Rado Unveils Latest Collaboration With Marina Hoermanseder
The Swiss brand courted Miami's art and design crowd during Art Basel last week to fete the release.
Many watch aficionados associate
Rado with high-tech ceramic watches and sleek contemporary lines, and the Swiss watchmaker has successfully carved a niche among collectors having created some of the most noticeable watches in the world of horology.
The brand made its debut with the Captain Cook model in 1962, which immediately became popular due to its different case sizes and materials — including bronze with ceramic bezels — and its water resistance up to 300 meters. The modern Rado Captain Cook was born in 2017, and since then several re-editions of the vintage-inspired watch have been unveiled, such as the Captain Cook x Marina Hoermanseder model last year.
Rado has joined hands again with
Hoermanseder to reinvent the Captain Cook timepiece with a new model named Captain Cook x Marina Hoermanseder Heartbeat. The watch was unveiled at an event Friday during Art Basel Miami Beach.
Hoermanseder is a French-Austrian designer who founded her Berlin-based label in 2013. Her career began with an internship at Alexander McQueen and celebrities including Kylie Jenner, Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj have worn her designs.
“It's been a true sign that she understands the DNA for what Rado stands for, and we were capable of translating her vision into a product which is an additional value for our customers worldwide,” said Adrian Bosshard, Rado's chief executive officer.
For the latest model of the Captain Cook, Hoermanseder has taken her signature way of experimenting with colors, forms and material and infused a rainbow of eight colorful precious stones, a polished white ceramic turning bezel with metalized numbers and markers, physical vapor deposition-finished contrasts, box-shaped sapphire crystal that has been treated with anti-reflective coating on both faces and the hour/minute hands with white SuperLumiNova to maximize readability. An original second hand ticks away the time in stylish playfulness, with both the image of a heartbeat and Marina's own signature taking center stage on the dial.
The watch is powered by Rado's R763 automatic movement with 25 jewels, three hands and a date window at 3 o'clock and 80 hours of power reserve. An additional sapphire crystal glass on the screw-down case back allows one to view the inner workings, which are water-resistant to 10 bar (100 meters).
“I know how much Rado has come out of their comfort zone for me and this watch, considering materials and some details, but that is what makes it so special, it's a real team collaboration,” said Hoermanseder.
Another obsession of Hoermanseder's is her preference for leather and large buckles, and this version of the Captain Cook includes three different bracelet/strap variations — a rice-grain type, polished/ brushed PVD-coated stainless steel bracelet in yellow gold with a polished stainless steel triple-fold clasp; a black doublelength leather (with embossed alligator motif ) NATO strap equipped with Marina's trademark buckle, and a standard-length leather strap is also included in black, with an embossed alligator-motif surface, and PVD-coated stainless steel pin-buckle in yellow gold, all housed in a Hoermansederbranded black pouch.
“In our industry, without passion you cannot achieve much. Of course we need engineers, rational procedures, but in the end, the design, which was brought by Marina, her creativity and inspiration; therefore we have this great combination: the masters of materials and of precise Swiss watchmaking melded along with her fresh views bring a great value to the Rado brand,” said Bosshard.
“The Art Basel fair has reminded me how great our collaboration has been with Marina, and how it's important to think outside the box,” he added.
The beginning of December marks when the art world heads to Florida for two contemporary art and design fairs, Design Miami (a forum for collectible design) and Art Basel Miami Beach, which is considered the top art fair of the Americas.
Priced at $2,900, the timepiece is available for purchase now via Rado's e-commerce site.