Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Limited Edition
The Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Limited Edition doffs its hat to a former divers’ watch of 1962. This modern-day interpretation is encased in high-tech ceramic and features a sapphire dial, affording sight of the Rado Calibre R808.
Swatch Group – economies of scale
Earlier this year, I interviewed Lionel a Marca, the CEO of Breguet. During our conversation, he revealed that the Swatch Group owns 156 manufacturing plants. This industrial behemoth incorporates numerous watch brands from Flik Flak and Swatch, ascending to the dizzying heights of Haute Horlogerie. However, its portfolio of watch brands, 18 at the last count, represents just one division of the Swatch Group. The company’s interests also extend to electronic systems, retailing and, perhaps most interestingly, ‘production’.
ETA, Nivarox-FAR, Comadur
The Swiss company owns ETA, the renowned movement specialist, a firm with a rich history of supplying movements to its sister companies as well as numerous third parties. Nivarox-FAR is the leading producer of hairsprings, an essential component found in all mechanical watches. Comadur has much expertise working with ‘rubies, sapphires, ceramics, cermets and magnets’, while Meco Suisse produces crowns and pushpieces. There are few components, if any, that the Swatch Group doesn’t make.
In 2021, the Swatch Group reported net sales of 7.3 billion Swiss francs, a figure that succinctly conveys the sheer scale of the firm’s activities. At this juncture, you may ask, ‘What does this mean to the watch consumer?’ Quite simply, economies of scale. The company’s infrastructure and the volumes of watches and components produced by its subsidiaries mean each brand is able to deliver incredible value for money.
Rado – an impressive quality-price ratio
Take Rado for example, it offers watches ranging from £535 to £4495, presented in a variety of styles, with each proffering an impressive quality-price ratio. In addition, the brand has an impressive heritage, something it sometimes draws on for inspiration.
Rado Captain Cook (1962)
Back in 1962, the Swiss Maison released the ‘Rado Captain Cook’, a divers’ watch endowed with prominent hands and indexes, a beads-of-rice style bracelet and an eye-catching bezel that sloped inwards towards the dial. Recognising the widespread demand for all things retro, Rado has since released several modern-day versions of the 1962 reference, all with a delightful dose of vintage-style.
Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Limited Edition – a sapphire dial
Recently, the watch firm unveiled a new addition to its divers’ watch portfolio, the Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Limited Edition. This model references the 1962 design but is unabashedly neoteric. The highly legible dial is made of black-tinted sapphire crystal with just enough transparency to see the automatic movement within, sating the desires of mechanically curious souls.
High-tech ceramic case
The case, measuring 43mm in diameter, is formed of matt black ‘high-tech ceramic’. This hypoallergenic, scratch-proof material is a speciality of the house. Indeed, Rado is a leader in this field, offering cases and bracelets in a variety of colours and finishes.
Specially engineered moulds are used to form cases and bracelet links. Thereafter, the components are sintered at 1450°C, compacting the material and making it harder. After the parts have cooled, they are polished and then subjected to a plasma treatment process. Gases ‘activated at 20,000°C alter the composition of the ceramic’, culminating in exquisite monobloc cases and bracelet links ready for subsequent assembly. The resultant appearance of the high-tech ceramic is quite distinctive and it delivers a unique tactility.
The Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Limited Edition is also equipped with a ceramic bezel insert, marked with golden numbers and markings, presented in relief. The bracelet is formed of matching matt black, high-tech ceramic save for the 3-fold clasp which is made of titanium.
Nivachron hairspring
The automatic movement, the calibre R808, also showcases the Swatch Group’s technical expertise. The movement features a Nivachron™️ hairspring, a revolutionary balance spring featuring an alloy offering excellent shock resistance, that is unaffected by magnetic fields, and temperature fluctuations. This technology was developed by the Swatch Group, in partnership with the Swiss Centre for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM).
Movement regulation
Two identical movements can deliver different levels of accuracy based on how they have been regulated. A trained watchmaker will often use a ‘Witschi Watch Expert’ to listen to the movement. This test instrument is fitted with a microphone and displays the rate variation in seconds per day, the amplitude and any beat error. With this model, the watchmaker adjusts the effective length of the hairspring to make the watch run faster/slower.
The way a movement behaves in one position may be different when held in another position. Typically, a watch is tested in various positions and regulated accordingly. Rado has gone the extra mile, choosing to test the movement not in the usual three positions, but five, helping to deliver superior accuracy. This pernickety approach to regulation is usually the preserve of costlier watches.
The Rado calibre R808 – other details
Rado states the watch has a power reserve of 80 hours, again another notable attribute. The movement is enlivened with Côtes de Genève motif and incorporates a ‘yellow-finished train bridge’.
Closing remarks
The Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Limited Edition is a handsome chap, albeit I accept looks are often subjective. However, irrespective of whether you like or dislike the appearance of this model, there can be no doubt it delivers many virtues for a comparatively keen price of £4295 (RRP as of 9.11.2022). It draws on Rado’s expertise as well as that of its parent company, the Swatch Group. And in terms of the Swatch Group, its watch brands are able to draw upon the group’s many in-house skills and vast resources, delivering impressive and highly competitive watches. This Rado model proves no exception, and I suspect there will be many horophiles who share my opinion.
Further reading
Technical specification
- Model: Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Limited Edition
- Reference: R32147162
- case: matt black high-tech ceramic case, diameter 43 mm, height 14.6 mm, box-shaped sapphire crystal to front
- Functions: hours, minutes, central seconds
- Movement: Rado calibre R808, automatic movement, 25 jewels, power reserve 80 hours
- Strap: matt black high-tech ceramic, titanium 3-fold clasp with black high-tech ceramic openers
- Price: £4295 (RRP as of 9.11.2022)