You can't go wrong with either one. I have both. My preference is the Uberti all the way but that's just me. In fact, I have two Uberti's (SAA) - a 7 1/2" Cattleman in 45 Colt and a 4 3/4" 357 Bisley - both excellent quality and accurate with all of my cast lead reloads - I don't buy store bought ammo.
I curious as to what "durability" means to you. Any hand gun can have an issue whether it's a Ruger (and I own a number of Ruger handguns) or a Uberti (I own three Ubertis) or whatever brand you want to talk about.
To me, a Uberti SAA is more like a Colt - the NV is heavier and I quickly got rid of the factory grips and put a set of wood gunfighter grips on it. mine is a 357 and like a lot of Rugers, the cylinder throats are on the tight side for cast. In Fact, it is leaving the herd this summer and will be replaced with another Uberti as personally, I prefer the Ubertis. Tight throats on a Ruger are easily taken care of though with a proper ream job done by someone who knows what they are doing.
You are talking about "years of use" but are afraid a grip panel might get scratched? I can guarantee you that if you carry a long time in a holster, the finish will be worn and if you use it, it's going to get wear to it. They call that "character". The Uberti is going to keep going strong for you if you do your part and take care of it - no different than a lot of the Colt SAA that are still being used that are over 100 years old.
Go with what you like the best, use it, take care of it and enjoy it.
