or more than 60 years a design icon – the epitome of Rado’s pioneering approach to materials and disruptive take on design – the Rado DiaStar Original now enters a bold new era, with three new dials featuring clean colours that bring to mind the clear blue of a glacial lake, vibrant Art Deco-style turquoise and vivid purple, as well as a new case diameter of 30mm.

It’s worth a quick trip down memory lane to put this all in context. First launched in 1962, in the midst of the space-age, the other-worldly style of the original timepiece shook up the world of watchmaking. But it was more than just a striking visual oddity: its revolutionary ‘hardmetal’ composition also represented a new era of unimaginably durable, scratchproof materials, and reversed the long-standing trend of watches that featured lots of glass and small amounts of case material. The Rado DiaStar Original was the definition of a trendsetter, one that enjoyed astounding success, selling millions of units, inspiring countless imitations and helping establish Rado as the Master of Materials.

That unmistakeable case design is still on display today, but in a more evolved expression. Now, its platinum-coloured bezel, mounted on a stainless steel case, is constructed from Ceremos^TM. Comprised of around 90% titanium carbide, this astonishing material, first introduced to the DiaStar Original range with the 60th Anniversary Edition in 2022, combines the hardness of ceramics with the toughness and lustre of a metal alloy, for improved scratch-resistance and a significantly lower specific weight than hardmetal. Add in a facetted sapphire crystal and the entire top face of the watch is covered by Rado high-tech materials.

Against those three colours, the rhodium-coloured hands really stand out, as does the Rado branding, moving anchor symbol and date window. The piece is powered by the Rado R586 calibre automatic movement, featuring a 48-hour power reserve, and it’s water resistant to 100 metres.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Movement

• Rado calibre R586, automatic, 24 jewels, 3 hands, date at 6 o’clock 48-hour power reserve, antimagnetic Nivachron™ hairspring, exceeds standard test requirements from 3 to 5 positions for higher accuracy

Case

• Polished platinum-coloured Ceramos™ bezel
• Polished stainless steel middle part
• Vertical-facetted sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating inside
• Vertical-brushed with polished bevel stainless steel case back
• Polished stainless steel crown with embossed and laser-enhanced anchor logo
• Water-resistant to 10 bar (100m)

Dial

• White printed Rado, DiaStar and Automatic logos Silver-coloured moving anchor symbol on red background Blue, brushed in two directions
• Turquoise, brushed in two directions
• Purple, brushed in two directions

Hands

• Rhodium-coloured with white Super-LumiNova
• Rhodium-coloured second hand

Bracelet

• EasyClip system
• Polished stainless steel
• Brushed stainless steel middle links Polished stainless steel 3-fold clasp

Dimensions

• 30.0 x 35.6 x 11.0 (W x L x H in mm)