Benzinger unique – Ritz

Collecting · · by Christian Bissener


Benzinger Ritz steel chronograph with a silver dial and a roulette-style sub-dial in green and red, on a black strap

The Swiss hotelier César Ritz had his hotel built in the neoclassical style during the Belle Époque and opened it on 24 May 1906, overlooking Green Park. The standards he demanded of his staff and the luxury he offered his guests were entirely foreign to Victorian Londoners, and the sensation he caused changed the focus of the whole industry.

The hotel’s most famous setting is the Palm Court, where “Tea at the Ritz” was taken by King Edward VII, Charlie Chaplin, Sir Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Judy Garland and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. In the basement is the Ritz Club, a casino. It inspired Benzinger to create this one-of-a-kind watch.

Steel Benzinger caseback showing a red and black roulette wheel with a green zero under the glass
The roulette-disc rotor

Specification

  • High-grade steel case made in Pforzheim, 42mm, screwed-in strap lugs
  • Decentred hour and minute indication; Benzinger redesign of a Valjoux 7750 chronograph movement
  • Hand-guilloché and hand-engraved movement
  • New 750/000 18kt gold rotor in the form of a roulette disc, hand-guilloché, hand-engraved and hand-skeletonised
  • Hand-guilloché Sterling silver dial with hand-engraved Ritz logo
  • Small seconds printed with a roulette disc
  • Hand-sewn alligator strap with double folding clasp