Earlier this year WatchPro unveiled its Watches of the Year 2012 – the 10 winning timepieces and 90 highly commended watches that we felt boasted commercial appeal, innovation and had wowed consumers and retailers alike over the past 12 months.
Winner of the WatchPro Limited Edition Watch of the Year 2012 was the Rado R-One.
With a styling that looks more like something out of the movie Tron than the horology workshops of Switzerland, Rado’s R-One has become a cult timepiece in 2012, with its space travel-inspired shape and icy blue accents.
Limited to just 300 pieces, the chronograph dials on the R-One have been designed to look like a snapshot of the earth taken from space.
The sapphire crystal glass has been specially curved, giving the brand one of its toughest technological challenges. Its dial, though futuristic, has been designed to be user-friendly, with simple shapes and unfussy, round counters in applied steel stand that stand out against the black ceramic, though its hands and the fine blue lines running across the case glow with a blue luminosity.
This 34.5mm watch houses a small-scale Swiss-made automatic chronograph movement and has a power reserve of 37 hours.
The watch’s main wow factor, however, is its materials: an ultra-resistant high-tech ceramic for the case and a buckle crafted in lightweight titanium. Rado, a brand known for its ceramics, says this adventurous watch is one for those who want to stand out from the crowd, and boy does it do just that.
At BaselWorld the R-One stood atop its own plinth, circled continuously by an admiring crowd. This is a guaranteed collectors’ item and our Limited Edition Watch of the Year.
To see a digital version of the WatchPro Watches of the Year 2012 issue, which was published in June, click here.
