On the theory that you can never have enough cool vintage chronographs, here is another little gem that I have known and loved, the Benrus “Sky Chief”. Produced in the post WWII-era by the New York-based Benrus Watch Company and marketed with its evocative name to the aviation-mad public of the late 40s and 1950s, as well as the increased purchasing power of the Western world’s newly beefed up air forces and transatlantic airlines, the Sky Chief is a classic pilot’s chronograph by design.
In its most common iteration, it has 3-registers for constant seconds, minute recorder and 12-hour recorder, the latter complication being a somewhat new development for a mass-produced wristwatch that came to be the standard for most fine chronographs going forward. The usual engine found under the hood was a Venus 178 well before it was adopted by Breitling for their Navitimers in the mid-50s. And a bit later, perhaps because Breitling sucked up almost all Venus production, Benrus used the ubiquitous Valjoux 71/ & 72 column wheel chrono ebauches that would go on to serve the watch industry for so many years. Different alphanumeric codes were engraved on the bridges to indicate which caliber was being used and none of these movements had shock protection at this early date.
Sky Chief with Venus movement