Introducing the latest Rado True Square

Enduring legacies often stem of humble beginnings. Visionaries begin dreaming, tinkering, attempting, often from thoroughly pedestrian environments. A painter working in an attic, a technological revolutionary, puttering in a garage. So it was with Rado. Fritz, Ernst, and Werner Schlup, three brothers from Lengnau, Switzerland, emboldened by mechanical ambition and a commandeered portion of their family home, founded a modest endeavor that would grow to become Schlup & Co. This undertaking would grow into a well-respected manufacturer of watch movements and clocks. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the company would form several trademarks, including Exacto and, most importantly Rado.

The name itself has equally interesting and unexpected roots. In 1887, a Polish ophthalmologist and linguist named Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof had the ambition to create something remarkable – a language. A multilinguist from a young age, Zamenhof saw the clash of cultures from his home in Poland, and sought a means by which to create a greater unity and connection amongst differing and often conflicting cultures. He believed that the means by which to create a greater harmony amongst humanity would come by way of a greater capacity to communicate. Thus, through painstaking effort and several iterations, he would come to create Esperanto – a universal language. Like the language itself, Esperanto comes from the Latin root for ‘hope’.

It was intended to be relatively easy to learn and have a certain intuitiveness about its structure, primarily being built upon root words which can be augmented with the use of suffixes and simple verb tenses. It was from this intuitive and phonetic language that the company would select the name Rado – meaning wheel, a likely reference to the beating heart of the timepieces the brand would create. One can only speculate, but there is certainly a logical connection between the forward thinking dream of universality of both Esperanto and the brand that would go on to innovate in both design and, most importantly, materials, over the course of the following decades.

To that end, the latest edition to Rado’s offerings comes in the form of the Rado True Square Skeleton. The 38mm monoblock case, available in white, black, and metallic plasma, are constructed from high polished ceramic. Finely decorated and meticulously crafted, the R808 movement (a derivation of the base ETA 2824-2) is presented in its skeletonized form, allowing a depth of appreciation and engagement with the rudiments of timekeeping.

Featuring a Nivachron antimagnetic hairspring, titanium caseback, and matching ceramic bracelet with titanium clasp, the True Square is a continuation of Rado’s decades long devotion to utilizing advanced materials, specifically ceramic, a material they pioneered back in 1986. While many in the watch enthusiast community are familiar with Rado by way of timeless pieces like the Captain Cook, it is watches like the True Square which harken back to the true heart of the brand – the desire to utilize high-tech, forward thinking materials in distinct ways, creating designs and styles which challenge expectations and push the conventions of traditional watchmaker forward.