Rado is marking the 60th anniversary of the popular DiaStar model with a special edition created in collaboration with Swiss designer Alfredo Häberli. The original watch design was unique upon its release in 1962 due to its scratchproof properties, thanks to an innovative blend of tungsten and titanium carbides, marking a new direction for watchmaking at a time when watch cases were typically crafted from more fragile gold.
Now, Häberli has brought his distinctive offbeat design aesthetic to the Rado DiaStar Original 60-Year Anniversary Edition. The new piece marries a geometric new design with a tribute to the easily recognisable form of the earlier models; a sapphire crystal now with hexagonal facets nods to the six decades that have passed since the original design. Defined by the spirit of technical innovation that drove the early models, the 2022 edition is partly crafted from Ceramos, a light and strong Rado creation as tough as ceramic and as lustrous as metal, making for sleek, metallic-looking finishes of steel, rose gold or yellow gold.
‘In my work as a designer I’m always trying to combine tradition and innovation with joy and energy, and the anniversary edition is no exception,’ says Häberli of the new model. ‘In essence, the point was to take the features of the original DiaStar and give them a contemporary form. So there’s been a minor geometric adaptation of the case to make it look more elegant and lighter. The hands and date display were designed to look as modern and abstract as possible. I try to add value to each product in terms of its suitability for everyday use. For the DiaStar, that means you have to be able to wear it on different occasions, so it comes with two alternative straps and in a leather case that can be used as protection while travelling.’
Häberli relished the challenges inherent in watch design. He adds: ‘Architecture is a matter of centimetres, industrial design deals in millimetres, and watch design takes every micron into account. First, you have to be able to see that clearly, but we were quick to adapt our approach to this scale.’
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