The Understated Matte Finish of the Rado True Square Skeleton

Rado began experimenting with innovative materials in the early 1960s, resulting in the Diastar and its futuristic helmet-like case made from scratch-resistant carbide tungsten. Since 1986, Rado has employed high-tech ceramic in its creations, obtaining a broader palette of colours and finishes over the years. The True Square, a collection launched in 2020, perpetuates Rado’s history of square-shaped watches. Interpreted in high-tech and plasma ceramic with skeletonised and Open Heart versions, the latest trilogy of True Square models adopts a new texture. Exchanging the shiny finish for matte, sandblasted surfaces, the True Square exudes a more rugged, pared-down vibe.

Casting aside the hyper-shiny mirror-polished finish of earlier True Square Skeleton models, the three new models come in three different flavours: matte gunmetal plasma high-tech ceramic with a matching bracelet, matte black high-tech ceramic with a matching bracelet and a matte black high-tech ceramic case with a black rubber strap.

The square geometry of the True Square, with its 38mm diameter and thickness of 9.7mm, is attenuated with gently rounded corners. The beauty of high-tech ceramic is that it is lighter but harder than steel, it is virtually scratchproof, and the colour won’t fade over time. The skeletonised dial features two parallel bridges attached to the peripheral minutes track. Roughly divided into three sections, you can see the balance wheel with its anti-magnetic hairspring at noon. In the wider middle section are parts of the wheel train and the keyless work of the crown, while the barrel and mainspring occupy the central and lower segments.

The grey plasma model marks the first time Rado has applied a matte finish to this material. Like the black high-tech ceramic model, the areas of the mainplate surrounding the movement have a horizontal brushed decoration. Other novelties concern the hour markers and hands, which are thicker and more prominent than in past editions. Delivering more luminescence, the indices are crafted from blocks of Super-LumiNova, and the sandblasted hour and minute hands are thicker and blunter and can hold more SLN.

The one piece that deviates from the formula is the matte black ceramic model with a sporty ribbed black rubber strap and a steel folding clasp. This reference has horizontal Côtes de Genève, and the hour and minute hands are polished, not sandblasted.

A round sapphire glass on the sandblasted titanium caseback reveals the large anchor-shaped rotor of calibre R808, also decorated with Côtes de Genève. Delivering a robust 80h power reserve, Rado’s R808 automatic movement is fitted with a Nivachron hairspring that is unaffected by magnetic fields and temperature fluctuation.

The True Square models with ceramic bracelets retail for EUR 3,100, while the model on a rubber strap has a price of EUR 2,750. More information at rado.com.