Rado is a watchmaker known for creating contemporary wristwatches that have been elegantly styled from premium materials. The designs offer each wearer optimal comfort. These remarkably light, hard and scratch resistant wristwatches include automatic chronographs from the HyperChrome watch collection, minimalist dress watches from the Rado Ceramica line, modern timepieces from the True Thinline collection and open heart models from the Rado Centrix collection. In addition to this, Rado offers large, clean easy to read watches from the Diamaster range and bicolour designs belonging to the Rado Integral series.
The advanced material research and development carried out by Rado specialists has enables the brand to create some of its own proprietary materials, guaranteeing increased resistance and longevity on the wrist. The company began its story as far back as the year 1917 when it first went under the name Schlup & Co. The brothers that ran this business birthed the company from the comfort of their parent’s home. It soon became one of the largest wristwatch producers by the time the Second World War had begun. When the brand eventually changed its name to Rado, it began focussing on water resistant cases such as the Green Horse watch. These watches featured an integral component of a Rado watch, the moving anchor symbol.
Some of the materials developed by Rado specialists include the brand’s own sapphire glass and its hard metal. Together, these enabled Rado to pioneer its very own scratch resistant case. After this, the manufacturer would build on its reputation for creating some of the hardest, scratch resistant and resilient wristwatches within the industry and by the end of the 1960s Rado was known in 60 different countries across the globe. The Rado Diastar was one of the company’s most successful wristwatches during this era. Soon after, Rado began crafting iterations from gold and developed the Dia 67 watch with a metallised sapphire crystal case. High tech scratch resistant ceramic began the next focus for Rado and by 1986 the design for the Rado Integral was coming together. It had a distinct minimalist design which made it popular for watch collectors looking for something remarkably simple, refined and contemporary to add to their collections. In addition to its remarkably resistant ceramic material, Rado also created Cermet, which comprises titanium, plasma and metal. The combination granted the brand further freedom to experiment with other materials and finishes.
By 2000, Rado had released its high tech diamond material, which was first used in the V10K watch. It promised even better scratch resistance than ceramic. Next came the Rado True Thinline watch in 2011, which, of course, promised discreet dimensions on the wrist for sliding underneath the cuff of a work suit. With a case height of just 5mm, Rado True Thin watches were both modern and stylish. Their design built the foundations to the Rado HyperChrome watch, which involved the removal of stainless steel from its core, replacing it with a monobloc structure. It enabled the wearer to adjust the time by simply touching and swiping a button as opposed to winding a crown. It paved the way for the popular Rado HyperChrome Dual Timer. This model appealed to frequent travellers with its controlled time zone swap function. Rado also solidified its links to the sporting world during this time by supporting various international tennis tournaments.
Today, Rado’s catalogue of elegant, scratch resistant and lightweight watches offers a style and a dial for everyone, from sportsmen to contemporary watch collectors. The entire range can be viewed here at C W Sellors, each timepiece complete with a two year international warranty and comes displayed in an authentic presentation box complete with a user manual and watch care guide.
