When it comes to classic watches with complications, Rado might not be your first destination. However, if you seek fashion-forward designs crafted from cutting-edge materials, Rado is an attractive option. Coupled with renowned designer names, you can own a modern piece of wrist art. Known for its innovative use of high-tech ceramics and minimalist modern design, Rado is no stranger to collaborations. Judging by the long and illustrious list of artists and designers who have collaborated with the brand - Konstantin Grcic, Jasper Morrison, Lesley Chan, Ayako Suwa, Bethan Gray, and more - it might be the brand most actively engaging external designers. Since 2020, the iconic True Square model has also been receiving the 'international designers' treatment.'
The latest addition to the True Square family is the 'Over the Abyss' watch, created in collaboration with New Delhi's artist duo Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra. In June 2021, Rado approached Chinese graphic designer Yuan Youmin to incorporate traditional elements of his culture into the True Square True Heart. Last year, the True Square was reimagined by three leading proponents of modern design: the Italo-Dutch design duo Formafantasma, Japanese design duo YOY, and British industrial designer Tej Chauhan.
GENESIS OF THE TRUE SQUARE
The 1990 Rado Ceramica was the brand’s first square watch made from high-tech ceramics. Its sleek geometry and minimalism laid the groundwork for the aesthetics we now associate with Rado ceramic watches. In 1988, the Ceramica model employed another ceramic derivative known as high-tech plasma ceramics. In 2016, industrial designer Konstantin Grcic reimagined the Ceramica in stark matte gray-black ceramics. The True Square, a sibling to the Ceramica, is evidently square but softens the rigid geometry of the square case with gently rounded corners for a softer, smoother, more sensual look and feel.
Unlike previous Rado collections that used pressed high-tech ceramics, the True Square models feature a monobloc case made using injection molding technology. The restrained dimensions of 38 mm in diameter and a thin height of 9.6 mm (in most cases) make these watches an ideal candidate for unisex dress watches. The effect of liquid flowing from the case into the integrated bracelet is achieved by polishing the high-tech ceramics to an almost mirror-like shine. However, the editions we are discussing today feature several matte finish options. Beyond the smooth, silky surface, high-tech ceramics are extremely scratch-resistant, hypoallergenic, and surprisingly lightweight. All models reviewed here are equipped with Swiss automatic movements (ETA C07.611) with an 80-hour power reserve.
All 5 Rado True Square designer editions
TRUE SQUARE “OVER THE ABYSS”
Although the name of these watches might seem somewhat grim, the Indian designer duo wanted to convey the importance of an interconnected global community that will ultimately overcome the challenging situation (abyss) we face today. To emphasize this vision of an international community, Thukral and Tagra created a unique time indicator that overlays the local time of the watch owner on several world time zones. Different time zones are represented by 37 hands (18 hour and 19 minute), painted in a gradient of colors from pink to blue.
Although it is not a world timer or GMT watch, the 37 rays emanating from the center are meant to evoke our global community. How do you read the time with so many colorful rays? Among the 37 colorful rays, there are two rays with luminescent tips that indicate the current hours and minutes. The 38 mm matte blue high-tech ceramic case and bracelet feature a titanium caseback with blue PVD coating and special engraving designed by the Indian designers called Dominus Aeries.
TRUE SQUARE TRUE HEART
Chinese graphic designer and professor at the China Academy of Art Yuan Youmin drew inspiration from a utilitarian yet vital piece of weighing equipment used in China for over 2,000 years: steel scales. Essentially, steel scales (gănchèng or stick scales) are a portable tool for weighing items, consisting of a horizontal balancing beam suspended from a fulcrum with a pan attached to the shorter end, and a movable bronze counterweight that can be shifted along the beam until both levers balance on the hinge.
To reflect some key features of the steel mill in the watch, Youmin depicted the weighing pan at the center of the watch. The slightly recessed central disk is adorned with an elegant snail pattern. The slim hour and minute hands with gold tips represent the balance or lever of the steel mill, while the yellow-golden color of the sixteen-point hour markers symbolizes the purity of heart and honesty of the trader working with the steel mill. The embossed area surrounding the central disk is made from polished black lacquer - another classic Chinese technique. The caseback of the watch features a phoenix, a famous symbol of eternal rebirth.
As with many other Rado watches, the case and bracelet are made from glossy black high-tech ceramics, although the folding clasp is titanium. The 38 mm diameter and 9.6 mm height make these watches an ideal unisex option. The True Square x Yuan Youmin model, equipped with a Swiss-made automatic movement with an 80-hour power reserve, is an organic blend of ancient Eastern motifs and Western technologies.
TRUE SQUARE FORMAFANTASMA
If you think Rado's design is minimalist, wait until you see this interpretation of the True Square by the Italo-Dutch designer duo Formafantasma! True to their name (ghostly form), the watch is housed in a matte light gray high-tech ceramic case. While the watch may look radically modern, the concept behind its creation was inspired by the closed pocket watches of yesteryear. To protect the dial from damage, closed pocket watches were equipped with a protective screen and displayed time through a small aperture.
In the True Square Formafantasma model, an additional layer of matte gray high-tech ceramic covers the dial with a round aperture for reading time. However, instead of indicating time with numerals or jumping hours, hours and minutes are denoted by the position of shiny black hands located under the round aperture. Original, intuitive, and an expression of minimalism, design enthusiasts will be thrilled with this Formafantasma creation.
TRUE SQUARE UNDIGITAL
This embodiment of the True Square was entrusted to the Japanese design duo YOY (Naoki Ono and Yuki Yamamoto). Made entirely of black matte high-tech ceramics, the True Square Unidigital uses angular strips of digital displays, but turns them into an analog time indicator. A sort of willful twist, where our ubiquitous digital environment is deconstructed and reconstructed into a classic analog dial, YOY plays with traditions established in the 1980s. Bold hands with wide white and black Super-LumiNova blocks stand out sharply against the matte black background.
TRUE SQUARE BY TEJ CHAUHAN
The name of award-winning British industrial designer Tej Chauhan stands behind this interpretation of the True Square model. The watch case, made of matte yellow high-tech ceramics combined with a pillow-shaped perforated yellow leather strap held in place by high-tech ceramic connectors, is crafted in a vibrant color palette inspired by pop art principles. The pop art color palette is combined with kinetic grooves in op-art style on the concave matte black dial with silvery concentric circles in a recess at the center, contrasted by a diagonal minute track highlighted in silver and blue on the flange. White hour and minute hands contrast with the bright red second hand, and Tej Chauhan specially designed the font for the orange date.
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