The luxury sports watch market is a very crowded marketplace today with numerous competitive offerings.  Many sports watch collectors have Rolex Explorers or Omega Seamasters in their collections, and "large" watches such as the Panerai Luminor and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore have seen a tremendous rise in popularity over the past 10 years.  The Hublot Big Bang has grown in popularity, and Patek Philippe even has its Nautilus sports watch.  The Piaget Polo FortyFive chronograph hit retail stores 3 years ago, and the list goes on and on.  The watch I'm going to review for you today is a young watch which has only been in the retail channel for a short period of time and is going to be a force to reckon with - the Bulgari Endurer Chronosprint.

The Endurer Chronosprint made its worldwide debut at Baselworld 2009 under the Daniel Roth name, but it never managed to hit the retail channel.  Below is a picture by SJX of the original Daniel Roth Endurer Chronosprint.

In January 2010, Bulgari released the news that it integrated the Daniel Roth (along with Gerald Genta) brand into its own watchmaking umbrella.  And so, it slightly tweaked the Daniel Roth Endurer dial to incorporate Bulgari branding and design.  So those who were huge fans of the Daniel Roth Endurer had to wait several years for the watch to finally see the day of light, but this time as a Bulgari watch.  Nevertheless, I believe Bulgari did an outstanding job keeping the Daniel Roth "look" and modernizing its conservative design along with Bulgari's Italian modern design.  In fact, I feel the Bulgari version is far better than the Daniel Roth version.  And the end result is today's captivating Bulgari Endurer Chronosprint which debuted at Baselworld 2010.

The Bulgari Endurer Chronosprint has been in the retail channel for around a year or so, so it's still a relatively new watch.  Full retail price is currently USD $15,600 for the rubber and alligator strap variants and USD $16,600 for the metal bracelet version. 

At first glance, you will marvel at the unusual shape of the Endurer's satin brushed case accented with beautiful polished edges.  The Endurer case is not a round nor a rectangular case but a homogeneous and harmonious blend of 3 of the watches I mentioned above in my opening paragraph - the Audemars Piguet Offshore, the Patek Nautilus, and the Hublot Big Bang.  You have a protruding bezel and pentagon shaped screw bolts which remind me of the Offshore, the reminiscent flanges of the Nautilus at 3 and 9 o'clock, and the Big Bang type lugs.  I want to make it clear that I'm definitely not implying that Bulgari copied these 3 brands.  The shape of the Endurer case is so unique and distinct that the only way to describe it is to give you attributes of other watch cases.  To leave me scratching my head and wondering how to describe the Endurer case is a great testament to the originality of the case design which I raise my glass of wine to and give a nod of appreciation to the Endurer case designer whoever that may be.  Salute to you for an awesome job well done and for making sure you get the recognition you deserve!

The Endurer's satin finish and polished edges combination is one of my favorite looks because it's clean and elegant.  The polished edges also enhance the look for that extra sparkle when you move your wrist around. 

Despite its advertised size of a whopping 56mm x 51mm (measured from the elongated lugs & flanges), the Endurer wears much smaller than its advertised size, more like a 45mm watch IMO.  Don't be intimidated!

On the wrist, it feels slightly larger than a standard AP Offshore but as thin as an AP Scuba Offshore.  To give you more size comparisons, it wears larger than the standard Hublot Big Bang but smaller and thinner than a 47mm Panerai Luminor.  You definitely feel the heft, even if the strap is an alligator strap instead of a metal bracelet; so if you appreciate a watch with presence on the wrist, you'll love the Endurer.

The standard leather strap is very stiff at the lugs so it doesn't bend easily downward.  As a result, the watch wears large from the 12 to 6 o'clock length.  If you want the watch to wear slightly smaller, I would recommend getting the rubber strap version since the rubber strap will conform a little easier to the curvature of your wrist since the lug part of the strap is more flexible than the alligator strap.  However, one drawback about the rubber strap is it's difficult to unstrap when you want to take the watch off.  The friction caused by the grooves of the rubber straps rubbing against each other sometimes makes it difficult to pull the sliding rubber strap out from the keepers which are the correct size and don't need to be enlarged.  Maybe I just need to break in the rubber strap more. In any case, this is a very minor complaint.

Both rubber and leather straps use the same satin brushed tang buckle which has polished sides and tongue.

The Endurer is also available in a bracelet version.  I only wore the bracelet for a minute so I can't give you a thorough account of it on the wrist, but it did seem like a well constructed bracelet from the brief time I handled it.   The Endurer bracelet does fit very well on the wrist because the links are thin.  Thin bracelet links ensure better fitment at the curvature of your wrist.

This is my personal preference but I like metal bracelets that don't taper as much in width at the buckle area.  The bracelet seems to be the same width dimensions as both the alligator and rubber straps, even at the tapering buckle area.  However when I tried the bracelet on, I felt as if the width at the deployant clasp could be slightly wider.  That's the only improvement I would suggest to Bulgari.  For a watch as large as the Endurer, the bracelet shouldn't taper as much.  For a rubber or alligator strap, it's ok if it tapers that much but w/ the added weight of the metal bracelet, I feel the watch isn't as secure on the wrist, hence affecting comfortability.

Of all 3 strap possibilities, I feel the alligator and rubber straps are the best suited for the Endurer.  I wore the Endurer with the alligator strap for the vast majority of my review but the rubber strap is still my favorite.  The black alligator strap is your basic alligator strap, so I didn't bother to take pictures of it on the Endurer.  It's the same shape exact dimensions, length-wise and width-wise, as the rubber strap.  In terms of flexibility, the alligator strap is definitely more stiff at the lug part of the strap which is why I feel the rubber strap wins over the alligator strap.  In any case, I'd recommend the alligator strap for the modern man who dresses up in suits most of the week and the rubber strap for the casual man who likes to wear jeans and t-shirts and take the occasional dip in the swimming pool.

I love the luminova filled applied rectangular bar hour markers on the Endurer's black dial.  They're masculine and definitely elicit Bulgari's bold Italian design. 

The Bulgari website refers to the dial texture as "decorative pattern" which is ambiguous so let me describe in my own words.  The dial's horizontal stripes are slightly curved inward like an inverted speed bump on the road and create a 3-D like Côtes de Genève effect.  Very few watches indeed have this type of 3-D horizontal stripe dial.  Many women don't wear clothes with horizontal stripes because horizontal stripes makes one look wider.  Fortunately for the Endurer, horizontal stripes are very fitting!  How so one may ask?  The protruding "ears" on the sides of the case make the watch appear wider than normal, and so a non-horizontal striped dial would probably make the watch look a tad too wide.  The addition of the horizontal stripes negates this effect and makes the dial look proportional in size to the case.  Another brilliant design aspect of the Endurer if I may say so.

And going back to the rubber strap, Bulgari decorated the rubber strap with vertical 3-D stripes to match the dial.  Nice touch!  2 metal accent pieces adorn the lug side of the strap as well, and I believe their purpose are both functional and decorative in that these 2 metal accents strengthen the rubber strap near the lug area and compliment the design of the case lugs.   

At twelve o'clock is a perfect sized big date.  The big date aperture window is curved at the top resembling a bread loaf slice.  I especially like the font Bulgari used for the big date.  It's not the usual Arial or NY Times Roman font but more of a futuristic looking font which compliments the overall Endurer design.

The chronosprint counter function of the Endurer continually measures time 24 hours a day.  You can't stop the chronosprint like how you can stop a chronograph.  Looking at the chronosprint subdial at 6 o'clock, you'll notice there is no seconds hand.  However, the chronosprint can measure time up to 12 full hours.  The minute and hour registers are highly legible, very clean, and unassuming given how large this subdial is.  Timing a short event such as a parking meter or an extended event such as a turkey in the oven or an airplane flight is perfect for the Endurer. 

Since the chronosprint is always running 24 hours a day, you can use the chronosprint subdial as a GMT indicator to measure a 2nd time zone if you reset it exactly at the 2nd time zone's noon or midnight.  So in essence, you can call this Endurer a GMT as well if you want.

The chronosprint counter can be reset by pushing the a pusher between 7 and 8 o'clock.  This stainless steel pusher is DLC coated giving it its black color and high scratch resistance properties and matches well with the DLC'ed stainless steel crown.  The chronosprint pusher also has notched grooves as well for better friction and grip for your thumb.  And the curved part of the side of the case at 2 o'clock functions as great support for your index finger while your thumb depresses the chronosprint pusher.

The hands are typical Daniel Roth arrow hands.  The time's polished hour and minute hands are luminova filled at the arrow tips while the chronosprint's polished hands aren't.

Let's take a look at the back of the watch.  The Endurer has a sapphire display back, and the back bezel is stamped with Staybrite® Stainless Steel, a patented Swiss stainless steel used exclusively in the watch industry which has excellent polishing and corrosion resistance properties.

The 3 sets of triple stripes on the rear bezel collects grime and dirt over time, so be sure to clean this area every so often.

The Endurer houses the automatic Daniel Roth Calibre 1306, which uses the Girard-Perregaux calibre 3100 as its base movement, and has a power reserve of 45 hours.  It's finished with Côtes de Genève and perlage, and the balance wheel beats at 28,800vph.  The automatic rotor looks very bland, and I wished Bulgari did some type of skeletonization or modification to it.  This is definitely an area Bulgari can improve upon with the Endurer. 

The size of calibre DR1306 is small in relation to the Endurer's massive case, and I'm usually not a fan of small movements with large cases.  A vast majority of the time, if you look at the dial of a chronograph with small movement and large case, the chronograph subdials are too close to the center of the watch so the dial looks unproportional in relation to the case.  However, this definitely is not the case with the Bulgari Endurer.  The design team did an excellent job and the Chronosprint counter subdial looks perfectly proportional to the case.  It's another reason why I consider the Endurer dial to an extremely aesthetically pleasing dial given its unusual shaped large case.

If you like to change straps, it is very easy to swap between the rubber, alligator, and metal bracelets.  Just be careful so you don't scratch the satin finish on the sides of the lugs!  Each strap is secured by screw-in pins at the lugs.  One side is a tiny screw and the other side is a long solid tube with screw-in threads.  So these 2 pieces screw into each other rather than screwing directly into the lugs.  And so, you'll need 2 screwdrivers to change each strap.

Once you have the straps removed, you'll see the large oval hole where the strap piece plugs into the case.  This makes for a secure fit with no wiggling. 

The tang buckle is secured by a spring bar, so it's quick to swap that as well.

I've been waiting for the Bulgari Endurer Chronosprint ever since its debut under the Daniel Roth brand, and the wait was definitely well worth it.  I feel the Endurer is a perfect watch for anyone who wants to own a universal watch - it's dressy and elegant to wear with a suit and it's sporty and masculine for casual wear.  And especially for the collector of large sports watches, you definitely must take a look at the Endurer.  It has a unique case, clean dial, interesting complication, reliable movement, and feels great on the wrist.  And for you strap changing fanatics, you have the option to swap amongst a rubber, alligator, and metal bracelet for any mood or occasion should you decide to purchase all 3 different strap options (watch only comes standard with 1 strap option).  I've had this Endurer on loan for 5 months, and I cherish the experience so much that I will definitely be buying one myself in the near future.  Check back here in PuristSPro's Bulgari forum, and I should have an Endurer of my own no later than in 3 months time from today. 

Additional Bulgari Endurer Chronosprint Pictures including video & wristshots: