 2021, 12:33 PM   #12
JakeK
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Wow! Just incredible. Congrats!
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Old 30 December 2021, 06:25 PM   #13
AG23
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Posting a second congrats for being able to figure out that awful website. Your pics inspired me to check it out and after 10 minutes I still hadn’t been able to open up a single watch.

I will confess to being an idiot, but this is the first time (maybe second!) I’ve not been able to access any watch details on a website.

A beautiful watch all the same
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Old 4 January 2022, 04:24 PM   #14
WatchEater666
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AG23 View Post
Posting a second congrats for being able to figure out that awful website. Your pics inspired me to check it out and after 10 minutes I still hadn’t been able to open up a single watch.

I will confess to being an idiot, but this is the first time (maybe second!) I’ve not been able to access any watch details on a website.

A beautiful watch all the same
Haha yes the sites for a lot of independents are pretty rough. If you email him and ask for the catalog it’s a lot easier.
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