Rado launches 60th-anniversary edition of DiaStar Original watch priced at Rs 1.83 lakh

The watch uses Ceramos, a trademark Rado preferred material nearly as hard as diamond. The material is harder than the one used for the watch in the 60s.

Swiss luxury watch brand Rado launched the 60th-anniversary edition of the DiaStar Original at the Indian Art Fair last week. The first DiaStar was presented by Rado in April 1962 at the Basel fair and created quite a stir as it was the world’s first scratch-proof watch. Six decades later the new DiaStar Original Anniversary Edition has been created and designed in collaboration with Swiss designer, Alfredo Häberli.

“As I designed the new watch, I imagined it to be bold, edgy, and futuristic keeping the essence of the original DiaStar,” says Häberli. “One of the significant innovations in the watch is the movement. The new movement keeps the reserve at 80 hours. So, you can leave the watch on your desk on a Friday night and it will still be working on a Monday morning,” explains Häberli.

The other innovation is that the watch uses Ceramos, a trademark Rado preferred material nearly as hard as diamond. “It is a harder material than the metal used in the 60s,” says Häberli. But what is closest to Häberli’s heart is the new geometric design. “It’s very elegant. Thinner and slimmer and it’s also very light,” he says.

Häberli believes innovation is important to attract the next generation but at the same time, he doesn’t think that smartwatches are a threat. “If you talk about intelligent watches, which give you a lot more information, but in five years you will not be able to use that technique. So that’s why I’m so proud to take part in a sixty years old tradition, which works. It doesn’t matter where you are around the world, you don’t need a battery, you just have to shake your hands. I think the future should be like that.”

“I did the redesign of the watch hoping that it will hold for another 60 years, I will be dead but it doesn’t matter,” he chuckles. Häberli says that the watch industry was a bit insecure when smartwatches started making an appearance but it has only expanded the market. “Considering they have a shelf life of only five years, I don’t know how intelligent they are but that’s just my personal opinion,” laughs Häberli.

He believes that the smartwatch (which he likes to call the intelligent watch) has created more interest in the normal mechanical watch. A traditional watch is an heirloom. People hold it for 2-3 generations. “An intelligent watch is just a tool. Depending upon your interests you can use it or not.”

The 60th-anniversary edition of the DiaStar Original is gender-neutral. Its dimensions are 38.0 x 45.0 x 12.3 (WxLxH in mm). But Rado will be launching another version for women with a smaller dial. Besides the stainless-steel strap, it also comes with an additional grey textile strap. The new standard DiaStar Original models feature a parallel-stripe-faceted sapphire crystal, polished and brushed H-link stainless-steel bracelet, and a range of different dial colours in blue, grey and green. In India, it is priced at Rs 1.83 lakh and is available at Rado watch boutiques.