RZE Ascentus review

So this is a watch I got, 'instagramed' by. I loved the photography, the 'tiffany-esque' powder-blue dial, so despite usual non-UK import charges (£94 for a $500 watch...) I made my purchase based on their IG, their great website and the general social media bollocks hype about RZE Watches in general.

I tried to love it, I really did try. This is a microband, so whomever is behind this brand (a Singapore pilot I believe) was forcing my bias to root for the small guy and love his product...but it just couldn't and I wore it twice. I sold it last week at a loss. That itself wasn't an easy decision, not just because I like loosing money, but because it seemed such a waste. I kept asking myself if I bought thr wrong colour, or perhaps I should try one of their other models...but I'm not going to pay another ~£94 on a watch that makes me feel, "meh".

The trouble I have with titanium watches (like a Tudor Pelagos I also used to have and later sold) is the weight, or lack thereof. It feels cheap, there is no getting away from that. I'm not trying to distracted from the build quality, which actually seems very good, but in my brain the distant lack of weight in my brain = feels a bit cheap. Maybe I'd feel different about it if it was a 42mm and I could wear it as a fun beach watch or with jeans and tshirt, but it didn't feel fun.

There are of course some great touches, it has one of the best watch complications, a GMT hand, which is useable and practical (unless a Chronograph!) with a lovely orange-yellow GMT hand that pops against the powder-blue dial. I also really liked the date window being the same colour as the dial.

Then there is the 200m WR, so you could actually use it for proper water based activities and it comes with a cool travel pouch and tools to alter the bracelet.

I also tried to like the bracelet: a bracelet that has a kinda jubilee-ish vibe, with a nice taper...but it didn't excite me. In fact, despite being a fairly non-hairy bloke (not quite dolphin), it ripped the hairs out of my wrist with this bracelet! The only real lack of build quality came with the latch on the clasp, which had about 1mm play, so I could hear it click whenever I put my wrist down (que rage!).

So I don't feel hard done by, this was my decision and I watch the required amount of YouTube content to fulfil my research requirement. I also spent the required amount of time mulling this purchase over, voicing it in front of my girlfriend to get a sense of how mad she would be on a scale od 0-10 for me buying another fucking watch...so what I am saying is that I bought this with excitement, but that initial excitement didn't manifest once I had it on my wrist

Ultimately, I tried to love this watch, bit it just wasn't to be. This proves to me that life on Instagram isn't always quite as peachy as it seems, which if nothing else is a good lesson to end this review on.