One of the things I admire most about Breitling is that while the brand is a blue-chip luxury marque, it still produces contemporary sport and tool watches powered by high-tech quartz movements. While models like the Aerospace and Emergency arguably best epitomize this side of Breitling’s catalog, the Endurance Pro is the brand’s entry-level collection of multi-purpose sports watches offering lightweight carbon composite cases and highly accurate thermo-compensated movements. While the original series of models debuted back in 2020 and was exclusively offered in a 44mm format, Breitling has created a new 38mm midsize version of its entry-level quartz chronograph as its latest release of 2024, and the new Breitling Endurance Pro 38 makes its debut appearance in five different colorways.
At the time of launch, the new Breitling Endurance Pro 38 lineup is available in purple (ref. X83310F61B1S1), pink (ref. X83310D41B1S1), white (ref. X83310A71B1S1), light blue (ref. X83310281B1S1), and red (X83310D91B2S1). Additionally, while white, blue, and red previously existed as options among the full-size Endurance Pro 44 models, the purple and pink colorways represent entirely new options for the collection. Like their larger 44mm counterparts, the new Breitling Endurance Pro 38 models feature their respective colors on their dials and straps, along with the rubberized grips for their crowns and the small contrasting rings that adorn their pushers. With that in mind, aside from their colorways, the five new Endurance Pro 38 models are otherwise identical, and they closely follow the blueprint established by the full-size models that have become a cornerstone offering within the Swiss brand’s modern lineup.
Crafted from Breitlight, which is the brand’s proprietary carbon composite material that is three times lighter than titanium and six times lighter than stainless steel, the case of the new Breitling Endurance Pro 38 watches measures 38mm in diameter by 12.1mm thick, with 18mm lugs and an overall lug-to-lug profile of 44.7mm. The use of Breitlight for the case components combined with its reduced dimensions results in an incredibly lightweight overall package of just 26.5 grams (or 49.4 grams if you include the rubber strap), and just like the larger 44mm models, the new Breitling Endurance Pro 38 watches feature flat sapphire crystals above their dials, bidirectional bezels with compass scales, screw-on casebacks crafted from Breitlight, and 100 meters of water resistance to protect against most forms of moisture contact.
Just like their cases, the dials fitted to the new Breitling Endurance Pro 38 watches are essentially just smaller versions of what can be found among the full-size 44mm models, and they feature Arabic numeral hour markers, a trio of registers, and a date window at the 4:30 position. As the Endurance Pro series is intended for athletes, a pulsometer scale is printed along a color-coordinated angled chapter ring surrounding the periphery of the dial, and the hands and hour markers are finished with Super-LumiNova for increased legibility in dark settings. Just like a standard chronograph, two of the three sub-dials on the Breitling Endurance Pro models are occupied by a running seconds register and a 30-minute totalizer; however, rather than counting the elapsed hours, the third register measures times down to 1/10th of a second to allow users to take advantage of the Endurance Pro’s high-accuracy quartz chronograph movement.
While the full-size 44mm models are powered by the Caliber 82, the new Breitling Endurance Pro 38 watches receive the brand’s Caliber 83 thermo-compensated SuperQuartz movement, which offers a smaller diameter to better correspond to the collection’s reduced sizing. Despite being quartz, the Breitling Cal. 83 is a COSC-certified chronometer, which means that it adheres to the accuracy standards of -/+10 seconds per year, and as one of the brand’s SuperQuartz designs, the Cal. 83 features an integrated regulation system that counteracts the effects of temperature fluctuations that would normally impact the timekeeping of a traditional quartz movement. However, just like the Cal. 82 used inside the larger 44mm models, the Breitling Cal. 83 is listed as having a battery life of approximately two years, and this undeniably seems rather short compared to what can be found elsewhere within the industry.
Fitted to the 18mm lugs of the new Breitling Endurance Pro 38 watches are rubber straps that match the colorway of each model. Unlike the straps found on the original 44mm Endurance Pro watches that have the “Breitling” name boldly embossed into their outer surfaces, the straps fitted to the new midsize models offer an updated textured design that more closely mirrors what can be found on the latest generation of the Superocean. That said, rather than having a chunky folding clasp, the straps fitted to the new Endurance Pro 38 models are completed by tang-style buckles crafted from Breitlight to further lean into the lightweight structure of the collection. In addition to debuting on the new Endurance Pro 38, this new style of rubber strap is also being carried over to the 44mm models, and Breitling has also released updated versions of the Endurance Pro 44 in dark blue, orange, white, and light blue with updated rubber straps.