Rado  Tradition  Watches

Rado Tradition: A Seamless Blend of Vintage and Modern 

Carrying Swiss precision and modern technical innovations, the Rado Tradition faithfully captures the essence of the ‘50s and ‘60s Rado watches with the shapes, colors, down to the designs, reintroduced to fit the 21st century of modern watch collectors. Honoring the first few Rado watches, the Tradition collection highlights more robust models that are scratch-resistant and boast high-tech ceramics, all the while keeping the same vintage look. 

Among the noteworthy collections that are released quite recently are the Rado Tradition Captain Cook MKII and the Rado Tradition Captain Cook MKIII that boast not only lightweight casings in several sizes but also quality metals and colored dials. What’s more, the dials are embellished with Rado’s signature emblems, such as the red spinning anchor and the three seahorses at some of the models’ caseback. 

Prices at a Glance: Most Popular Rado Tradition Watches 

How much is a Rado Tradition watch? 

Prices for the Rado Tradition Captain Cook Models

In 2017, Rado reintroduced a retro-inspired watch model inspired by the famous 1960’s Rado Captain Cook diving watch and calling it the Rado Hyperchrome Captain Cook. Soon after it gained attention from watch aficionados, Rado introduced a modernized model in 2018 calling it the Rado Tradition Captain Cook MKIII (R33030176 | 01.764.6030.3.117). It has a far larger casing with a modern black textile strap, and also features sword-shaped hands instead of the original’s signature arrow hand. Despite its 46.8mm wide tonneau-shaped casing, it fits well on most wrists with its short lugs that make the watch appear smaller than it actually is. 

The case is made of a lightweight grade 5 hardened titanium with a sandblasted finish. Its box-shaped sapphire crystal glass covers a black dial with white and yellow accents featuring a day date function at 3 o’clock and an internal, unidirectional bezel. With its 220m water resistance and a screw-down titanium caseback, the Rado Tradition Captain Cook MKIII shows that it is a serious diving watch. Other features that emphasize its focus on diving are its bezel with luminous markings as well as its minute hand that is colored a bright yellow. The watch is then powered by an ETA C07.621 caliber that features a power reserve of up to 80 hours, perfect for modern-day explorers. Despite its overt modern tones, it still pays homage to the original in its design, like a date window at 3 o’clock and a free spinning anchor emblem at 12 o’clock above the Rado logo. The Rado Tradition Captain Cook MKIII is priced at around $2,550 USD. 

A year after the MKIII was introduced, Rado introduced a more faithful recreation of the original 1962 model through Rado Tradition Captain Cook MKII (R33522153 | 01.763.0522.3.015) released in 2019. Just like the vintage model, this watch measures only 37mm wide, which is extremely rare in modern dive watches. But it has some elements that are shared with the Captain Cook MKIII. For instance, this model has a tonneau-shaped case rather than a round case. It also features an inner turning bezel and two screw-down crowns placed at 3 o’clock and 4 o’clock. One screw-down operates the inner turning bezel and the other is for winding or time settings. 

But there are still some startling similarities to the original in its dial design. It mixes elements of the vintage design in its white, rhodium, and red accents adorning the matt black dial, but updates it with a touch of modernity with heavier use of white and red in the inner rotating ring. And like the original, it features a date window at 3 o’clock and a free spinning anchor emblem at 12 o’clock above the Rado logo. This watch is powered by C07.611 movement equipped with up to 80 hours of power reserve. This limited-edition piece (with only 1,962 models) is priced at $2,150 USD. 

Prices for the Rado Tradition Golden Horse 1957 Series

Apart from the Captain Cook collection getting redesigned and modernized models, Rado also released the Rado Tradition Golden Horse 1957 models, a special-edition version that comes in only 1,957 pieces. One among the models to highlight is the Rado Tradition Golden Horse R33930355, a retro-style 36.5 mm dress watch cased in stainless steel. It has a domed sapphire crystal with a beautiful gradient dial, with its edges in black and slowly turning into red towards the middle. A date window is also seen in the dial at 3 o’clock, the signature anchor emblem at 12 o’clock, and gold seahorses at 6 o’clock. The Rado watch is equipped with ETA C07 movement with water resistance of up to 50 meters covered in a steel screw-down case back adorned with three seahorses and finished up with a black leather strap. This model in particular is priced at $1,569 USD. 

Another model from the series is the Rado Tradition Golden Horse R33930153, a slightly bigger model than the R33930355 with a 37mm stainless steel casing. This model features a curved guilloche black dial with other color options such as blue and green and is secured with a stainless steel bracelet. It is also adorned with the signature anchor emblem at 12 o’clock, and gold seahorses at 6 o’clock and features a date display at 3 o’clock. The watch is powered with the high-quality ETA C07 movement that has up to 80 hours of power reserve. Underneath the screw-down caseback that allows a 50-meter water resistance is the iconic three seahorses. This black dialed model is priced at $1,609 USD. 

Prices for the Rado Tradition Hyperchrome Captain Cook Watches

The most popular iteration of the original is this 2017 Rado Tradition Captain Cook Automatic (R32500315). This 100 m water-resistant timepiece is a nod to the original 1962 watch with vintage touches but with modernized features. This 37.3mm watch is cased in stainless steel high-tech ceramic with a sapphire crystal equipped with an anti-reflective coating. It looks almost like a carbon copy of the original, with a brown sunburst dial and a huge arrowed hour hand. It also features an inwards sloping ceramic bezel and is covered in a box-style sapphire crystal.  Its similarities to the original even extends to the case back, which is adorned with the signature three seahorses engraving, carrying an automatic movement that boasts up to 80 hours of power reserve. This limited-edition Rado watch comes with a hard-wearing leather travel pouch with a selection of additional straps such as a brown leather strap or a mesh bracelet and is priced starting at $1,949 USD. 

Prices for the Rado Tradition 1965 Models

The Rado Tradition 1965 is a bold and modern eye-catching watch in a unique rectangular casing inspired by the Manhattan skyline. This watch boasts geometric elements in the dial such as rectangular hour and minute markers, a square day-date window, and the iconic anchor emblem at 9 o’clock. The Rado Tradition 1965 XL, in particular, is cased in 44mm PVD coated titanium with a vertical brushed blue dial. The watch is equipped with the ETA C07.621 that has up to 80 hours of power reserve and has brown leather with a folding clasp strap priced at $2,350 USD. 

There is a smaller version for this model called the Rado Tradition 1965 M, boasting a 35mm size and a sun-brushed silver dial with a date display at 6 o’clock and the iconic anchor emblem at 9 o’clock. This watch is powered by the ETA 2671 caliber and finished off with cognac leather with a folding clasp strap priced at $1,950 USD. It is also available in a more luxurious diamond-studded version priced at $7,650 USD. This rare model is embellished in 302 diamonds from the case to the dial and has only 65 pieces available. 

History Behind the Rado Tradition Collection

Rado’s modest beginnings started way back in 1917, as Schlup & Co., a watchmaking factory by brothers Fritz, Ernst, and Werner. During that time, the factory became one of the largest producers of watch movements around the world, but it was only until the 1950s when the factory began selling watches under the brand name of Rado. The first few watches under Rado were made as water-resistant and scratch proof, a useful innovation being used by the brand even until today. In 1957, the brand introduced the Rado Golden Horse collection that houses some of the Rado Tradition models. This collection pioneered the water-resistant watches under Rado and the signature red anchor emblem that is present in almost all Rado Tradition models. 

Over the next couple of years, Rado innovated more robust models that are scratch-resistant and boast high-tech ceramics that are also present in the Rado Tradition models. In 2017, Rado reintroduced a model highly inspired by the famous 1960s Captain Cook diving watch called the Rado Hyperchrome Captain Cook that soon gave birth to more retro models under the Rado Tradition collection, such as the Rado Tradition Captain Cook MKIII and the Rado Tradition Captain Cook MKII. 

5 Reasons to Buy a Rado Tradition Watch 

Rado watches are well known for their innovative designs, but underneath the classic vintage designs are durable watches that are highly equipped with Swiss precision and boast a whole lot more. Below are five of the reasons why you need to get your hands on these amazing models:

1. Boasts the finest vintage watch designs but equipped with up-to-date technical innovation

2. Equipped with a screw-down caseback keeping it water-resistant

3. Has automatic movements that boast up to 80 hours of power reserve

4. Adorned with a signature anchor emblem on the dial and carved seahorses on the caseback

5. Offers models with bold geometric elements, a playful design, and style for modern watch aficionados

Rado Tradition Watches: Celebrating Vintage Craftsmanship in the 21st Century

Rado’s brand philosophy has always been “if we can imagine it, we can make it”. Throughout the years, the brand has managed to bring its bold, innovative, and avant-garde designs to life, evident in its various watch collections. One of its collections that highlights all of these aspects is the Rado Tradition that retains the same DNA of vintage Rado watches back in the 1960s. Boasting state-of-the-art materials and modernized technical innovations, the Rado Tradition collection perfectly celebrates the marriage of vintage craftsmanship and modern innovations, creating timeless pieces that will last a lifetime.