RZE Valour Chronograph
RZE Watches has really hit the ground running. Their first watch, the Resolute was very well received, but the Endeavour that I reviewed really took off, with all the preorders selling out before expected delivery. Now, their third watch, the RZE Valour Chronograph is about to hit the scene. Unlike their first two offerings, based on the same case design, the Valour is more vintage-inspired, uses a meca-quartz chronograph movement, and only comes in 3 options, a GT Black, a Salmon dial, and one dubbed Crusader White. You can see all colors in the picture below. These watches will not go up for preorder, nor will there be a month-long Kickstarter campaign. No, on July 31st, these watches are going to be available for immediate shipment. That’s surprising in itself, considering how most microbrands do preorders or KS these days, and considering the past year we have all had, it seems RZE is pretty confident these watches will be a hit. At $369 at launch, they are definitely a budget-minded piece but read on to see how they stack up.
Specifications:
Price $369
https://www.rzewatches.com
Available July 31st 2021
When you read through the specifications, you can see, there is a lot happening with this piece, especially for under $400. Yes, this is not automatic, it is a meca-quartz, an SII V64 meca-quartz, a popular option for microbrands for doing a chronograph on the cheap. Some have an issue with this movement because even though you get a mechanic feel to the pushers and a flyback style Chrono hand, there are no running seconds most of the time. (No pun intended). It is available with running seconds at the 6 o’clock sub-dial, but for some reason, many brands choose to delete that and go for a two-eye Chrono instead. I think it is an aesthetic choice and nothing more and if I am being honest, I am not a big fan of a running second sub-dial, so I think I prefer to do without.
Looking past the movement, the RZE Valour Chronograph does offer a lot, with a grade 2 titanium case, in this instance, Black PVD coated with an UltraHex coating on top of it. What is UltraHex you ask? Well, it is a hard coating, meant to reduce wear and ability to scratch, but like many other hard coatings, this will wear off over time, and remember, NOTHING IS SCRATCHPROOF, there is always a surface or substance that can scratch a coating. The vintage-esque case has a case shape that could be called a cushion case, but the lugs drop-down severely, giving a sharp-angled appearance that is pleasing to the eye, but also comfortable to wear. You will notice drilled lugs as well, but the VKM rubber strap is quite nice on the wrist, but not everyone likes rubber, so at least you can easily switch it out.
Chronograph pushers are integrated into the case, and for all those that love watches such as this, but are usually let down by no screw-down crown-fret not, as RZE has given the Valour 200m of water resistance, and yes, the crown does screw down. The R Logo is very prominent and still reminds me of the DC Superhero Robin, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The watch you see here in the photos and video was a sample sent to me back in April, but even this sample felt like a production piece and the crown and pushers had a great solid feel and action to them. More and more these days, watches that are relatively cheap continue to surprise me for the quality that is achieved.
As I mentioned, the dial of the RZE Valour Chronograph is a two-eye chronograph, and with that, you get a somewhat cleaner dial than you would with a standard Chrono. All dials look to be easy to read the time, even this black and orange dial, but the salmon dial seems to have the most contrast. As is with sub-dials this small, they are hard to read at a glance, and as I am getting older these days, I probably wouldn’t use this to time anything myself, but if you do, this is a 60 minute Chrono only, and then you have your military time as well, and the standard tachymeter around the bezel. My favorite aspect of the dial? That would be the date at 6 o’clock, but if you are a fan of Watchreport, you already knew that.
On my 7 1/2 inch wrist, the Valour is quite comfortable. The case shape just lends itself to draping nicely on the wrist and as I said, the rubber strap is smooth and comfortable, has some venting ridges on the back and it does use quick-release spring bars-not my favorite, but that does seem to be the trend these days, and I need to get it over it I guess. The buckle may not look super custom, it is a good-looking buckle, and at least it is not one of those $10 cent thumbnail buckles some brands use.
This is the type of watch that I wouldn’t look to for stellar lume, and even though the RZE Valour Chronograph does have a pretty decent lume application, this is not a dive watch, so do not expect to read the time 5 hours later in the pitch-black dark. That said, it does look nice and bright when fully charged, as you can see below.
