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Ernst Benz |
Ernst Benz Limited entered the North American market in 2001 with the introduction of a line of largely dimensioned watches. Benz's name may be familiar to some readers, but not from the wristwatch industry. Ernst Benz is a Swiss engineer who made quite a name for himself in the audio industrY. Beginning his career in the 1960s, he went to California to work at Consolidated Electrodynamics developing accelerometers and pressure transducers for the aircraft industry. After many years in the United States, he returned to Switzerland to develop a patented process for producing diamond styli for hi-fi cartridges. This was the basis for the company he founded, and he was soon able to acquire one of his customers, Empire Scientific, a
renowned American cartridge and turntable producer. A later cartridge, the Benz Micro, became the ultimate moving coil cartridge in the 1970s and '80s and is still in demand today by discerning audio buffs and deejays who work with vinyl.
In the 1980s, as cassette tapes and CDs began to displace records, Benz refocused his energies, developing an innovative aircraft instrument chronograph. As a pilot and gliding enthusiast, he was well aware of the necessity for accurate and instantly legible instruments while in the air. This was also a successful instrument, and his Benz Micro aircraft chronograph is presently standard equipment in many single-engine planes, military trainers, jets, and sailplanes, with more than one thousand in daily use globally.
As the cockpit of a glider or sailplane is limited
in space, but the need for accurate timekeeping remains critical, Benz decided to design a largeformat, automatic-winding chronograph after receiving many inquiries from fellow pilots. Previously relying on ETA to supply him with the trustworthy movements to power his navigational instruments, he once again turned to the world's largest supplier of mechanical movements to furnish the energy for these instruments for the wrist. Being both Swiss and a pilot, he is well aware of how important precision timing is. At the beginning, he produced some watches in very limited quantities, noticing that Swiss and German pilots, yachtsmen, and rally and race car drivers were utilizing them more than anyone else.
The decision to enter the North American arena was actually a fluke. Benz winters in Boca Raton, Florida, where Charles Agnoff, president of Orbita Corporation, also keeps his boat. As their docks are neighboring, it was obvious that it wouldn't be long before the two met. Agnoff was very impressed by the large size of the sapphire crystal exhibition window on the case back and bought six of the timepieces in order to show the winding action of Orbita's watch winders at the next trade show he was attending. Much to his surprise, many Orbita dealers were fascinated with the new watch and asked Agnoff where they could be found. The decision was ultimately made to set up an American-based operation to inventory and market the pieces with Orbita providing assistance.
Based in North Carolina, Ernst Benz Limited
was, naturally, appointed the official watch supplier for the events organized by the First Flight Centennial Foundation on the occasion of the 1 Oath anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first manned flight in 2003. Based on the ChronoSport, a timepiece that debuted in 2002, the company is offering three specially designed limited edition watches in honor of the Wright brothers' accomplishment.
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Ernst Benz
6740 Netherlands Drive
Wilmington Drive, NC 28405
Tel: 910-792-9802
Fax: 910-792-0523
www.ernstbenz.com
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