To understand why a certain watch becomes historically relevant, it is important to see it in the context of the time it was created in. Today, ceramic watches that are hardy and scratch-proof are de rigueur, but back in 1962, most wristwatches were made of steel, gold, or plated brass, their faces covered with a fragile glass of mineral or polymer origin. Needless to say, these aspects made them susceptible to damage. At such a time, Rado created DiaStar 1, the world’s first scratch-proof watch.
Rado, ‘Master of Materials’
Rado DiaStar
The phrase ‘Master of Materials’ is a beacon for Brand Rado, and for good reason. Since 1917, Rado has been at the forefront of developing innovative materials such as high-tech ceramic, plasma high-tech ceramic, silicon nitride ceramic, hardened titanium, high-tech diamond, CeramosTM and more. But one of the first such materials it created was Hardmetal, introduced in 1962. An alloy of tungsten carbide, Hardmetal was completely scratchproof. To take things a notch higher, Rado also developed at the same time sapphire crystal, which, the brand proclaimed, was almost as hard and durable as diamond. At that time most dials were covered with plastic or Hesalite, which scratched quite easily. On November 28, 1961, Rado officially patented the use of Hardmetal alloy for watch-case manufacturing, and eventually became the first company to join a Hardmetal case and a sapphire crystal in the new watch, the DiaStar 1. It had been three years in the making, and the watch was launched in 1962.
The DiaStar 1 was an unusually shaped watch—it had an oval bezel, with a round, silver-coloured dial featuring a red date on a white background at 3 o’clock, and applied, 3D indexes. The unique shape arose from technical constraints, as machining Hardmetal was an incredibly difficult task. In fact, the watch landed its signature oval shape almost by chance, and was retained by Rado because the brand saw its allure. The hands were baton-shaped, and ‘DiaStar’ appeared at 6 o’clock. The dial was covered by a sapphire crystal and the bezel covered the fastening of the bracelet to the case. The watch was waterproof to 220 metres. Carrying four patents, it gave consumers three guarantees: Technical, waterproof, and scratchproof.
“‘If we can imagine it, we can make it. If we can make it, we will.’—this was the vision of the founders of Rado since 1917. And based on this vision, the DiaStar was produced,” says Adrian Bosshard, CEO, Rado. “Over the last 60 years, it [DiaStar] is a family without any advertising or PR. And it is still, together with the Centrix, the most sold watch globally for Rado. These two families are the face of Rado.” Today, nearly five million units have been
sold worldwide.
Given the DiaStar’s USPs, today it isn’t difficult to imagine this sort of popularity. But when it was launched, its ascent was slow. Sure, it was waterproof and scratchproof, but it was also an oval in a world of round watches. So, the brand pulled out all the stops to promote the watch and convey its usefulness to consumers. So confident was the brand of the watch’s scratch proofness that early advertisements showed a file being used on the DiaStar 1—underneath it read, ‘Space Age Metal Scratchproof’. Other marketing lines read “It looks great when you buy it and it will look great for the rest of your life”, “Better than the most expensive in the world”, and “How could anyone want to wear a new watch, now that the Rado
DiaStar exists”.
Over the decades, the brand improvised and created several iterations of the watch. In 1967 came a day-date version, and in 1972, the first version in a yellow-gold colour. In 1976, a quartz LED version was introduced.
DiaStar Original 60-Year Anniversary Edition
The three references of Rado DiaStar Original, launched on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the DiaStar 1 Which brings us to the 2022 released editions. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the DiaStar 1, the brand released these four watches that marked the milestone. “Two years ago, when I joined Rado, when I saw this product and its journey, I said it was an icon of not only Rado, but the watch industry,” says Bosshard. “We wanted to upgrade this product without really changing it, and make it based on the nerve of the time and put in it the newest technology of the [Swatch] group. We wanted to make the watch a little bit bigger—our aim was to show more of the dial because the openness was a bit small. In terms of technique, we had all complications, engineers, Comadur, suppliers etc, and in terms of design, I wanted to bring someone externally. A star of design.”
Alfredo Haberli, who has designed the Rado DiaStar Original 60-year Anniversary Edition For this, Bosshard reached out to Alfredo Häberli, renowned Swiss-Argentinian product designer. He has designed the Rado DiaStar Original 60-Year Anniversary Edition (Ref. R12163118), a 38mm x 45mm x 12.3mm timepiece with a polished, radially-brushed, oval CeramosTM bezel, and a polished stainless-steel middle part. CeramosTM is once again a testament to Rado’s work in material innovation. Introduced in 2011, it is a unique high-tech mixture of ceramic and a metal alloy, which results in a material that offers both lightness and scratch resistance, along with the shine of metal. Bringing in the update to the sapphire crystal, Häberli designed it with six facets with anti-reflective coating on the inside—each facet represents a decade of the DiaStar’s existence. The dial is more minimalistic, circular brushed metallic grey with green, lume dot hour markers, and a date window at 6 o’clock. There’s a silver-coloured moving anchor symbol at 12 o’ clock, with a grey ‘RADO’ logo printed underneath. Its alpha hands are filled with natural colour Super-LumiNova®, and there is a rhodium-coloured seconds hand as well.
The watch is powered by the automatic Rado Calibre R764, which is gold plated. It has an 80-hour power reserve, and features the antimagnetic NivachronTM hairspring. The caseback is closed, and sports the engraving ‘DIASTAR ORIGINAL 60-YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION, DESIGN ALFREDO HÄBERLI’. Water-resistant to 100 metres, the watch comes with two bracelet options—a ‘Milanese’ bracelet, and a mottled grey textile strap that are easily interchanged. The watch is delivered in a grey case, also designed by Häberli.
“I went back to the original and looked at it, and thought about what I would change,” says Häberli. “For me, the proportions on the height were too much. Essentially, I changed the geometry. I wanted to reduce it to make it more elegant. I modernised the hands, and the dial opening has been changed and it has a brushed effect. The back is also more clean, sophisticated.”
Adds Bosshard, “In terms of design proportions, we got additional value from Alfredo, and in terms of materials, we have all the experience and competence. Probably no other watch brand has experience in terms of ceramic, CeramosTM, and Hardmetal like us. It was really a win-win. What was also important was that we didn’t need to reinvent this design. Our aim was to make the DiaStar Original as it was in the past on one side—steel-coloured, polished—but also have evolution in terms of material, movement development, and the bracelet. The DNA remains the same, but we have [presented] the watch in a very, very modern way.”
More Anniversary Editions
The Rado DiaStar Original 60-Year Anniversary Edition with a mottled grey textile strap But that wasn’t it for the anniversary of the DiaStar 1. The other three watches launched are the 38mm DiaStar Original, which continue the monochromatic theme albeit in three dial versions—blue (Ref. R12160213), dark grey (Ref. R12160103), and green (Ref. R12160303). Crafted in stainless steel with a CeramosTM bezel, their sapphire crystal features vertical facets. This, coupled with the fact that the dial has vertical and horizontal brushed finishes, ensures that the watch catches the light beautifully. Devoid of hour markers, the dial has a day-date window in a vertical format at 6 o’clock, and the baton hands feature Super-LumiNova®. The Rado name and logo rest at 12 o’clock, while ‘DiaStar’ appears at 3 o’clock. The watch is also powered by the Calibre R764 with 80 hours of power reserve and is paired with a polished, brushed H-link stainless-steel bracelet with a stainless-steel clasp.
The launch of the anniversary editions marks an important milestone in the evolution of the line. “We will reduce the existing collection,” says Bosshard. For the time being, step-by-step, the new DiaStar, with its modern material, CeramosTM, and also the size, is more the taste of today. We will also start with the CeramosTM steel edition, and after next year, we will come with the gold-plated version, and after that the lady models.”
Comadur Magic
For all the milestones that the DiaStar has achieved, at its heart is the legacy of material innovation by the brand. Over the last few decades, Rado’s expertise in this area, to a very large extent, is in the ceramic space, with the brand developing materials like high-tech ceramic, plasma high-tech ceramic, and CeramosTM. And for this, it has heavily relied on Comadur.
Ceramic parts are polished for exceptional shine Part of the Swatch Group, Comadur is a company that develops and produces high-tech ceramic components for Rado. Headquartered in Switzerland’s Le Locle, the heart of watchmaking in the country, Comadur derives its name from ‘Co’mposants en ‘Ma’tériaux ‘Dur’s, meaning ‘components made of hard materials’. Understandably then, its expertise lies in synthetic crystals (sapphire, ruby), ceramics (alumina, zirconia, nitrides, carbides, etc.), and production technologies for rare earth powders (polyrubies, micro-magnets, etc.). Comadur makes sapphire and ceramic components, watchmaking jewels, and micro-magnets, among other items.
Though Comadur supplies to Swatch group brands including Breguet, Blancpain, and Omega, a vast majority of its production is allocated to Rado and its ceramic requirements. Which is all fulfilled thanks to a large, extensive facility with world-class machinery and technology. Developing ceramic parts is a complex process requiring several different steps, and Comdur delivers on all fronts.
Cases are fired and machined to praise dimentions While the process of developing ceramic is fairly elaborate, here’s a short overview: It begins with zirconium-oxide powder, which is mixed with coloured pigments and a polymer binding agent. This mix is then melted down and injected under high pressure into a precision mould, created from drawings by Rado’s designers. Next comes sintering: The cases are placed inside a special oven, at an extremely high temperature of 1,450°C. Over many hours the ceramic fully hardens and acquires its intense final colour. During this process, the case shrinks by 23 per cent to its final size. This is followed by machining the case to final precise dimensions, after which it is polished for exceptional shine by being placed among thousands of tiny ceramic fragments vibrating at high frequency. For smoothness, they are then sandblasted, after which they are engraved. Lacquering and quality control follow.
Every step deeply affects the base material and changes it into something that will weather the test of time, an idea that is at the core of Rado’s ethos. And the 60th anniversary editions with their CeramosTM bezels are the proof.
This story first appeared in April-June 2023 WatchTime India Issue
Images: Courtesy brand