The New Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver (Live Pics & Price)

Captain Cook and Rado are practically synonymous. The original model was released in 1962 as a 37mm diver with a water resistance of 200 metres. Although a stylish and very capable diver, it didn’t find success like counterparts from Blancpain, Rolex and Seiko did in the mid-20^th century. However, it was reintroduced in 2017 and has since become a hero collection for the brand. Although the aesthetic is vintage-inspired, Rado recently introduced high-tech ceramic for the case and bracelet, such as last year’s Captain Cook High-Tech Plasma Ceramic. There are six new ceramic models with a contemporary size and materials for 2022. 

Matte cases are available in high-tech ceramic or high-tech plasma ceramic, both an established speciality for Rado. The plasma ceramic is placed in an oven with gases activated at 20,000°C to create a metallic sheen. Dimensions for all cases are 43mm in diameter and 14.6mm in height (49.8mm lug-to-lug), which follows some of last year’s models. All cases have a monobloc design and water resistance rating of 300 metres, and these are the first models to come with an ISO 6425 certification for dive watches.

New case/bracelet colour options include black, olive and a greyish/silver plasma ceramic. The unidirectional rotating bezels are stainless steel with colour-matching ceramic inserts and feature an engraved 60-minute scale filled with white lacquer. The triangular mark is coated with Super-LumiNova. The screw-down crown is also stainless steel, while the solid case back is titanium with the classic twin seahorses engraved. A retro box sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coatings on both sides protects the dial. All models come with a bracelet with matte outer links and polished centre links (the olive bracelet is all matte), and a titanium 3-fold clasp. Colour-matching rubber straps with steel folding clasps are available for the standard ceramic models in black and olive. 

The dial retains the successful Captain Cook aesthetic with bold applied indices filled with Super-LumiNova. The hour hand has the classic oversized arrowhead (which was on the minute hand in the 1960s) and both hands are filled with Super-LumiNova, while the tip of the seconds hand also has lume. A colour-matching minute track at the perimeter has Super-LumiNova every five minutes. There are two additional classic Captain Cook dial elements, a date window at 3 o’clock with vintage red print and the free-spinning anchor logo at 12 o’clock with a synthetic ruby backplate. Four dial colour options include polished black for the black case, sunray grey and sunray blue for the plasma ceramic, and matte olive for the olive case.

Powering the new Captain Cook models is the ETA-based calibre R763 automatic (Powermatic 80) with 25 jewels, a beat rate of 21,600vph (3Hz) and a power reserve of 80 hours. It features an antimagnetic Nivachron hairspring and exceeds standard test requirements from 3 to 5 positions for higher accuracy. Functions include central hours, minutes, hacking seconds and date. 

Retail prices for the Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Divers are EUR 3,200 on rubber, EUR 3,450 in black or olive ceramic on bracelet and EUR 3,700 in plasma ceramic on bracelet.

For more information, please visit Rado’s website.