Still in existence the Benzinger Company is based in the Black Forest region of Germany and manufactures specialised machine tools for a variety of industries. With a factory in Unterreichenbach near Pforzheim (the jewellery and gold-smithing centre of Germany) Benzinger first appeared as a company in 1895 under the name Scheerle & Behner. In 1917 their name changed and they concentrated their energies on supplying such items as presses, and chain bending and brass & wire-rolling machines to the local jewellery industry. They also manufactured a range of precision bench lathes and, in the years around WW2, produced special machines for cutting pocket and wrist watch cases. Although precision lathe production continued in post-war years their name failed - in comparison with other established German makers of similar equipment such as  G. Boley, Lorch, and Leinen -  to become as well-known. However, in the specialised jewellery field they became justifiably famous for offering a range oflathes designed to produce and modify wedding rings - machines that could also be adapted to a variety of precision machining processes. The ring blanks were cut from a tube of silver or gold and carried on an expanding collet, the opening and closing action of which was lever operated. The lathes always had two top slides, one lever operated and usually fitted with a conventional toolholder and the other able to be swung in a radius to form the curves along the ring edges. Some high-speed automatic versions were also manufactured and found a ready home, even at their very high price, in the workshops of larger jewellery manufacturers.
If you have a Benzinger lathe, or any further information about company's products, the writer would be very interested to hear from you.