By John Galt
Presented first at Baselworld this year Rado have now added two very striking new models in grey with cool blue atones to its Diameter Grande seconde line and it’s the best yet mixing vintage-inspired looks with high-tech materials.
As with all Rado pieces, the 43mm case is plasma High-Tec ceramic made of a mono-block construction. It’s been highly polished to give a real depth to the shine. But that is not the main part to this piece; instead of the usual main dial and sub dials this has just two sub dials, one for the hours and minutes and one for seconds and date, highly unusual but it really works.
The dial is available in two colours: grey or creamy white which I personally think works the best. A Clou-de-Paris pattern covers the dial with each sub dial smoothed giving a real sparkle under the light.The hour and minute subdial is off centre to the right and has rhodium applied indexes with vintage inspired blued steel hands with the seconds sub dial moved to the left side of the dial overlapping the hour dial from 8 O’clock to 10 O’clock. A grey printed minute track hugs the outside of the sub dial giving the sense of a raised dial again with a vintage inspired blued steel seconds hand. The date window is place inside the seconds sub-dial at 9 O’clock with nice legitimate black on white numerals.
The second released version has a dressier appeal with its smooth un-patterned dial and silver hands giving an elegant vintage feel but slightly less legible than the blued steel.
Turning the Rado over you are greeted with a customary exhibition caseback showing of the movement based on the ETA 2892 modified especially for this timepiece featuring a blackened Rado rotor, 42 hour power reserve and water resistant to 100m.
Finishing off the piece is a dark grey leather strap that really accentuates the metallic brilliance of the ceramic case coupled with a stainless steel folding clasp.
Conclusion
With their use of ceramic and overall modern looks this is a nice piece but then add in the two sub-dials with a blackened rotor and then it becomes an excellent piece with the perfect mix of modern materials and vintage dial this piece will be equally at home coupled with t-shirt and jeans or an evening suit. For more info, please visit rado.com
JOHN GALT – CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
John Galt caught the horology bug back in 2010 on his first visit to a London watch show and has snowballed since; John has become an avid writer and blogger of timepieces of all kinds, from everyday timepieces to modern Luxury HauteHorology, his favorite brands being HYT and GreubelForsey that push the boundaries of modern watch-making. John keeps a keen interest in the UK watch scene with their many emerging brands and timepieces. John Galt currently contributes watch related articles for online publications in the UK and USA. You can follow John on Twitter @johng73 Read his articles here.
