Rado Launches Biggest Manila Store with Metropolitan, Sporty Watches

Rado is a legendary luxury Swiss watch brand with some of the most unique pieces throughout history and has been at the forefront of innovation in horological construction.

Think of the iconic Rado “DiaStar” from the 1970s, a headturner of an oval silhouette fashioned with high-tech and groundbreaking scratchproof ceramic and titanium cases. This is incredible considering Rado’s history over a century.

Dubbed the “Master of Materials,” the Swiss watchmaker just opened its newly face-lifted flagship store in Manila, located in Glorietta 4. The 103-square-meter space marks an expansion of the brand’s presence in Southeast Asia.

If you’re old enough to remember, Rado built an iconic massive flower clock in Rizal Park in the 1970s, which has since been lost to time.

Rado's flagship store in Glorietta 4

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But enough about the past. Let’s talk about some of the most beautifully crafted and complex watches you can get from Rado, all available at their newest flagship store in Glorietta 4.

Starting off with one heck of a diver that doesn’t get enough praise—the ceramic wonder that is the Rado Captain Cook, with a stunning chronograph function. The sporty staple is geared toward presenting an outdoorsy and metropolitan style with precise and durable timekeeping.

The Rado Captain Cook

This year’s collection of Captain Cooks includes variants that range from black to rose gold inspired by urban skylines, and a silhouette that captures the look and feel of the concrete jungle.

The Swiss watchmaker really leans into its “Master of Materials” moniker as it continues to refine its use of high-tech ceramic in lightweight bezels, bracelets, and its renowned scratch-proof sapphire crystals, which are quite possibly impervious to dings. High-tech ceramic was introduced to the watch world by Rado in 1986, marking its reputation as an innovator in the watch industry ahead of its time.

Nowadays, Rado is modernizing its use of materials through a plastic carrier medium mixed with mineral powders, allowing injection into molds at pressures reaching 1,000 bar.

Captain Cook pieces are water-resistant up to 300 meters—totally capable for field applications and, of course, fashionable functions. This chronograph features two-tone black ceramics that give it an almost shadowy appeal, along with distinctive embellishments on other dial options, such as rose gold finishes on the bezel, hour markers, pushers, and crown.

A closer look reveals the bezel’s ceramic insert in a mesmerizing, polished, and sumptuous green finish with an intriguing mix of metallic tones.

Visibility and readability is also covered with LumiNova-finished hour indices and three additional subdials to Captain Cook’s already impressive chrono counter.

The piece is powered by the reliable Rado calibre R801 automatic movement with a 59-hour power reserve.

Another piece we are crazy about is the Captain Cook Over-Pole which is a dressier option of the two Captains. While being a somewhat preppier variant, the Over-Pole is all about the explorer image with the 2025 model including an R862 Worldtimer manual-winding movement, which is top-shelf stuff with an 80-hour power reserve.

The Rado Captain Cook Over-Pole

The Over-Pole now comes in a thinner case compared to its 2022 model, after Rado decided to do away with the counterweight winder. The dial is a sight to behold in person, encased in a bidirectional rotatable bezel made of signature black high-tech ceramic, which contrasts beautifully with the yellow gold–hued, Physical Vapour Deposition–finished case and crown.

This watch is made for the true adventurer with its worldtimer function and major city names permanently laser-engraved and lacquered into the high-tech ceramic, demanding the wearer to go out and voyage.

Next, we go to the brand's zeitgeist piece that has become synonymous with the brand’s image, which is the legendary Rado DiaStar, the world’s first scratch-proof watch with a distinct retro-futuristic flair.

The Rado DiaStar

If you were to buy a decent watch today, you would expect it to be scratch-proof or at least heavily resistant to dings and marks. But back in the 1960s, it wasn’t really the case, until Rado fused and mastered the use of hard metal and sapphire into prime materials to make this the standard of durability.

This is pretty much the industry standard and we have Rado to thank for, setting this via the alluring oval case of the DiaStar, which promises to look good as new for the foreseeable future.

And a bit of film history for you, the watch inspired Brad Pitt’s astronaut helmet in the 2019 sci-fi thriller Ad Astra. This just goes to show how well Rado’s space-age designs have aged.

The watch was marketed with a truly daring advertising campaign with a person attempting to scratch the watch using a metal file above the legend that says “SPACE AGE MATERIAL SCRATCH PROOF.”

Next, we have the intriguingly square and classy Rado Anatom in matte black high-tech ceramic, paired with a textured rubber strap.

The Rado Anatom

This was first launched in 1983 and aimed for a “free-thinking futurism” design ethos in minimalism.

It was relaunched in 2023 in larger case variants of 32.5 mm, featuring more sculpted silhouettes with beveled edges leading up to the cylindrical sapphire crystal. The watch is powered by the Rado R766 calibre, with a 72-hour power reserve, an antimagnetic Nivachron hairspring, and a date window at 6 o’clock.

The new featured Anatoms are in polished black high-tech ceramic; diamonds are included in the Rado Jubile variants.

To cap things off, we are enamored by Rado’s True Square Skeleton, which exposes the brilliant engineering and watchmaking that is expected of the brand.

The Rado True Square Skeleton

At the center of the watch is the matte plasma high-tech ceramic case, crown, and bracelet—the first time Rado has applied a plasma finish to its True Square line. There’s something raw and brooding about the appearance of this piece.

The exposed Rado calibre R808 in its “skeleton” design within a 38 mm case is something you have to see for yourself in store. The piece is designed for both men and women, a truly powerful, aura-forming timepiece you have to check out.