Rado is one of the many luxury watch makers based in Switzerland. The company is currently located in Langnau and is famous for manufacturing watches using high quality, scratch resistant materials. The company has grown greatly since being established in 1917 and currently manufactures over 500,000 watches every year and has over 300 employees. Vintage Rado watches are often in high demand and hence can command high prices at auction. For example, vintage Rado diamond watches can sometimes fetch up to a quarter of a million dollars. Some of the most popular Rado collections include the Rado Silver Star, Rado V10K and the Rado True.
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Rado Diastar 18K Gold Plated Automatic 25 Jewels Swiss Made Women Watch 55704163US $698.00 |
NEW Rado Centrix Quartz Diamond Black Dial Ladies Swiss Quartz Watch R30934712US $769.00 |
RADO Tungsten Carbide Chrono Auto Self Winding DiastarUS $699.00 |
History
Rado was originally founded in 1917 as Schlup and Co and started by only manufacturing watch movements. It wasn’t until 1957 that Rado watch collections were first released although Rado movements had been used in a number of high quality watches before this.
The company is thought to be one of the pioneers of scratch resistant materials. This began with the release of the Rado Diastar in 1962 – the first scratch resistant watch. The Diastar has proved so popular that it’s still in production today albeit under the name of DiaStar the Original.
Today, Rado is part of the Swatch group and has been since 1998. Unlike many other high quality and traditional watch manufacturers based in Switzerland the company prefers to use modern technology and materials in its designs rather than rely on traditional components. For this reason vintage Rado watches for sale may differ greatly from newer versions.
In 2004 Rado released the V10K. This is thought to be the hardest and most scratch resistant watch in the world due to its diamond coating. Because Rado produce such distinctive watches it is inevitable that reaction is always mixed to their designs. Many people enjoy the unique appeal of a Rado watch while others prefer the more traditional style of other vintage Swiss watch makers.
The price of a Rado watch for sale can be as little as $1000 or as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars. Diamond pave dial watches sell for the most because of the high cost of materials.
Vintage Rado DiaStar Watch
Due to the DiaStar being the first scratch proof watch ever created, vintage models have become a collector’s item. Any watch which is considered to be part of the industry’s history will always be a favorite amongst horological fans. It’s important to find out exactly when a particular DiaStar was manufactured as well as whether it contains the original movement, watch hands and other features in order to accurately judge its value.
Rado Original Automatic
The Rado Original Automatic uses a mechanical, decorated automatic movement. It is available in both stainless steel and gold cases.
There are a number of different Rado watches available – both vintage and new models. The designs of Rado watches are always unique and interesting and differ greatly from each other. Some of the other models within the collection include the Rado Integral and Rado Sintra.