Rado Diastar Original Watches - History Behind It

Rado is known among the horologists for its exceptional design and revolutionary technology.

Rado has been making watches since 1917 when three brothers opened up a factory under the name of Schlup and Co. in Switzerland. 40 years from its humble beginnings, the company changed its name to Rado and introduced its classic watch collection to the world at large. The most iconic of the Rado watch collection is the Rado Diastar: The gem of the Rado collection.

Rado Diastar Original R12413243648.0413.3.024

This Rado watch is characterized by stunning gold plated finish. The dial of the watch is encrusted with stones which are further protected by the sapphire crystal. The bezel of the watch is the most striking feature of the watch as it renders the watch its unique design and renders it scratchproof.

Rado Diastar Original R12391153114.0391.3.015

This is a black and silver classic timepiece for men. It is entirely scratchproof owing to its sapphire crystal and hard metal bezel. The stainless steel bracelet is quite elegant and is perfect for all occasions.

The Diastar was first introduced in 1962 and was heralded as the first scratch proof watch ever. It was a time when most of the watches were made of gold or stainless steel. These watches were prone to scratches and every premium watch company in the world was looking for a material which would not scratch. It was then that Rado opened its own metallurgy division and came up with the hardest metal ever: tungsten carbide. It was prepared by the fusion of tungsten and carbide at 1000 atmosphere pressure in a vacuum furnace. Moreover, the dial of the watch was covered with sapphire glass to prevent any kind of damages to the dial. It was the first ever watch to use sapphire glass for its dial. It was all done in an age when nobody even thought of using hard metals and sapphire glass in a watch.

The name Diastar hinted at the concept of Diamonds and stars which was what Rado was aiming to achieve with this classic piece of timeless wonder.

When Rado first introduced Diastar, it took the watch connoisseurs by surprise. Rado Diastar was nothing like the watches that people have seen. The case of the watch was of tungsten carbide and it was oblong in shape. The case formed a shield around the dial of the watch which was protected by the Sapphire glass.

Though initially the Diastar received a lukewarm welcome because of it’s out of the box design, it soon caught on the interest of the watch enthusiasts and within a few years became one of the highest selling watches of Rado.

Why should you own the classic Rado Diastar?

Rado Diastar is one of the classiest vintage watches which are a must have in your collection. The watch is still available as the “Original�. This is because the house of Rado had never really stopped manufacturing this classic piece of watch.

Today, Rado has introduced about 20 varieties of the Rado Diastar both in Quartz as well as in mechanical variations. The Rado Diastar watches, even today, have tried to retain the vintage charm in its design. This is exactly what makes Rado Diastar such a unique watch and explains the reason behind its mind boggling demand among the vintage watch collectors.