Endatto, a New Brand, Debuts Two Watches Inspired by the American Southwest

Endatto is a new watch brand based in Arizona, and their first watches are inspired by the landscapes of the American southwest. Like a lot of brands these days, Endatto is taking inspiration from the natural world as a starting point in their watch designs. We’ve seen this frequently from Grand Seiko, of course, as well as many other brands, particularly in the realm of “dive watches inspired by the ocean.” I always enjoy seeing how brands synthesize the world around them into a watch design, and I can’t recall another example of a watch inspired by this particular part of the country, so I was excited to see this announcement show up in my inbox. Endatto’s first watches, the C1V1 and C1V2, might not be for everyone, but in this segment of the watch industry they don’t have to be – they just need to find that segment of the watch buying public that connects to their vision.

Endatto C1V1 and C1V2

• Case Material: Stainless steel
• Dial: Green, red
• Dimensions: 39mm
• Crystal: Sapphire        
• Water Resistance: 50 meters
• Crown: Push/pull                       
• Movement: ETA 2824-2
• Strap/bracelet: Leather
• Price: $1,200
• Reference Number: n/a
• Expected Release: Available now

First and foremost, these watches are colorful. If you were expecting something inspired by a desert landscape to be drab or dull, you’d be mistaken. The C1V1 has a deep green dial, and its grooved lines are inspired by giant saguaro cacti, and their many arms and branches. The C1V2 has a red dial that Endatto promises will change appearance in different lighting conditions. Here, the inspiration is “The Wave,” a sandstone rock formation that, if you don’t know by name, you will likely recognize when you see an image of it – it’s a frequent target of nature photographers. Like the C1V1, the C1V2 features a grooved pattern, here in a simple horizontal arrangement on the bottom half of the dial, with a sunray finish up top, creating an obvious link to the Wave.

While the dials of these watches are somewhat complex, both thematically and in terms of their construction, the watches themselves are simple and classic. The cases are 39mm in diameter, with brushed and polished elements, and suitable for daily wear in almost any scenario. The applied hour markers are lume filled, as are the hands, and a date window is cut at 3:00 on each of the watches. While part of me (a large part of me, actually) would have preferred a dial without the date, it’s easy to understand the utility of including a date window on a watch meant to be worn regularly. The dials are just so nicely executed, and the centerpiece of each watch in a very tangible way, my preference would have been to leave them whole. But ultimately this is a minor quibble – you still get a strong sense of the meaning behind each watch as they are, with the date window. 

Both of Endatto’s new watches carry a retail price of $1,200. For that, you get a watch with an ETA 2824-2 movement, sapphire crystal, and 50 meters of water resistance. You’re also, in a very real sense, buying the design of the watch. That’s true for any watch, obviously, but is perhaps more apparent when that design is very personal or specific. This, in my opinion, is a thoughtful and interesting debut collection from Endatto. Endatto