If you wanted to distil Rado’s history, watchmaking expertise, and distinctive designs into a single watch, there’s a strong argument to be made for the ceramic Captain Cook. Embodying the Lengnau-based watchmaker’s pioneering talent in ceramics and dive watch design language that traces its roots to 1962, this year, Rado has revealed one of its most ambitious and unusual ceramic divers to date – the Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Automatic Chronograph.
While most conventional chronographs offer a stainless steel build and mediocre water resistance, Rado has joined the elite club of watchmakers capable of producing a fully ceramic chronograph that can join you at the bottom of the ocean. We’re not talking about a shoreline diver either, because Rado’s new Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Automatic Chronograph guarantees water resistance down to a whopping 300m – a number that approaches the world’s deepest scuba dive record of 332m.
Why are fully ceramic dive watches so rare? Mostly because the relentless pressures of deep-water diving and complicated ceramic cases don’t usually play nicely together, a fact that’s especially true when combined with the complexity of a chronograph, which adds possible points of moisture ingress with the pushers.
Rado approached this problem with the function-forward mindset the brand has become known for, creating a so-called monobloc ceramic case using a single piece of the ultra-hard material. This construction improves the strength of the case, while the pushers are locked tight with a screw-down function to avoid accidental activation.
Beyond its single-piece construction, the case measures a solid 43mm in diameter and 16.2mm thick and is finished with a matte texture (contrasted by polished bracelet centrelinks), boasting a polished 60-minute ceramic diving bezel insert framed by a rose gold PVD-coated ring that matches the tone of the crown and chronograph pushers. Despite its impressive dive rating, we’ve also got a sapphire crystal exhibition caseback that allows you to see the movement in action.
This is where Rado’s “master of materials” calling card stops being a tagline, because the use of ceramic isn’t a garnish – it’s the point. The case, bezel insert, and bracelet (with a titanium clasp) are all ceramic, resulting in a watch that’s lighter and more scratch-resistant than steel, more comfortable on the wrist, and undeniably eye-catching to observers.
The dial is classic Captain Cook, featuring that distinctive arrow-shaped hour hand, the signature rotating ruby-backed anchor at 12 o’clock, as well as hands and hour markers filled with luminous material to make time-telling a breeze in the darkness of the ocean floor. It’s also got a date window nicely tucked away at six o’clock, and three chronograph registers that now include a new chronograph hour counter, a first for Captain Cook chronographs.
Beneath the dial is where the action happens. Powering the Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Automatic Chronograph is the automatic R801 movement, which has been tested for accuracy in five positions, features an antimagnetic Nivachron hairspring, and promises a power reserve of 59 hours when fully wound.
What makes this watch so special isn’t the movement, the water resistance, or even the ceramic build – it’s the combination of elements that makes it a genuinely uncommon proposition. The number of watchmakers capable and willing to make a deep diving chronograph out of ceramic can be counted on one hand, placing Rado in a rarified club.
Plenty of brands can give you one or two of those attributes, but Rado’s packaged all three in a watch that looks sharp with a suit and feels absolutely at home on a boat, a beach, or a long-haul flight. Yes, the Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Automatic Chronograph is handsome, the finishing is obviously crisp, and of course, the materials are premium. But its uniqueness isn’t skin-deep – it’s engineered in.
The Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Chronograph is currently available from Rado authorised dealers, and arrives with an Australian RRP of $10,450.
This article is presented in partnership with Rado. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Boss Hunting.
