Hands-On With Two Rado DiaStar Original Skeleton Watches: Have You Ever Seen A Gold UFO?
I’m guessing the gold-colored Ceramos bezel acts as a heat shield. During landing, the bezel must protect the object from scratches too, because Ceramos, a ceramic-metal composite also known as “cermet,” is very hard. It consists of 90% high-tech ceramic and 10% binder metal, hence the term “cermet,” resulting in a hardness of 1,750 Vickers. Now, this makes it roughly five to six times harder than conventional stainless steel. Cermet, or Ceramos, even exceeds the hardness of Rado’s High-Tech Ceramic, which measures approximately 1,250 Vickers. It might come as no surprise that the gold-colored UFO with exposed inner workings is a Rado. Still, since two Rado DiaStar Original Skeleton watches “landed” on my desk, it’s a great opportunity to inspect these gold-tone creations.
The original, funky, spaceship-shaped DiaStar launched in 1962. Sixty years later, Rado introduced the DiaStar Original and the 60-Year Anniversary Edition with Ceramos bezels. One year after that, the DiaStar Original Skeleton debuted, and this year marks the launch of two gold-colored DiaStar Original Skeleton models. The original DiaStar was a product of its time. UFO sightings were common in the 1960s, and people’s fascination with space travel was at a high. Even now, the retro-futuristic new iterations of the DiaStar continue to captivate. Maybe it’s because of our eternal fascination with space and dreams of traveling to destinations light years away.
Hands-on with two Rado DiaStar Original Skeleton watches: Inspecting the UFOs
The DiaStar Original Skeleton in a yellow gold tone (R12166159) and rose gold hue (R12159309) are moderately sized “spacecrafts.” Their hard, convex Ceramos bezels are 38mm wide and 45mm long. The streamlined look, vivid classic gold or warmer contemporary color, and sunburst-brushed pattern create a strong visual effect that makes the watch look larger. The yellow gold tone also appears on the openworked R808 automatic caliber, creating a coherent, highly detailed look. Rado used the same movement for both iterations, so you get either a full-yellow-gold look or a two-tone one.
Not everything here is made of Ceramos, though. Each watch features a gold-plated stainless steel mid-case and case back. The latter is outfitted with sapphire crystal, keeping the movement visible from the back, as it is from the front.
You could say the UFO-shaped watch features a faceted sapphire crystal canopy. The crystal is one of DiaStar’s signature design elements. It rises above the dial and, with its eight sloped facets, contrasts nicely with the bezel’s flowing shape, adding character to the watch. You don’t see faceted crystals all too often.
Alien on the wrist
Yes, the watch does feel a bit alien on the wrist. The shape is distinct, and it sits prominently, although it weighs just 80 grams. This is not a watch you wear inconspicuously anyway. The bezel’s yellow or rose gold sheen is impossible to miss, and so is the openworked movement. The 25-jewel automatic caliber is based on the Swatch Group’s ETA C07.901+. It runs at 21,600 vibrations per hour, offers an 80-hour power reserve, and powers the hour, minute, and second hands. It’s tested in five positions and features an antimagnetic Nivachron hairspring — very Swatch Group indeed.
The movement shows industrialized skeletonization at its finest. The cut-out, layered construction reveals the hairspring at 12 o’clock, with the barrel and mainspring occupying the space between 4 and 6 o’clock. A nice detail is the crown’s visible keyless works at 3 o’clock. Lastly, I love the combination of rectangular and round shapes that make up the skeletonized caliber.
Final thoughts about the Rado DiaStar Original Skeleton
The yellow-gold-tone version comes with a black rubber strap, while the darker-colored one has a brown rubber strap with a case-matching pin buckle. Both straps feature the EasyClip system, which allows tool-free swapping. If you want these golden-colored “spacecraft” to be seen from even farther away, you can pair them with a bright green, blue, or red strap from the Rado catalog. No matter the color, the rubber feels nice and comfortable on the wrist, and the contemporary look suits the watch’s (once-)futuristic design.
The two shades of gold make for two completely different watches. The yellow-gold-tone one is brighter and somehow more standard, even if that sounds a bit odd. The rose-gold-colored reference, with its warm appearance, is more of a fall fashion statement.
Is the Rado DiaStar Original Skeleton a bit much? Yes, it is. The shape, use of color, and openworked movement are a lot to take in. These watches are also pretty much ornamental pieces of jewelry. And shouldn’t something ornamental like these be a bit over the top? At least the price of €2,650 / US$2,700 / £2,250 isn’t. You get a lot of ceramic technology and watchmaking for under €3k. Whether the golden openworked UFO look works for you is another matter.
This is a partnership post. Learn more.
