WATCH TO WATCH

Colorful Captains: The Rado Captain Cook Automatic Collection


One of Rado’s most popular releases of recent years is also one of its most “off the beaten path” in terms of design and theme: the Hyperchrome Captain Cook, based on a heretofore obscure 1960s diving watch and eschewing Rado’s more modernist aesthetics in favor of a vintage-retro look. The latest expansion of the Captain Cook family, however, might look a little more familiar to longtime Rado enthusiasts, defined by ultra-modern materials and vibrant colorways. Here is a rundown of the three models in the Captain Cook Automatic collection.

Rado Captain Cook Automatic - blue - reclining
The Rado Captain Cook Automatic is available in three new colors.

The case diameters of the new models, at 42 mm, elegantly splits the difference between the somewhat modest, historically faithful 37-mm and rather hefty 44-mm versions of the Captain Cook. The cases and rotating divers’ bezels are in polished stainless steel, with the bezels equipped with inserts made of high-tech ceramic inlays — in either polished black, polished blue, or, in the case of the most eye-catching new reference, polished green — that match the colors of the dials. The dive scale on the bezels is composed of laser-engraved and metallized numerals and indices. The cases are water-resistant to 2oo meters, with a solid caseback stamped with three seahorses, a suitably aquatic motif established by earlier Rado dive watches.

Rado Hyperchrome Capt. Cook Automatic - green - front
The dial-matching bezels are made of high-tech ceramic.
Rado Hyperchrome Capt. Cook Automatic - green - profile
The Rado anchor emblem appears on the crowns.

The dials, protected under box-shaped sapphire crystals with double-sided nonreflective coating, feature the large, wedge-shaped indices of their predecessors, along with the familiar arrow-shaped hour hand and sword-shaped minute hand; hands and indices are both treated with Super-LumiNova. The historical Rado rotating anchor symbol at 12 o’clock is more prominent, with a ’60s-inspired ruby-colored background, while the date window at 3 o’clock displays the date in a bright red font. The dials of the blue- and green-themed models have a modern, gradient effect, fading to black at their edges.

Rado Hyperchrome Capt. Cook Automatic - blue - dial CU
The date numeral is in bright red.

 

Rado Hyperchrome Capt. Cook Automatic - green - front
The casebacks are engraved with three seahorses.

Powering the Captain Cook Automatics is the ETA C07.611 caliber, whose key attribute is its lengthy 80-hour power reserve. It ticks at a frequency of 21,600 vph and includes 25 jewels. The models with a black dial and bezel (Ref. 763.0505.3.015) and green dial and bezel (Ref. 763.0505.3.031) are delivered on seven-row “rice grain” bracelets with brushed and polished finishes and a steel three-fold clasp, while the model with blue dial and bezel (Ref. 763.0505.3.120) comes on a brown suede leather strap with an extendable “EasyClip” steel folding clasp. All are priced at $2,000.

Rado Hyperchrome Captain Cook Automatic - black
The model with black dial and bezel re-creates the look of the original Captain Cook.

 

 

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  1. Hennie

    It is a nice watch and also well balanced on your arm. Great to have one.

    Reply
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