I got to
give it up to Rado. There are no watches looking like theirs. They are really
doing their own thing. Either you love them or hate them. They got their own
trademarked design and are probably most known for their classic oval shaped
DiaStar watches with the high-tech scratch proof ceramic coating. Rado have plenty
of cool things going on when it comes to new technology for materials and features like that gets
me going.
I found the
Original Diver by a coincidence when I was browsing through a commercial market
site for used stuff back in August 2011. Suddenly it was there among old winter
tires, golf clubs and broken lawn mowers. I don’t remember if it was full set
or not but I don’t think it was. It was in great condition though and came on
its original bracelet. It was too cool and interesting to ignore that I just
couldn’t do anything else but to buy it. I knew I wasn’t going to keep it but it
was cheap and I reasoned that if I was going to let it go for the same price on
a watch forum I should get rid of it pretty fast.
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| #94 - The Rado Original Diver. |
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| The red spinning anchor on the dial was a fun touch. |
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| Like a big polished and scratch proof cushion. |
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| Engraved Rado logo on the side. |
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| The crown at 2 o'clock was for turning the inner bezel. |
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| A cute seahorse couple engraved on the case back. |
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| Wristie. |
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| Pocket shot. |
So what
about the watch? It was cool. Solid. Well built. No scratches. Kept good time. The lume sucked though. Did
I like it? Sure, it was nice. It would definitely have added some uniqueness to
my character. Did I love it? Yes, because there is nothing quite like it. Did I love it
so much that it was enough to keep and wear it? No, not really. Did I hate it?
No, can’t say I did. So am I saying that you actually don’t have to love or
hate Rado? I guess I do. This particular model might not be one of Rado’s most
extreme designs. They do have models with more daring looks.
It turned
out that the Rado wasn’t as attractive among the enthusiasts on the watch forums
as I had hoped. It ended up leaving me in a trade with my friend Björn (who
also is a fan of giving the odd birds a chance) against a MKII Sea Fighter but
that’s another story.
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Flipper's Diary unless noted.
