Valour 38 Date: RZE's Titanium Tool Watch

by Vincent Deschamps

Titanium tools

In the fabulous world of micro and independent horology, there are only a few brands which have become staples of this section of the watch market. Brands known the world over for making particular types of watches. Their specialty of sorts. So when I think about titanium tool watches my mind goes straight to RZE. It is the brand for such a genre of timekeeping devices as titanium is its material of choice for cases and bracelets throughout its entire catalog. And we’ve reviewed a few models from the brand already and so are delighted to be taking a close look at the Valour 38 Date.

RZE Valour 38 Date Watch Review — RZE Valour 38 Date @mainspring.watch

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The Valour is a field watch, a type of timekeeping device which has been around for more than a century. One might say, actually, that field watches are the oldest genre of watches as they were already present in the form of pocket watches—that is full stacks of Arabic or Roman numerals for the hour markers and large hands. The most basic dial layout for telling the time which is so effective that it is still being used today. The Valour 38 Date was created to be lightweight, legible, and reliable. And to reach those lofty goals, it is chalk-full of specs which make its $349 price tag quite hard to beat.

Key Features of the RZE Valour 38 Date

Titanium case

The first thing you should know about the Valour 38 Date is that the case is indeed made of titanium. A lightweight material which RZE reinforced thanks to its proprietary UltraHex compound. (Sidenote: RZE was one of the first brands to offer reinforced titanium watches on the global market.) Reinforced titanium is eight times more scratch resistant than naked steel and twice as light. Paired on the brand’s bespoke FKM rubber strap, the Valour 38 weighs a meager 57 grams. That’s a third of the ideal weight for a proper tool watch. Despite that, it comes with 100 meters of water resistance (screw-down crown and case-back) which is ideal for this type of timekeeping device.

Movement, crystal and bracelet

To keep the price of the Valour 38 down and to guarantee its reliability, RZE opted for a Seiko NH35 caliber (3Hz/41 hours of power reserve,) a true tractor of a mechanical movement which is easy to service and rather accurate out-of-the-box. In addition to the reinforced titanium case, we find a flat piece of sapphire with inner anti-reflective coating, generous applications of lume for nighttime legibility and use, and a strap that is thick yet comfortable to wear and which comes with quick-release spring-bars for easy strap change. For an extra $100 you can get RZE’s new straight- link full titanium bracelet with on-the-fly micro-adjustment mechanism.

Highly legible dial

The primary purpose of a field watch is to be robust and legible. And I would say the RZE Valour 38 does very well in both areas. Regardless of which colorway you choose—Calcite (cream,) Carbon Black, Medallion Yellow or Slate Gray—you are guaranteed a legible dial and one whose design language is reminiscent of 1960s field watches. In other words: matte syringe-style hour and minute hands, a needle-shaped seconds hand complemented by a lumed lollipop element, and a full stack of Arabic numerals printed in a modern typeface. So a contrasty dial which is indeed legible. In low-lit conditions the hands and lume plots on the outside of the hour markers glow brightly in a yellow-ish tint.

Still as a field watch the RZE Valour 38 Date comes with minimum branding: the brand’s “R” logo is embedded with the inner 24-hour military scale and the words “100m/330FT” and “Automatic” are printed below the pinion in a lighter weight typeface. A frame date aperture at the six adds a little bit of functionality and is easy to read as RZE painted the date numerals in a contrasting color. Moreover, the case is typical RZE which means it comes with lots of angles, no chamfers, and a semi-integrated crown. (The right side of the case protrudes out slightly to form crown guards.) The crown showcases a deep knurling which makes it easy to grab and operate.

Specs

Case	Titanium /w UltraHex 38mm Diameter 45mm Lug to Lug 11mm 20mm “Lug Width” Screw Down Crowns & Case Back 100m Water Resistance
Dial & Crystal	Sapphire Crystal Matte Dial Date @ 6 Syringe Handset Super-LumiNova
Movement	NH35 24 jewels 21, 600bph 41-Hour Power Reserve
Strap	Titanium Bracelet /w Comfort Adjust or Black FKM Rubber Strap

Gavox AviDiver II GMT

Final Thoughts

In addition to being the go-to brand for full titanium tool watches, RZE is also known for keeping its prices reasonable regardless of how good their watches are. And while the brand could have justified hiking up its prices due to having a unique position on the market, its goal is, actually, to offer quality tool watches which are attainable to the largest swatch of the watch collecting community as possible. So that you and I can buy an RZE for our upcoming adventure or to simply live our daily life. Which is what makes the Valour 38 Date so attractive: it looks unique, it’s well made, and it is attainable at $349 on the FKM rubber strap and $449 on the titanium bracelet.

About the author

Vincent Deschamps is a museum professional, originally from France, with more than 10 years experience as a researcher, producing visitor experiences for national and international organizations. He is also the founder of mainspring.watch. You can follow Vincent on Instagram.

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