Are you familiar with the Pantone Color of the Year? If you are, then you already know where I’m going with this. If not, give me a paragraph to get you up to speed and explain why it is relevant to my review of the RZE Endeavour.
Pantone is the authority on color. Originally a printing company, they established a proprietary color matching and indexing system that became the world standard. If a designer wants to make a run of yellow t-shirts, he doesn’t tell the factory, “send one of your men to the grocer for a pound of their best butter, and match that exactly.”* He specifies the Pantone code for the yellow he wants, like 12-0738 TCX Yellow Cream, RGB 239 220 117 (specifically formulated for cotton), or whatever formula precisely matches his vision. Now, being color gods, the folks at Pantone keep a sharp eye on fashion and design. For the past 20 or so years, they have chosen a Color of the Year to set the tone and predict the predominant color trend. Sometimes, their logic escapes me. Was there anything particularly Turquoise about 2010? I have no idea. In other years, their choice seems weirdly prescient. I mean, it doesn’t take a political genius to see why they believed 2020’s Classic Blue could “highlight our desire for a dependable and stable foundation.” For 2021, Pantone chose not one but two colors: Ultimate Gray and Illuminating (yellow), and I’m quite sure you’ve noticed that the prototype sent for review has a gray case and a yellow dial. My point? Oh yeah. I’ll get to that later. For now, let’s talk about the watch.
I reviewed the first RZE last year when the brand was spelled “Reise.” That watch was the Resolute, a mid-sized, titanium-cased, and surprisingly dapper tool watch. One rebrand and a snappy new logo later, we have the RZE Endeavour diver, now open for pre-orders for an expected delivery window of late May to June. It’s impossible to miss the familial resemblance between the Resolute and Endeavour. Their angular cases are nearly identical from the bezel down. Both are 40mm wide, 48mm long, and have 20mm between the lugs. The signed, screw-down crown appears unchanged – indeed, it seems the Resolute’s head previewed the new logo.
Flip it over, and the case back is all business. You get minimal engraving, no decoration, just a solid disk of titanium that is threaded and sealed with a Viton gasket. Behind it is a Seiko NH38A, the watch world’s rugged workhorse and the one I prefer for its low cost and quiet rotor.
A diving bezel and increased water resistance (200m to the Resolute’s 100m) made this case ever so slightly thicker. Still, the Endeavour measures just 12.5mm, and the wedges cut into the case sides and crown guards work the same slimming magic here as they did on the Resolute, resulting in a case that seems remarkably svelte.
I was surprised at how much the new bezel changed the look of the case. The Endeavour has exactly the same broad, clipped corners and steep, angular lugs that gave the Resolute almost cushion-case presence, but the new bezel takes up that space. As a result, you focus on its round coin-edge and not the case surface below it.
The bezel itself is nicely done. Like the rest of the watch, it is titanium. All markings are engraved and painted except for the lumed triangle. I know I like to complain about engraved markers that are not lumed, but filling these with white lume would have made it far less legible under normal lighting conditions. Black paint makes far more sense both aesthetically and practically. Bezel action is excellent, snapping firmly through its 120-clicks without a hint of wobble or back play.
Like the case, the Endeavour’s dial is an evolutionary step from the Resolute’s, and this is a very good thing. Raised baton markers make a welcome return, as does the slim handset, finished in a matte gray that compliments the case’s color. Squint at those markers, and you will notice the primary ones are split and filled with both C3 and BGW9 SuperLuminova, a distinction that is far more apparent at night when it pops to life with a bright, two-tone glow. Of course, it sports the new logo, which I prefer as it is both more distinctive and more compact.
But let’s talk color, shall we? Yes, you can order the Endeavour in blue, white, or gray, and they all look quite nice (actually, the full-lume Polaris White is mighty tempting) but savor that Medallion Yellow for a moment. I can’t tell you the formula, but it is perfect to my eye; strong presence, not Post-it Note pale, nothing drab or mustardy, warm without straying too close to orange. A sand-textured dial prevents it from being too shiny. Sunny though it may be, the surrounding gray case anchors it, imparting an almost industrial edge. If this isn’t the hot seller of the bunch, I’ll eat my hat.
So, I dig the case and the dial, but I still haven’t discussed my favorite part, the part that turns the Endeavour up to 11: the titanium bracelet. I have a special place in my heart for titanium. Its warm gray color fairly screams “high-tech tool.” Back in the day, its high strength and low weight made it the ideal material for aerospace applications. We built SR-71s out of the stuff and if you are into such things, look up the story of how the CIA bought the raw materials from the USSR to build the very planes that spied on them. As a watch material, titanium brings these same properties but also a few challenges. Titanium buckles are almost impossible to find, so if the brand supplies one with its watch as RZE does, you had best hold onto it. Also, the metal’s color can vary between batches, resulting in outcomes like the Duxot Forza we reviewed last year on which the case, bracelet, and clasp were three different tones of gray. Suffice to say; if you are going to do a titanium bracelet, you have got to do it right.
RZE did it right. It is an H-link bracelet that tapers to a signed 16mm clasp. The matte gray finish on the titanium links is identical to that of the case. Thanks to a titanium coating, the clasp matches as well, even though it is actually stainless steel. Single-sided screws keep it all together and make resizing a breeze. Four micro-adjustments ensure the perfect fit. Tough as titanium may be, you can beat it up. To forestall such damage, RZE coats everything – watch, bracelet, and clasp – with ULTRAhex, bringing the hardness to an impressive 1200Hv, or roughly the same scratch resistance as its sapphire crystal. The watch also comes with a tropic rubber strap that I did not sample, but come on! I’m sure the strap is just fine, and I know it comes with a titanium buckle, which is great, but really, “Titanium Bracelet” is the headline here. RZE lists the bracelet as a $99 accessory in the web store, and I have no idea how they do it.
On the wrist, the Endeavour’s low profile and feather weight are a breath of fresh air in the world of otherwise chunky divers. RZE lists the bracelet’s weight as just 100-110g, and it is a lightness you notice right away. I should note that by its very nature, titanium lacks the solid feel and sound of stainless steel, and I know a handful of watch nerds who hate it for that reason. I am not one of those people. Lightness is not a bug; it’s a feature and a desirable one at that. The Endeavour’s compact length allowed it to sit squarely within the area of my 6.75” wrist, and unlike many watches that have crossed The Time Bum’s desk lately, the clasp is properly sized. I’ve come to despise the boxy, ratcheting clasps that are all the rage now and resent the bulk they add. I’ll take a slim flip-lock like the Endeavour’s over one of those beasts every time.
I started this review by talking about color, and it’s time to circle back. It was no accident that Pantone chose not a single color but a pair. They say they did so to show the impact of dissimilar colors when unified. When the bright clarity of yellow is grounded with a sober foundation of gray, the result is “[p]ractical and rock-solid but at the same time warming and optimistic.” It is a noble goal after the bitter divisions of 2020; a touch Pollyannaish perhaps but a worthy aspiration nonetheless. Now, the Medallion Yellow RZE Endeavour isn’t “Ultimate Gray” and “Illuminating” exactly, but its similar palette conveys the same strength, energy, and assurance – qualities backed up by its combination of hard-wearing components with a lean, youthful design.
Am I reading too much into this? Maybe. But even if you disregard color as a socio-political metaphor, the RZE is still a solid diving watch made with quality materials and a tight, fresh look for a very affordable price. Full retail will be $460, but you can snap one up during the presale period for $399. That is excellent by any standard and less than half the cost of the similarly equipped but ultimately disappointing Duxot.
How much did I like the RZE Endeavour? Enough that I just placed an order for one of my own. If you want to follow suit, visit RZEwatches.com.
* I will send a watch strap to the first person who correctly identifies the source of that quote.
Update: Congratulations to Marvin from Texas who correctly identified this line about an hour after I posted. The line was delivered by the incomparable Myrna Loy as Muriel Blandings in Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House (1948). For his quick reflexes and appreciation for charming old movies, he wins a Feynman FKM strap.
