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All the watch news, reviews, videos you want, brought to you from fellow collectors
All the watch news, reviews, videos you want, brought to you from fellow collectors
Rado has long been synonymous with its tagline, “Master of Materials”, pioneering in the art of making ceramic watches, and over the years the Swiss brand has collaborated with artists and designers to create unique timepieces. In 2022, on the 60th anniversary of its renowned DiaStar collection, Rado teamed up with Swiss-Argentinian product designer Alfredo Häberli to present the DiaStar Original 60-Year Anniversary Edition. This time, Rado has reunited with British industrial designer Tej Chauhan—renowned for his Red Dot, Grand Prix du Design Gold, and Cannes Lions awards—to unveil the Rado DiaStar Original x Tej Chauhan. This timepiece seamlessly merges Rado’s innovative ceramic technology with the artist’s philosophy which he calls “Emotive Industrial Design”, a combination of shape, colour, and material, a synergy that aligns with Rado.
However, this collaboration is not their first, the two previously joined forces in 2020 with True Square X Tej Chauhan, a timepiece featuring a square monobloc high-tech ceramic case in matte yellow crafted with an injection moulding process. It was complemented by a matte black dial with concentric circles and lines, a striking departure from conventional designs. The DiaStar, easily recognisable with its oval-shaped case, gets Chauhan’s touch who has brought a fresh perspective into the collection while retaining its distinctive design.
The timepiece measures 38mm in width, 45mm in length, and 11.7mm in height and is made from stainless steel coated with gold PVD, and the bezel is crafted from a ceramic-metal alloy called Ceramos™, also polished with yellow gold PVD coating, delivering a seamless appeal. Beneath the sapphire crystal, the matte black dial continues Chauhan’s graphical design approach with the elongated minute track and applied indexes in blue and silver. The window between 9 and 12 o’clock is the ‘Party Time Index’ highlighted in blue, representing the time of the day when either things get productive or the party gets going. The dial becomes more vibrant with the white Super-LumiNova®-coated skeletonised hour and minute hands, and the neon yellow seconds hand adds a striking contrast. The day-date aperture at 3 o’clock features Chauhan’s custom typography, bringing playfulness to the display, with an alternate white date disc setting. Meanwhile, Rado’s signature moving anchor logo at 12 o’clock is rendered in grey.
Turning the watch over, a dark grey PVD-coated stainless steel caseback features a sapphire crystal window, offering a glimpse of the automatic Rado Calibre R764 movement. The movement runs with an autonomy of 80 hours, and features an antimagnetic Nivachron™ hairspring which not only offers it resilience from magnetic fields but also from temperature fluctuations and shocks. The caseback is also engraved with ‘SPECIAL EDITION TEJ CHAUHAN’.
The timepiece comes with a grey rubber strap which also reflects the artist’s design approach with its pillow-shaped design. On the underside of the strap, the inscriptions read ‘The time is now’ and ‘TC Souvenirs of The Near Future©’. The dark grey PVD-coated stainless steel folding clasp is finished with a yellow-gold coloured cover. The watch is water-resistant up to 100 metres and retails at ₹2,03,400.
What we think -
The previous True Square collaboration exemplified the strength of collaborative efforts and this new release takes it a step above. It is a refreshing and fun take on a classic watch design that has been making waves since decades. In our private interview session with Mr. Adrian Bosshard and Mr. Tej Chauhan the energy in the room was palpable and it was clear how proud they both were about this new special edition.
Rado has long been synonymous with its tagline, “Master of Materials”, pioneering in the art of making ceramic watches, and over the years the Swiss brand has collaborated with artists and designers to create unique timepieces. In 2022, on the 60th anniversary of its renowned DiaStar collection, Rado teamed up with Swiss-Argentinian product designer Alfredo Häberli to present the DiaStar Original 60-Year Anniversary Edition. This time, Rado has reunited with British industrial designer Tej Chauhan—renowned for his Red Dot, Grand Prix du Design Gold, and Cannes Lions awards—to unveil the Rado DiaStar Original x Tej Chauhan. This timepiece seamlessly merges Rado’s innovative ceramic technology with the artist’s philosophy which he calls “Emotive Industrial Design”, a combination of shape, colour, and material, a synergy that aligns with Rado.
However, this collaboration is not their first, the two previously joined forces in 2020 with True Square X Tej Chauhan, a timepiece featuring a square monobloc high-tech ceramic case in matte yellow crafted with an injection moulding process. It was complemented by a matte black dial with concentric circles and lines, a striking departure from conventional designs. The DiaStar, easily recognisable with its oval-shaped case, gets Chauhan’s touch who has brought a fresh perspective into the collection while retaining its distinctive design.
The timepiece measures 38mm in width, 45mm in length, and 11.7mm in height and is made from stainless steel coated with gold PVD, and the bezel is crafted from a ceramic-metal alloy called Ceramos™, also polished with yellow gold PVD coating, delivering a seamless appeal. Beneath the sapphire crystal, the matte black dial continues Chauhan’s graphical design approach with the elongated minute track and applied indexes in blue and silver. The window between 9 and 12 o’clock is the ‘Party Time Index’ highlighted in blue, representing the time of the day when either things get productive or the party gets going. The dial becomes more vibrant with the white Super-LumiNova®-coated skeletonised hour and minute hands, and the neon yellow seconds hand adds a striking contrast. The day-date aperture at 3 o’clock features Chauhan’s custom typography, bringing playfulness to the display, with an alternate white date disc setting. Meanwhile, Rado’s signature moving anchor logo at 12 o’clock is rendered in grey.
Turning the watch over, a dark grey PVD-coated stainless steel caseback features a sapphire crystal window, offering a glimpse of the automatic Rado Calibre R764 movement. The movement runs with an autonomy of 80 hours, and features an antimagnetic Nivachron™ hairspring which not only offers it resilience from magnetic fields but also from temperature fluctuations and shocks. The caseback is also engraved with ‘SPECIAL EDITION TEJ CHAUHAN’.
The timepiece comes with a grey rubber strap which also reflects the artist’s design approach with its pillow-shaped design. On the underside of the strap, the inscriptions read ‘The time is now’ and ‘TC Souvenirs of The Near Future©’. The dark grey PVD-coated stainless steel folding clasp is finished with a yellow-gold coloured cover. The watch is water-resistant up to 100 metres and retails at ₹2,03,400.
What we think -
The previous True Square collaboration exemplified the strength of collaborative efforts and this new release takes it a step above. It is a refreshing and fun take on a classic watch design that has been making waves since decades. In our private interview session with Mr. Adrian Bosshard and Mr. Tej Chauhan the energy in the room was palpable and it was clear how proud they both were about this new special edition.
