When it was founded in 1917, the Swiss watch movement manufacturer Schlup & Co. could have no idea what it would become. Today owned by the Swatch Group, by the 1920s, the three Schlup brothers were already making cased watches and had registered the name Rado – Esperanto for ‘a wheel’ – although the brand was not officially known by that title until the 1950s.
Since that time, Rado has been celebrated in two main areas: its use of materials and its championing of avant-garde design. Not only is the brand unashamed to push boundaries, this is in fact its raison d’être, closely followed by its determination to remain a value proposition, offering cutting-edge products at an accessible price point.
Launched amid the freedom and excesses of post-War Europe, the Rado DiaStar was a watch designed to beat all competition in terms of durability. The design cues emerging at the time, echoed a general pop culture calling for the big, the bright and the forward thinking. This enabled Rado to experiment with materials away from horology’s staples of gold and steel and also to play with shape.
Hence the DiaStar (named because it had to be as tough as diamond and shine like a star) that debuted at the Basel Fair in 1962 made a strong statement with its space-age elongated-squircle case with round dial. And that era-defining, shield-shaped case has remained constant over the ensuing seven decades.
A watch that needed to stay brilliant into the future, Rado’s engineers set out to create a timepiece that was scratch-proof, developing a brand-new alloy of tungsten and titanium carbide with a hardness of 1,400 to 2,000 Vickers (compared to steel’s 140 Vickers). Added to this was an almost unbreakable sapphire crystal glass, that saw Rado become the first brand to combine a hard-metal case and a sapphire crystal.
The success of the DiaStar was a reset for Rado, with a new forward direction pitting the brand as the ‘Master of Materials’ (something its pioneering work with ceramic later confirmed). Since 1962, there have been many iterations with various colours of case and dial, complications including day-date and chronograph, different material finishes, some with stone setting, and even a digital quartz version.
Now, to celebrate 60 years, Rado has introduced an all-new model: the DiaStar Original. Measuring 38 x 45mm, the steel case, water-resistant to 100m, features a bezel in Ceramos, a high-tech material as hard as ceramic but with the shine of metal. Made of titanium carbide, it is light and highly scratch-resistant.
With a vertical day-date indication, the DiaStar Original is available in three dial colours – blue, grey and green, brushed in two directions. Rado’s signature free-spinning anchor logo takes place at 12 o’clock. The watch is equipped with a polished and satin-brushed Milanese steel bracelet and an additional grey fabric strap.
Within the case is the self-winding R764 calibre – which will be familiar to lovers of the Captain Cook – with amagnetic Nivachron spring and 80-hour power reserve.
According to Rado CEO Adrian Bosshard, “The goal [with the new watch] was to revisit the model, with subtle but notable changes to mark its sixtieth anniversary, to keep the strong personality of its predecessor, while also adding the best and latest innovations.”
And to really make the party go with a swing, there is also a DiaStar Original 60-Year Anniversary Edition created by internationally renowned, Zurich-based, Swiss-Argentinian product designer Alfredo Häberli. Known for his inventive and minimalist furniture and objet, Häberli – himself an owner of a mid-century DiaStar – became fascinated with 1960s watch design on his 18th birthday when his father gave him a timepiece that he himself had received at 18.
With a shared passion for materials, that he believes can enhance mere form, he worked with Rado to add geometry to the case. The radially-brushed bezel finish, hexagonally-faceted sapphire crystal and grey dial give a feel of lightness, similar to the gentle folds of the most complex origami.
The hands and date display are pared back to their most simplistic form and the day is indicated by a changing colour display. As with the three core-collection pieces, the watch is supplied on a quick-change Milanese bracelet with additional textile strap.
The three DiaStar Originals are priced at £1,320, with the anniversary model coming in at £1,770.
