Just Landed: Rado DiaStar Original Skeleton Watch
Tuesday - 04 July 2023
The new Rado DiaStar Original Skeleton watch exposes the R808 automatic movement through its skeletonised dial design, complete with elegant yellow gold-coloured hands and indexes, framed by an ultra-strong and scratch-resistant Ceramos bezel.
From Cermet to Ceramos
Rado has always been associated with its daring and innovative use of cutting-edge materials. Its first watch made from a ceramic metal matrix was launched in 1993 and named the Sinatra. The material known as “cermet” combined a high proportion of ceramic (titanium carbide) with a binder metallic alloy to offer improved hardness but also stiffness. Cermet was originally used for tools during the 1970s and was used as an alternative to cobalt during a shortage. Once Rado adopted cermet for use in its watches, it had to refine its appearance to give its watches a luxurious aesthetic. Since the brand was unable to inject the material, the Sinatra watch was made by pressing cermet into blanks that had to be machined to the shape of a component. In 2011, the technology required to inject Cermet was achieved by Rado and was patented under the name Ceramos. The technology was trialled on the D-Star watch. The material could also be polished by a process known as barrelling. Today Ceramos can now be injected into a precision mould to create Rado’s innovative monobloc case, which holds its shape without the need for a steel framework. The lightweight monobloc case was first used for the design of the Rado True Thinline watch in 2011 - an incredibly complex process that required calculations down to the millimetre.
Rado’s Ceramos material offers several benefits. Firstly, it is a solid material, unlike hard-coated finishes on a watch that can eventually wear away. The alloy is very lightweight and durable too. Thanks to its hardness, there are very few things in the environment that can actually scratch it, plus the rich colours of a ceramic watch will never fade. In addition to this, experts at Rado have mastered the plasma carbonising process that gives the brand’s high-tech ceramic watches a stunning metallic shine. Suffice to say, Rado has invested in hours of painstaking research and know-how to perfect its coloured Ceramos materials and is considered a master of materials. One collection that demonstrates such success is the DiaStar collection, including the new skeletonised version that has been recently released.
About the DiaStar
The Diastar by Rado marked a revolutionary point in the brand’s history since it demonstrated the first watch to be made from materials used in the construction industry such as carbide (composed of tungsten carbide and titanium). It also introduced sapphire glass – a new feature that gave the watch unprecedented hardness. As time went on, Rado experimented further and established other alloys that would go on to create a line of watches under the affix “DiaStar” including the Ceramic watch, the Integral and the Sintra.
The DiaStar was noticed not only for its unusual mix of materials but also for its appealing design with a wide oval bezel that covered the lugs like a shield and an ergonomic three-piece bracelet. The new Rado Diastar offers yet another variant of the already popular R808 automatic Calibre-equipped watch, complete with an anthracite coating and beautiful contrasting elements. Let’s take a closer look...
The new Rado DiaStar Original Skeleton
The new Rado DiaStar Original Skeleton watch is crafted from stainless steel with a Ceramos bezel. The watch has a sapphire crystal glass front and caseback, affording an almost 360-degree view of the Automatic Calibre R808 at work. The technical specifications of the movement are impressive and live up to the expectations of the materials used for the watch’s construction, with a relentless performance and a power reserve of 80 hours. It also features a Nivachron hairspring and has been tested in a full five positions.
The skeletonised design of the DiaStar Original Skeleton watch gives the wristwatch a lighter, airier finish on the wrist with its open structure framed by the lightweight and scratch-resistant Ceramos bezel. Floating above the movement as it performs is a set of elegant yellow-gold-coloured hands that glide gracefully towards an hour track represented by stick indexes. These elements on the dial are treated with Super LumiNova material to provide the time clearly and legibly throughout the night. The 100-meter water-resistant case of this new Rado DiaStar Original Skeleton watch measures a depth of 11.9mm and a width of 38mm, constituting a great size for those with slender wrists.
The new Rado DiaStar Original Skeleton watch is fitted on a robust stainless steel bracelet that secures comfortably to the wrist with a folding clasp that bears the famous Rado name upon its surface. If you’d like more information on Rado’s new release, you can call and speak to a member of our sales team at Jura Watches on 01335 453453.
