Review and photos by Mike Razak
Phoenix, Arizona, is not the first place one thinks of when they think “Swiss watches.” But that’s exactly where newcomer Endatto Craft Timepieces finds it headquarters. Born from the mind of Ted Verdarame, a former management consultant who went straight and pursued his passion for watches. After over a year of development and production hurdles (Hi, I’m COVID, have we met?), Endatto released its first model, the C1, earlier this year. It comes in two iterations—green and red—and I was lucky enough to go hands-on with both.
The case for the Endatto C1 is nothing new or dramatic, but it is well-made. A polished fixed bezel surrounds a flat sapphire bezel for a dressy and modern aesthetic that forgoes a dome and saves thickness, keeping the watch at just 10.7mm. The 39mm case features simple slab sides that are polished and flow naturally into 20mm lugs.
The lugs have a sleek downturn that helps the watch wear even better than afforded by its eminently wearable dimensions. The tops of the lugs are perfectly brushed for a bit of contrast without detracting from the genteelness of the piece. The crown at 3’clock is easy to operate and has ridging and a deep engraved ‘E’ against its polished end.
If it weren’t painfully obvious, the dial is the very best thing about the C1. The C1V1 is green while the C1V2 is red. I must share that the dials reminded me of a panini press that MOMA might sell—abstract and desirable, nebulous and refined, and perfect for a Caprese sandwich.
I digress: the Endatto dials are awesome. Featuring a laser-cut pattern of grooving, they are entirely new to me (aside from a certain high-end Swiss watch that costs eight times as much). On both models, a white date window sits at 3 o’clock with a beveled aperture. A standard baton handset features a polished seconds hand and just barely adequate Super-LumiNova BWG9 lume. The hour hand seems a bit short to me; at the risk of obscuring the date window for 35 minutes or so, it could use an extension.
The green C1V1 is the clear winner here. Compared to its half-grooved brethren, it simply presents more of what makes this watch stand out. Diagonal grooving cuts across half the dial, crashing splendidly into vertical lines, while a sunburst outer ring holds the minute and hour markers. The cardinal markers are trapezoidal with a polished trapezoid set within the lume, for a border effect. The remaining baton markers are polished with a rim of lume. I love the idea, but due to the limits it puts on lume application, there’s a brightness imbalance between the non-cardinal markers and the other lumed areas. The date window here is nestled into the vertical lines with good effect.
The red C1V2 offers a less exciting option, with a horizon-like pattern that leaves the top half of the dial with a sunburst finish, without the contrasting border. There’s also a white line encircling the dial and Like the green dial, polished markers are surrounded by lume, but without the bolder cardinal markers, it suffers more intensely from the same issues of lume imbalance. Further, the date window stands out more, seeming more of an afterthought as it bisects the sunburst and grooved halves.
Rolling the watch over, a screw-down, sapphire display caseback shows of the ETA 2824. The movement is standard grade but does allow for the “Swiss Made” appellation on the dial. Standard grade ETA, too, is nothing to scoff too hard at: it is regulated to +/- 12 seconds/day accuracy right off the shelf, far exceeding most of the Japanese movements common in microbrands. 38 hours of power and a decorated rotor will carry you on your journey with a dash of class—as if this watch needed more.
Around the periphery of the case, you’ll find standard information including the brand name, a reaffirmation of its Swissness, and testimony to its 50m of water resistance (praise be).
You’ll see that most of the photos herein do not feature the included two-stitch leather straps. While of undoubtedly high quality, the padding creates a stiffness that made the watch hard to wear on my bony 7-inch wrists. You could break it in or thank god for the quick-release springbars, which make swaps easy. There’s also tell of a different strap available being for purchase, but I think Endatto would do well to make it the stock strap.
Green and red aren’t the easiest colors to pair with, but you’ll find no issue matching a good variety of browns, blues, and darker shade straps. These watches will not, however, accommodate a NATO strap—not due to engineering, but because that would be a sin against man on a watch the leans so dressy.
What is the price of groove-dialed elegance? $1200, and I’m having trouble with it. One of the challenges of starting a new brand, no doubt, is pricing. There’s a need to recoup costs, but there’s also a need to be self-aware: as a first-time creator, asking for $1200 necessitates a product where the only flaws are subjective (say, a busy dial or a loud color scheme). Known brands, for better or worse (generally worse) tend to be given more leeway; the buyer is knowingly paying a bit more for the name. Newcomers aren’t afforded such allowance.
The Endatto C1 is well made but falls short in the lume and strap departments. The main takeaway is a watch that offers a relatively unique dial. I can’t speak to what the development and production costs were—there’s no Kickstarter and no preorder, so the brand is self-funded, which is no small feat. That deserves a bit of a price boost, if only out of respect. But the watches should be priced closer to $800-$900.
I do in fact like the Endatto C1. It’s an aesthetically pleasing watch that wears well but unfortunately has a too-high price tag. The look may well be enough to sway you, and if you are thusly swayed, you can head over to the site and order the red or green C1 right now.⬩
