Vision on Your Wrist

The fifties post-war Europe and America was a time of great hope, a period of looking towards the future (after the horrors of war) with new manufacturing and design ideas. Internationally renowned watch brand Rado started their dynamic journey during this important design period. The company has gone on the truly redefine the watchmaking world with clever use of materials and technical firsts, making it a brand that has revolutionised its own industry. As well as materials, design is at the forefront of their DNA so learn more about some new styles from them in Vision on Your Wrist.

Rado has always been a pioneer and leader in the watchmaking field, they have set standards and they keep raising the bar with materials and design. Driven by an innovative approach to design and materials, for instance, they were the first brand to introduce hard metal and sapphire crystal into the watchmaking industry in the sixties.

Moreover, in 1986 they first used high-tech ceramic in their watches, which changed the very face of timekeeping forever. For nearly three decades, their high tech ceramic transformed the approach of Rado’s world, but they did not stop there. The brand also uses Plasma High-Tech ceramic which is forged in an oven at high temperatures to give a unique material with an otherworldly metallic shine, yet it is not metal. Additionally, the brand utilises a lightweight and innovative material which is called Ceramos, the perfect marriage between high-tech ceramic and metal that can be fashioned in a variety of colours.

Another material that demanded plenty of research and the use of cutting-edge nanotechnology in their high-tech diamond which is as hard as natural diamond and was first seen in the Rado V10K watch.

The brand is renowned for its strong visual identity and design ethos. Elegance, modernity, sleek design alongside understated refinement are cornerstones of their visual aesthetic Also known for creative collaborations with artists, product and furniture designers, working to define the aesthetics of today and tomorrow with futuristic creations.

They have collaborated in the past with Konstantin Grcic, who is one of the world’s foremost industrial designers known for his passion for technology and materials. His collaboration with Rado was on a redesign of the iconic Rado Ceramica. Furthermore, Rado also worked with Leslie Chan, a Taiwanese graphic designer, and together they launched the pure white high-tech ceramic True Taipei Limited Edition.

Jasper Morrison, a British renowned product and furniture designer had the opportunity to join forces with Rado and designed Rado r5.5 which a high-tech ceramic watch. Another British collaboration this time with Bethan Gray, renowned for bringing bold texture, pattern, and luxurious materials to her design. She clearly left her signature style with the revolutionary take on the True Thinline family.

Their latest collaboration is with the cutting-edge designer Tej Chauhan. Known for his emotive and industrial designs, he makes more than just a product, he creates an engaging experience, every object he designs has to potential to elicit joy through form, colour and texture.

His purpose is to delight the user through technology, innovation, and also he offers differentiation for brands. His background was with Nokia, where he created some of the company’s most iconic models, and since then, his signature aesthetic has touched everything from kitchen tools to eyewear via televisions to door handles.

Meet the Rado True Square x Tej Chauhan watch, the first square watch made from solid high-tech ceramic. This yellow matt watch is designed with a unique texture of high-performance material and is combined with a case back in polished dark grey PVD-coated stainless set with sapphire crystal and special engraving.

The bracelet is made from sunny egg yellow, cushion-shaped leather with elements held by high-tech ceramic connectors. The minutes and hour hands are painted in white, while the second hand is in a gorgeous neon red which is powdered by a modern automatic calibre.

This watch also displays the date in typography especially designed by Tej and the beauty of this watch is the blue index between 9 and 12 o’clock that refers to the time of the day when things start really moving whether it be morning or evening.

Rado has also recently launched two other watches. this ties very much in with their ongoing commitment towards design as they are a key sponsor of Virtual Design Week as well as their own ongoing design competition the Rado Star Prize.

The first timepiece is the Rado True Square Formafantasma which is the result of a collaboration with Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin, an Italian-Dutch award-winning duo.

This special edition draws on the historic idea of a closed watch, a bold and impactful style statement in this day of age. The idea came from the historical pocket watches, worn in many a man’s waistcoat pocket, where the housing of the watch was made to protect the delicate dial and mechanism inside. The materials used for this watch are matt light grey high-tech ceramic titanium that is scratch-resistant, sapphire crystal, and another super scratch-resistant layer.

The second watch is the Rado True Square Undigital made in collaboration with the Japanese design duo YOY who gave an update to one of best-known faces of Rado.

This truly smart looking watch combines everything that makes Rado what is is, with its distinctive shapes of the seven-segment display, the analogue time display with hands or the luminous white and Super-LumiNova® hands. This watch is made of high-tech ceramic, matt black PVD-coated titanium, and a high-tech ceramic bracelet.