FeatureThe Lush, Verdant Feel Of Rado’s New 2020 Novelties

When entering a presentation of new Rado products, one would certainly expect a lot of ceramic—in standard black and white or, going by their offerings in recent years particularly, something with more colour perhaps. While Rado have been making watches in steel and other metals as well, it’s not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the brand. So it’s a little surprising—probably refreshingly so—to see only metallic tones among their new novelties for the year. Of course, the pioneers of innovation with ceramic are not going to do away with the material altogether, and why should they! Ceramic is their forte, and arguably a big reason to choose Rado over other brands with offerings in the same range. So this year’s collection does feature ceramic, but more metallic in appearance than ever before, yet packing in all the high-tech goodness of the extremely hard and scratch-resistant material.

The Evergreen Metal

A sturdy, wholesome 42mm case, which is water resistant to 300m, makes the Captain Cook in steel the perfect everyday watch

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The contemporary avatar of the Captain Cook was seen first in a 2018 edition, and this year’s rendition celebrates the colour of the year for Rado—green

The primary use of metallic tones in their 2020 novelties probably stems from an effort to garner wider appeal among their audiences. The signature look of, say, the Rado Centrix or Integral lines obviously has its fans, evident from its global success. However, when it comes to liking watches, you can like something, yet not necessarily consider it as something you’d wear. So for those who don’t necessarily see themselves as a wearer of a black ceramic Rado, but might still appreciate the aesthetic of the brand, a metallic option is the perfect solution. Furthermore, if the offerings in steel recall the brand’s heritage, it just makes it that much more special. Case in point: the new Captain Cook. Presented as a watch for explorers, in a more philosophical sense perhaps, the Captain Cook watches were first launched in 1962. The success of the line back then made it an ideal choice for the brand to explore steel in the timepieces offered today. The contemporary avatar of the Captain Cook was seen first in a 2018 edition, and this year’s rendition celebrates the colour of the year for Rado—green. A sturdy, wholesome 42mm case, which is water resistant to 300m, makes this the perfect everyday watch. And the colour green gives it a certain freshness, which is Rado’s objective with the hue.

Fresh And Vintage

With the intention of appealing to a young, ambitious and fresh mind-set—the ‘urban explorer’, if you will—Rado have used green in various shades across their new 2020 editions. The darker shades have been reserved for the heritage-inspired and more robust watches, such as the Captain Cook, and the new Golden Horse. The Golden Horse watches go back to the 1950s when the series was first introduced. An early edition from 1958—the Green Horse—was promoted for its water resistance, which was a feature that was still new to watchmaking at the time, and hence an achievement. A strong motif of the collection was that of two seahorses facing each other, which is seen quite prominently in this 2020 edition as well—in a gold hue, offset quite perfectly against the deep green dial. The convex dial, coupled with the domed glass, gives it a certain dimensionality that enhances the visual impact of the piece. Sized at 37mm, the Golden Horse definitely reflects a vintage-inspired feel. Even so, it looks quite modern owing to the gloss of the dial and the shine of the polished steel case and bracelet. I believe that this piece might have had more character with the matte look of a brushed steel finish instead, but it’s still a fine-looking watch as it is.

Resilience Tested

The polished steel appearance looks absolutely splendid in the new Hyperchrome, with a softer, almost olive green dial

As much as this does look like steel, the watch is actually constructed completely out of high-tech, scratch-resistant ceramic, which ensures that it will never lose its sheen

The polished steel look does, however, look absolutely splendid in the new Hyperchrome, with a softer, almost olive green dial. As much as this does look like steel, it’s actually constructed completely out of high-tech ceramic, which ensures that this watch will never lose its sheen. We were invited by the brand to test the scratch resistance of the high-tech ceramic by ruthlessly scratching it with a sharp pin, which I did, and it stayed spotless—which is far more than you can expect from stainless steel.

The True Secret's dial, seen here in bottle green, glistens in the light, owing to its refined sunray finishing

With no hour markers, the True Secret draws the beholder’s attention to the skeletonised section on the upper half of the dial that offers a glimpse of the mechanism inside

While this watch has faceted ‘dagger’ indexes on the dial, the new True Secret piece—in plasma ceramic—celebrates Rado’s minimalism at its best. With no hour markers, this piece draws the beholder’s attention to the skeletonised section on the upper half of the dial that offers a glimpse of the mechanism inside. The dial, in bottle green or a more neutral grey, glistens in the light, owing to its refined sunray finishing. New editions of the True Square series have also been released this year, including impressive versions with fully skeletonised dials.

The new green dial Hyperchrome automatic also comes in 30mm—a size that women are more likely to prefer

The 2020 novelties also include a Centrix with a new green dial. This bestselling watch is made of steel and plasma ceramic

This Captain Cook presents one of the most popular combinations in watches these days—that of green and bronze

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Green And Bronze—The Match Made In Heaven

In addition to catering to the demand for a steel look, Rado have also tapped the hugely popular combination of green with bronze with the new Captain Cook Bronze edition. One of the strongest trends among fine watch manufacturers in recent years, bronze-and-green has been adopted by several brands across all types of watches. The Captain Cook collection, in particular, is quite the perfect bearer of this alloy though, with its marine-inspired name and robust character. And somehow, looking at the bronze edition, it feels like the Captain Cook was always in bronze.

The Captain Cook collection, in particular, is quite the perfect bearer of this alloy, with its marine-inspired name and robust character

For those who don’t particularly like green with bronze, there are two other variants of this edition offering dials in grey and blue respectively. With the unidirectional-rotating bezel’s ceramic inlay matching the dial, the 42mm bronze case comes with a titanium caseback for hypoallergenic reasons, and a leather or nylon strap. And yes, the patina that the bronze develops will eventually lend each piece a unique character.

Somehow, looking at the bronze edition, it feels like the Captain Cook was always in bronze

With the unidirectional-rotating bezel’s ceramic inlay matching the dial, the 42mm bronze case comes with a titanium caseback for hypoallergenic reasons, and a leather or nylon strap

Star Power

And speaking of popularity, fans of actor Hrithik Roshan, one of Rado’s Indian brand ambassadors, will be happy to know that there is a Captain Cook Hrithik Roshan edition as well. While the dial is in the same green tone as in the regular steel edition, this one comes with a three-link steel bracelet—with brushed and polished finishing—as opposed to a rice-grain bracelet. While Roshan is said to have personally chosen the elements of this watch, strangely, the only reference to the actor is seen in the travel pouch that this watch is presented in—in the form of his signature engraved on the leather. This may be a good thing for those who appreciate the handsome watch even if they’re not particularly fond of the celebrity. The best thing though is that the pouch comes with two additional straps—in leather and in nylon. All straps are easily interchangeable by hand, owing to the ‘easy-clip’ system.

With all these new releases, there is undeniably a certain familiarity—the Captain Cook case, the ceramic bracelets, the clean designs, and so on—yet, these pieces definitely have a fresh and new appeal. It’s not like they haven’t done green before, but green channelled in this fashion, presenting such a unified look, even as the integrity of each collection is kept intact, is quite impressive. The brand’s objective this year is to make their audience ‘feel it’ with a range they believe echoes the brand’s buzzwords such as ‘young’, ‘daring’, adventurous’, ‘energetic’, ‘vibrant’, and so on. And we definitely don’t disagree with them.