Captain Cook

Can a watch born in 1962 return to the height of public desire 60 years later?

 Although it was not planned, this is what Rado’s Captain Cook timepiece succeeded in doing. Forgotten in a drawer for half a century, this watch was relaunched in 2017 and is today one of this Swiss brand’s best sellers.

The model - which 59 years ago showcased its iconic concave bezel framing rounded glass, as well as its characteristic gladius and arrow hands - was perhaps too modern for the time, so much so that the Maison withdrew it from the market before the end of the 1960s.

The current version is a re-engineering of the historical model, with a design decidedly faithful to the original, especially in the steel version with a shiny rice grain bracelet framed on the sides by satin meshes.

The only noteworthy stylistic difference is the use of colour, which is more present in the new version.

As for materials, here we find a hi-tech ceramic insert on a unidirectional rotating bezel; made of Rado ceramics of course - unscratchable and with unchanging colour over time.

The automatic movement also has important innovations. The Rado R734 automatic caliber gives you 80 hours of power reserve and is equipped with a Nivachron spiral, a titanium-based alloy developed by the Swatch Group (which Rado is part of), with high resistance to shocks and temperature changes, and up to 20 times more insensitive to the effects of magnetic fields found in everyday objects than a traditional hairspring.

This means that watch will run precisely and constantly, even in the presence of magnetic fluxes of significant intensity, such as near a refrigerator, a smartphone, or even the magnet that closes a bag.

The technical characteristics of the watch classify it as a respectable diving watch, thanks to its crown and case back, and unidirectional screw down

A wide range of bracelets and straps, which can be purchased separately and easily interchanged with the Easy Clip system, is available.

By Dody Giussani