Rado: history, models and value

Founded

1917

Founder(s)

Fritz, Ernst and Werner Schlup

Headquarters

Lengnau

Owner / group

Swatch Group

Rado: origins and founding

Rado goes back to Schlup & Co., a movement factory founded in 1917 by the brothers Fritz, Ernst and Werner Schlup in their parents' home in Lengnau, near Biel. For decades the company mainly made movements. The name Rado was registered as a trademark in 1928 and appeared on movements, but the brand only became a full watch label in the 1950s.

Founders and family

The three Schlup brothers started the company as a family business making movements. By around 1960, Rado watches were sold in more than 60 countries.

Rado history and milestones

• 1957: the Rado brand is launched as Schlup & Co. turns 40. The first collections were the Golden Horse and the Green Horse, with the small moving anchor on the dial.
• 1962: the DiaStar 1, with a case of hardmetal (tungsten carbide) and a sapphire crystal, marketed as the first scratch-resistant watch. The same year Rado launched the Captain Cook diver.
• 1970s: quartz arrives. Rado shows a quartz watch in 1970 and later uses quartz movements from ETA in series.
• 1980s: Rado becomes part of SMH, today's Swatch Group.
• 1986: the Integral, with bracelet links of high-tech ceramic.
• 1990: the Ceramica, with case and bracelet of black high-tech ceramic.
• 1993: the Sintra, made of cermet, a mix of ceramic and metal.
• 1998: plasma high-tech ceramic, with a metallic look but no metal.
• 2002: the V10K, marketed as the hardest watch in the world.
• 2011: the True Thinline, a ceramic watch only 5 mm thick.

Famous Rado models

• DiaStar: the oval-cased hardmetal watch that made the brand known, made in many versions over the decades.
• Integral and Ceramica: rectangular ceramic watches with integrated bracelets from the 1980s and 1990s.
• Coupole and Sintra: ceramic and cermet dress watches.
• Captain Cook: the 1962 diver, revived in recent years in steel, bronze and ceramic.
• True, True Thinline and HyperChrome: modern ceramic lines.
• Golden Horse and Green Horse: the first Rado automatics of the late 1950s.

Movements and technique

Rado's real specialty is materials, not movements. It was an early user of hardmetal and sapphire crystal and later developed high-tech ceramic, cermet and plasma ceramic. Most Rado watches use movements from ETA, the Swatch Group movement maker, both quartz and automatic. The anchor symbol on the dial stands for an automatic movement; on many models it turns as the watch moves. Recent models such as the ceramic Captain Cook use the Rado R734 calibre.

Rado today

Rado is still based in Lengnau and belongs to the Swatch Group. It sits in the mid-price segment, between mass-market brands and luxury houses, and is sold worldwide.

Rado prices on the pre-owned market

Most Rado watches were made in large numbers, so used prices are usually well below the original retail price. Quartz DiaStars, Integrals and Ceramicas from the 1980s and 1990s are very common and generally bring modest sums. Their hard materials often keep them looking good, which helps.

There is more collector interest in vintage automatics from the late 1950s and 1960s, such as the Golden Horse and Green Horse, and in original Captain Cook divers, especially with an original dial and bezel. Modern Captain Cook models also sell well. A complete bracelet matters a lot: missing ceramic links are hard to find and lower the value. Box and papers help.

How to recognise a genuine Rado

Rado watches carry a reference and a serial number on the caseback. Check that the anchor is cleanly made and, on automatics, that it moves. Ceramic should feel smooth and solid, not like painted metal or plastic, and hardmetal cases are heavy. Look at the dial printing and the crystal: cheap copies often get the details wrong. Our guide on how to spot a fake watch has more general tips.

What is your Rado worth?

Take photos of the dial, the back and the bracelet and use our free watch value estimate. For estates or insurance, you can request a written watch appraisal.

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