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Why this particular Rado watch stood out at the India Art Fair
- Indian-origin British industrial designer Tej Chauhan reimagines one of the world's most iconic watches
There’s plenty of literature out there on the world’s first split-second chronograph or the world’s first diving watch — but few know about the world’s first scratch-resistant watch. The Rado DiaStar original was a groundbreaking timepiece upon launch in 1962. In fact, it was a major milestone on the path to making Rado what it’s popularly called today — the master of materials.
While the original was made using a hard-metal carbide alloy, the new DiaStar Original line primarily uses Rado’s proprietary “high-tech ceramic”. The watch’s global unveiling took place at the India Art Fair for a variety of reasons, the least of which was Chauhan’s own Indian origins. India happens to be Rado’s largest market, as the brand has enjoyed uncanny success in the country, largely because it was one of the first few luxury watch brands to enter India but also due to the scratch and temperature-resistant nature of its watches. Even two decades later, a Rado watch made of ceramic does not look its age.
The DiaStar Original isn’t the watch of the hour, however. Its latest reimagined iteration by celebrated British industrial designer Tej Chauhan is. The DiaStar Original x Tej Chauhan is a special edition watch, one that took centre stage at the India Art Fair, where it was unveiled. On the surface, it’s joyously unconventional, although Rado’s designs are always rooted in functionality. While the general consensus on good design is its ability to solve a problem, Chauhan’s work goes beyond the domain of functionality. “For me, the design has to be able to spark joy,” says the British industrial designer who was behind some of the most iconic Nokia phone designs in what was undoubtedly the golden age of phones. Chuan has given the new DiaStar Original a similar joyous touch using bright yellow gold-coloured PVD coating to cover the iconic case of the DiaStar. There are other unique attributes, such as the watch's use of a new proprietary material developed by Rado called Ceramos. In terms of functionality, it offers the same scratch-resistant and hypoallergenic benefits as High-Tech Ceramic, except about ten per cent of it is an alloy, which helps give it a metallic lustre while retaining its age-resistant and lightweight properties.
The case of the DiaStar is made of stainless steel– only the sizeable, oblong bezel is made of ceramos. The stainless steel caseback gets a dark grey PVD coating and features a sapphire crystal that features the engraving “Special Edition Tej Chauhan” on it. The day and date printed on the 3 o’clock window feature Chauhan’s own proprietary font.
This isn’t Chauhan’s first rodeo when it comes to designing watches. Chauhan’s design repertoire includes several consumer electronics and automotive components, but Rado is the first and only watch brand that he has collaborated with thus far. Prior to this, he had worked on the reimagining of yet another pillar of Rado – True Square. Chauhan’s work reflects a clean, minimalistic, retro-futuristic design ethic that makes it a perfect fit for a watch like the DiaStar original. It is an oval, oblong case with small pillow-shaped bits forming the rubber strap Literally. Yet, there is an element of understatedness to it. The dial, for instance, is a stark matt grey, popping out of a radial faceted sapphire crystal. The colours silver and blue can be found on the printed minute track, as well as the applied indexes at every five-minute interval. The dial is contrasted by polished black gold coloured hour hands that are coated in Superluminova. But more than anything else, including the gold-coloured case, it’s the unique rubber strap that really grabs the eye. Chauhan has used rubber to shape the pillow-shaped units of the strap. The cumulative effect is a watch that looks like it belongs to the swinging 60s as much as it does to the mid-2020s. Make no mistake, though, this watch is designed to appeal primarily to the young, so irrepressibly, it is brimming with youth and cheeriness. With dimensions of 38.0mm x 45.0mm x11.7mm, it’s quite compact on the wrist and also is water resistant to 100m.
The DiaStar was among the first watches to bring scratch resistance to the fore. Around the time of its launch, the best a watch could do was offer stainless steel levels of wearability. Still, once high-tech ceramic was brought into the mix – you could now wear a watch that was practically impervious to the decaying effects of time itself. In a way, the original’s success dictated the direction Rado would take and how it would come to be known primarily for its use of newly minted materials and avant-garde design. The new Special Edition proves that Rado is willing to experiment and tweak existing classic designs and collaborate with fresh talent that can shake up any cobwebs that tend to gather around formulaic approaches to design.
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Business NewsNewsWhy this particular Rado watch stood out at the India Art Fair
First Published:12 Feb 2025, 06:03 PM IST
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