Rado’s relationship with art and artists is a deep one. The brand has a history of collaborating with creative minds the world over to develop watches that are in tune with their motto, "If we can imagine it, we can make it." Part of this is the brand’s ongoing collaboration with Les Couleurs Suisse®, the exclusive licensor of legendary architect and designer Le Corbusier’s Polychromie Architectural. A palette of 63 shades created by Corbusier in 1931 and 1959, the Polychromie Architectural is considered the ultimate system for colouring architecture and interiors.
Given Rado’s expertise in colourful ceramics, one can see how the partnership works for the brand. Rado first collaborated with Les Couleurs Suisse® in 2019 to create the True Thinline x Les Couleurs® Le Corbusier® editions, a range of nine colourful timepieces, and in 2023, the more earthy-toned True Square Thinline Les Couleurs™ Le Corbusier. All the watches were built, expectedly, in ceramic, and showcased both the partners’s deeply rooted belief in design, innovation, and a love for colours. Now, in its third outing with Les Couleurs Suisse®, Rado has explored a deeper connection with Le Corbusier through three new timepieces in the True Round x Les Couleurs® Le Corbusier® Special Editions.
Le Corbusier, often identified as the father of modern architecture, was known for his white-walled minimalist buildings, and his Brutalist and functional approach to design. He transformed modern architecture by using concrete not only as a structural element but also as a means of artistic expression (interestingly, he wanted to be a watch designer at one point). Making this the central idea, the three watches reference and recreate three of his most influential projects on their high-tech ceramic dials via laser engraving. The first one's dial mimics the ivory rough-cast, board-formed concrete (known as béton-brut) facade of the iconic La Cité Radieuse, a building in Marseille, France. The second dial recalls the moulded concrete exterior of the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts in Cambridge, Massachusetts. And finally, the last iteration's dial features the abstraction of a concrete surface found at the Palace of Assembly, in Chandigarh. The high-tech ceramic on the dials provides a canvas for extreme precision: The relief and shadow seen on the buildings is captured in microscopic detail, which comes alive when light hits it and the textures and patterns reveal themselves in entirety, exactly as concrete does in reality.
“With this third chapter, we wanted to move beyond colour alone and explore Le Corbusier’s architectural language in a more expressive way,” says Adrian Bosshard, CEO, Rado. “Rather than translating the Polychromie Architectural directly on the dial surface, we took the opportunity to interpret three of his most emblematic buildings. The result is a collection that feels more architectural, more sculptural – almost like fragments of his buildings brought to the wrist. It’s a deeper, more nuanced tribute: Colour remains essential, but this time it is paired with material mastery, texture, and relief, reflecting the sensorial qualities of concrete that defined so much of his work.”
Each of the three buildings chosen carries an architectural significance and define chapters of Le Corbusier’s career. His use of béton-brut in La Cité Radieuse; the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts being his only building in North America; and the Palace of Assembly in a city that was designed by him, all give the watches stronger context. And while the dials lay the foundation of the collaboration, the further melding of ideologies happens by way of the case material, construction, and the use of the colours from the Polychromie Architectural.
Rado’s 40 mm signature monobloc high-tech ceramic case, crown, and smooth bracelet take on different hues in each iteration, paired with different coloured hands. “These carefully selected shades bring a precise, playful contrast, much like the way Le Corbusier used colour sparingly but purposefully to animate his buildings. It’s a subtler, more mature interpretation: The colour becomes a structural accent rather than the main gesture, allowing the textures and architectural engraving to take centre stage. The colours chosen for the hands follow a thoughtful narrative, closely linked to the architectural inspiration behind each model – but also to the emotional and cultural context of the buildings themselves,” says Bosshard. Turn the watches over and the you see a caseback that features the 63 digitally printed colour strips of the Polychromie Architectural.
One of the versions has been developed in the specific Matte Ivory White (4320B), paired with a Lucent Sky Blue (32021) hour hand, a Luminous Ultramarine Blue (32020) minute hand, and Light Ultramarine Blue (32023) second hand, all from the Polychromie palette. This is in fact, the first time that Rado has developed the Matte Ivory White in ceramic. The hue is not superficial, and runs right through the material. “Faithfully recreating an exact shade with this complex methodology is no small thing and took Rado’s experts years to perfect,” says Bosshard. The choice of the colour on the hands are inspired directly from the building’s bright concrete surfaces juxtaposed against the Mediterranean sky – the shades of blue bring a sense of lightness, echoing the way the southern sunlight plays across the building’s raw concrete lines.
The iteration that has been cast in Matte Iron Grey (32010), a colour that Rado has previous expertise in, is paired with a Cream White (32001) lacquered hour hand, Powerful Orange (4320S) lacquered minute hand, and Slightly Greyed English Green (32041) lacquered second hand. The hues are a chromatic contrast against the iron grey, creating a strong visual rhythm reminiscent of Le Corbusier’s sculptural façade.
The third watch, which is inspired by the Palace of Assembly, Chandigarh, India, has special relevance in the trio. Featuring a Matte Ivory Black (4320E) case and bracelet, with a Powerful Orange (4320S) lacquered hour hand, Emerald Green (4320G) lacquered minute hand, and Olive Green (4320F) lacquered second hand, its “starting point was the strong connection between Rado and India,” says Bosshard. “It was the first design we developed, and it felt natural to honour the country’s national colours. The vibrant orange and green tones on the hands echo this cultural identity, adding warmth and energy to the deep Ivory Black ceramic that represents the monumental architecture.”
The design and technical expertise is, of course, inherently Rado. The high-tech ceramic construction is light, ergonomic, and hypoallergenic, not to mention scratch-proof. The watches have a titanium caseback, a three-fold titanium clasp, and water resistance of 50 metres, and are driven by the Rado calibre R763 automatic movement with an 80-hour power reserve. “Our collaboration with Les Couleurs® Le Corbusier has been incredibly enriching and has inspired us to explore colour, materiality, and architecture in a truly meaningful way,” says Bosshard. “With this latest launch, we feel we have reached a significant and satisfying moment in this creative journey – one that beautifully reflects both Le Corbusier’s vision and Rado’s mastery of high-tech ceramic.”
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