Rado  Captain Cook  Watches

Rado Captain Cook: Modern Dive Watches with Vintage Aesthetics

Swiss watch company Rado produced the earliest Captain Cook watches in 1962, well within the golden age of recreational diving. The Rado Captain Cook watches provided a way for divers to time their dives, which made them useful and even life-saving accessories. These unique timepieces had convenient date displays and came in proportionate case sizes of 36mm, making them great all-around tool watches. After six years of production, however, the brand discontinued the Rado Captain Cook collection in 1968. In 2017, the Rado Captain Cook made its way back into the market. The brand outfitted the reintroduced Rado Captain Cook watches with modern movements to keep up with contemporary dive watches. Along with the more vintage watches with a 37mm diameter, Rado also began producing pieces with modern case sizes of 42mm and 45mm, offering its fans a much greater variety to choose from with the Rado Captain Cook.

Price List at a Glance

How much is a Rado Captain Cook watch? 

The Rado Captain Cook is actually part of the Rado HyperChrome collection, but its design is unique enough to merit its own line. Although most of the watches in the Rado Captain Cook collection have a vintage feel to them, the watches actually have material movements that are all up to date. These dive watches follow the industry standard of having a water resistance of 200m (656ft, 20 bar), and unique details that help them stand out from their peers. 

The Rado Captain Cook collection includes watches with sizes ranging from 37mm to 48mm, with designs catering to men and women alike. There are also some limited-edition pieces available, drawing the attention of collectors worldwide. Depending on the specific model, Rado Captain Cook watches sell for around $1,900 USD to $4,200 USD.

Prices for the Rado Captain Cook Automatic: Vintage-Inspired Automatic Dive Watches

The Rado Captain Cook Automatic is an automatic dive watch that stays true to its inspiration: the original Captain Cook watches that Rado produced in the 1960s. These watches come with sturdy 37mm stainless steel or ceramic cases that provide excellent underwater protection. 

The 2017 revival of the Rado Captain Cook is almost an exact replica of the original Captain Cook models, design-wise. Its dial has a tidy look that emphasizes legibility and ease of use, and it has a handy date display at the 3 o’clock position. The hands and hour markers are all large and luminous, making them easy to read even underwater. Rado Captain Cook Automatic models all have domed scratch-resistant sapphire crystals and inward-facing bezels in different color combinations. The luminescent tones of the markers and hands can also differ depending on the model. 

For added visual pop, the distinctive anchor emblem of Rado can be seen at the 12 o’clock position. This anchor logo rotates similar to an automatic rotor, and it is a design detail that you just cannot help but look at. The anchor is an amazing touch for the powerful Rado Captain Cook Automatic. To top it all off, the case back of the watch also carries the signature emblem of three seahorses. 

Of the 2017 Rado Captain Cook models, the 37mm Rado HyperChrome Captain Cook Automatic Ref. R32500305 is a particular highlight. This model is a limited edition timepiece, of which there were only 1,962 pieces released, a homage to the year that Rado first released the original Rado Captain Cook watches. The Automatic Ref. R32500305 has a metallic brown dial and a smooth vintage leather strap. Like most Captain Cook watches, it comes with a water resistance of 200m. The limited-edition watch changes hands for around $1,900 USD, quite a fair price to pay for such an iconic watch.

The Captain Cook Automatic also has some women’s dive watches with more feminine features. Take the Captain Cook Automatic Ref. R32500703, for instance. This 37mm model has a silvery-white dial that’s reminiscent of mother-of-pearl. It comes with exquisite diamond hour markers and a Milanese-style bracelet that is hard to take your eyes off. You can get the Automatic Ref. R32500703 for around $2,800 USD.

If you want a Captain Cook watch with a bigger case, the Rado Captain Cook Automatic also has some 42mm models which are more suitable for men. One great example is the Rado Captain Cook Automatic Ref. R32505315, another vintage-inspired model with a luminescent green dial. In terms of design, it does not differ significantly from the 37mm models, but its larger size helps considerably with the legibility of the dial and its watch presence. This model sells for around $2,220 USD.

Regardless of the case size, all Captain Cook Automatic watches run with an automatic ETA C07.611 movement. Along with powering the three watch hands and date display, this movement provides the automatic dive watches with an impressive power reserve of up to 80 hours. 

Prices for the Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic: Large and Advanced Ceramic Watches 

As Rado continuously improved its technology and designs, the brand announced a new development in the Captain Cook collection. In 2021, Rado announced the release of the Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic. This dive watch features strong, scratch-resistant ceramic with hypoallergenic properties, as well as the Rado Calibre R734 that has an impressive Nivachron hairspring. This revolutionary hairspring provides the movement with protection against magnetic fields. The design of the Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic doesn’t stray far away from the original Captain Cook watches, but this line of dive watches showcases cutting-edge innovations and unique materials.

The Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic collection comes in case sizes of 43mm, in contrast to the Captain Cook Automatic’s 37mm or 42mm sizes. The watch case also has a height of 14.6 mm, making it a rather thick watch. Although it sounds quite hefty, the High-Tech Ceramic’s curved-profile and low-lugged design make it so that the timepiece can still sit comfortably on the wrist even for long periods of time. 

Perhaps its most remarkable feature is its unique use of materials. The watch exhibits Rado’s innovative Monobloc ceramic construction and makes use of matte black or matte plasma ceramic. Combined with strong stainless steel, this makes the case stylish, lightweight, hypoallergenic, scratch-resistant, and of course, highly durable. Unlike the Rado Captain Cook Automatic watches, the High-Tech Ceramic line has a noticeably more modern appearance.

For extra flair, this dive watch features a skeletonized dial — something dive watches typically don’t have. The watch also has a sapphire window on the titanium case back, revealing the Calibre R734 movement that ticks away within the watch. Although these details seem a little risky for a dive watch, Rado has reinforced these pieces with water resistance of up to 300m (984ft, 30 bar), significantly more than the water resistance levels that the Captain Cook Automatic watches possess.

Rado introduced four versions of the Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic. One of the more prominent models is the Ref. R32128202, which features a plasma ceramic case that is dark gray in color. This watch’s case is a remarkably durable combination of ceramic, stainless steel, and titanium. The Ref. R32128202 also comes with a sturdy plasma ceramic bracelet with a matte and polished finish. You can acquire this exceptional dive watch for around $4,200 USD.

The Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Ref. R32127162 is also an eye-catching timepiece. This dive watch sports a matte-black ceramic case and bracelet with a tasteful rose gold PVD-coated stainless steel bezel. Its bezel slopes down towards the dome-shaped sapphire crystal, not just to give the watch an interesting visual look but also to protect the crystal from hard impacts. The High-Tech Ceramic Ref. 32127162 retails at around $4,100 USD.  

Rado Captain Cook — Is it a Good Investment?

The Rado Captain Cook collection certainly has some unique models, all of which possess top-notch features. It has a wide variety of styles, sizes, and materials for you to choose from, with both vintage-inspired pieces and modern pieces making up this versatile collection. The dive watches in this collection boast great water resistance and generous power reserves of up to 80 hours.

These durable watches can withstand any sorts of harsh conditions underwater, and they can certainly stand the test of time. They are absolutely worthy investments for divers and watch enthusiasts alike. Collectors will also love the multiple limited edition watches released under this collection.

Rado Captain Cook's History and Design Details

The Swiss watch brand Rado is best known for its dress watch collections, but the brand began to dive into the realm of dive watches in 1962. They introduced the Rado Captain Cook, which they named after the renowned 18th-century British explorer and navigator Captain James Cook. The original Captain Cook watches had a water resistance of 200m (656ft, 20 bar), similar to the brand’s modern dive watches. However, Rado stopped the production of Captain Cook watches in 1968.

In 2017, Rado decided to bring the Captain Cook collection back into the market. The new Captain Cook dive watches kept the vintage aesthetic of the original models. They boasted the same design principles that the original watches had, such as the domed crystal, the date display at the 3 o’clock position, and the rotating anchor logo at 12 o’clock. To keep up with their contemporaries, however, Rado outfitted these new watches with some of their latest innovations and technology. 

Among the innovations that Captain Cook watches exhibit are advanced movements and the use of materials that the brand perfected over the years, such as the ceramic cases and bracelets that protect the Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic watches. Rado is often referred to as the “Master of Materials” for this reason. Some Captain Cook models can now also withstand impressive depths of up to 300m (984ft, 30 bar).

The modern Captain Cook watches now form the backbone of the brand’s sporty watches, coming in a variety of sizes, colors, and styles. With so much to choose from, there’s bound to be a dive watch in this collection that best caters to your exquisite tastes.

Five Reasons to Buy a Rado Captain Cook Watch 

1. 1. Rado Captain Cook watches are excellent all-around tool watches with convenient date displays.
2. 2. The pieces suit a wide variety of styles and activities because of their versatility.
3. 3. Their design aesthetic is remarkably vintage, giving them that classic and eye-catching appeal.
4. 4. The materials and movements of the Rado Captain Cook are all up to date and can easily compete with other contemporary dive watches.
5. 5. Rado Captain Cook watches have a water resistance of 200m (656ft, 20 bar), making them worthy companions for swimming, diving, and other water-related activities. The Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic watches are even water-resistant up to 300m (984ft, 30 bar).

Rado Captain Cook: Vintage Dive Watches 

If you are a fan of convenient and vintage-inspired dive watches, consider buying a Rado Captain Cook watch. These incredible timepieces are all-around utility watches that are also great companions for your diving explorations. With their quality materials and advanced technology, you can rest assured that these watches will prove to be reliable diving accessories for years to come.