Rado position themselves as the master of materials, which is very bold claim in an industry full of innovators. But it’s a claim they can back up with their exceptional ceramic timepieces like the Captain Cook Skeleton. However, being a true master of a discipline means being adept at all its facets and intricacies and specialising in one material doesn’t make you a master of all. Which is why it’s nice to see Rado remember the basics with the new Rado Captain Cook summer blue gradient in stainless steel.
Starting with an overview, the Captain Cook is one of the most quintessential sports watches on the market. It has the toughness and durability of a diver, featuring a diameter of 42mm and a water resistance of 300m, so it’s suitable for virtually any occasion. Indeed, the watch’s heritage is closely associated with the water, after all it’s named after one of the most famous sailors in history.
The reason I say sports watch rather than diver is more to do with how Rado position themselves in the market these days. Their ambassadors have historically been people like Cameron Norrie, the UK’s current No.2 men’s tennis player and Ash Barty, former women’s world No.1 tennis player. Recently they’ve also been getting into the sphere of cricket with Cameron Green (they really seem to like people called Cameron) as well as a collaboration watch with England Cricket.
For this summer edition, the Rado Captain Cook has been dressed with a colourful dial featuring a gradient from white in the centre to blue around the periphery. Which is then matched by a blue timer bezel. It reminds me of an indoor tennis court (you may be able to tell that tennis is my favourite sport and I am happily bias towards it) although typically indoor courts are more in use in the winter as summer is the season of grass courts – Wimbledon is just around the corner.
Powering the watch is the Rado calibre R763, which is a very solid movement. It has automatic winding and an 80-hour power reserve, meaning if you do put it down for the weekend it will still be ticking on Monday when you strap it back on. As for the strap, it comes with three. There’s a steel bracelet with titanium clasp, a blue leather strap and a white and blue NATO strap, which I think is my favourite of the trio.
Priced at £2,500 it’s competitively priced alongside other high performance sports and tool watches. Watches like the Oris Divers Sixty-Five and honestly in terms of value I think the Rado Captain Cook blue gradient claims the victory – although it would come down to a fifth set tiebreaker.
Price and Specs:
More details at Rado.
