Avant garde design-oriented Swiss brand Rado, which last year captured the attention of Baselworld with its vintage-inspired Hyperchrome Captain Cook dive watch, is this year leaning again toward the historical in an expansion of its Hyperchrome Ultra Light series. This series, which was noted for having an incredibly light weight, first came to the market in 2016, and since then has expanded into a number of futuristic and minimalistic designs, though not until now in a vintage-oriented style.
The Roman numerals evoke the look of 19th-century pocketwatch dials.
This year?s release comprises two new models, limited to 500 examples each, inspired by 19th-century pocketwatch designs in earthy bronze and matte brown cases. Both of these watches are made with Rado?s unique ultra-light high-tech ceramic case construction, produced by a combination of silicon nitride and titanium nitride parts, and weigh in at just 56 grams with a 43-mm diameter. This material is noted by the brand to be half the weight of Rado?s standard high-tech ceramic, but without sacrificing any of the former’s properties, being both harder and more scratch-resistant. The railroad-style minute track is in a “black gold” color.
The bronze edition uses a brown, sunburst ceramic dial, with bronze-printed Roman numerals for the hour markers; has simple bronze-colored hands, and arrives on a vintage-style leather strap. While the matte brown model also uses a brown sunburst dial, it comes accen...