This advertisement appeared in a news magazine called The Sphere, on July 14th 1900, for a ‘field’ watch at the cost of £25. According to some calculations that I have seen, this would be about £2,500 today.
This jewellers was founded in 1847 by James William Benson and Samuel Suckley Benson; they did not just sell the watches, however, they also manufactured watch movements too. Samuel, a silver smith and jeweller, was born in 1822, and it seems he died in the 1850’s when James took over the running of the business. Originally their premises had been at 43 Cornhill and in Ludgate Hill, but when James took over after 1855 they remained business was in just Ludgate Hill. Benson’s opened another shop in Old Bond street due to their popularity and the fact that what we might today call celebrities patronised them, at home and abroad. Their advertisements carried endorsements from many of the rich and famous of the day, including Queen Victoria, Edward Prince of Wales, the Kings of Siam, Portugal, Denmark, and Greece, the Emperor of Japan and the Tsar of Russia. I wonder which King of Greece? Thinking back to a previous post, I wonder if it was the unfortunate monarch bitten by a monkey while defending his dog?
Benson’s moved on to wrist watches, as they became fashionable replacing the pocket watch; however, when their factory yard was hit during one of the earliest bombing raids on London, in 1914, they had to buy their mechanisms from Switzerland from such manufacturers as Longines.
Benson’s made watches for a variety of different purposes, including duo dialled doctor’s watches, waterproof watches and single button chronographs; they still bore James’s name, J. W. Benson, and continued to be made to the highest standard. However, Benson’s was eventually bought out by one of its competitors and the name vanished and became forgotten except by collectors.
Lois Elsden 