REVIEW: Hands On With The Rado Centrix Automatic Diamonds

The new Rado Centrix Diamonds is that perfect all-around watch for women – a touch sporty and a touch dressy that can pair with any outfit for any occasion.

So, this isn’t your typical watch review from me. I’m not the intended target for the new Rado Centrix Automatic Diamonds, which you may have seen Rado Ambassador and former Women’s World Number 1 Tennis Champion, Ash Barty sporting recently. However, my wife, Dominique on the other hand is the person who would buy and wear this particular piece. Given she already owns a Rado True Ceramic Thinline in white, which I bought for her 10 years ago, I felt she was the perfect person to test out Rado’s new Centrix Automatic Diamonds.

So I gave it to Dominique for a week to wear as she went about her week. And as a busy Mother of our two girls, running around after them, working 3 days a week in a senior corporate job and juggling a side business as well, she had her hands full. While wearing it for the week, I asked her a range of questions about the piece on its design, how it wore and felt on the wrist. So I’ve turned her words into writing, and where appropriate I’ll comment here and there from a watch journalist’s perspective. Here is what she thought…

Initial Thoughts

When I first saw the Rado Centrix, I thought it was a nice-looking watch. Bigger than the one I wear most days, but this watch and the True Thinline are two very different watches. I like white watches, and the mix of white and rose gold meant I could dress it up or down, and for me, as I don’t have a lot of watches, this is important.

Most of my watches are battery-operated, so the fact that this didn’t need a battery to keep going is a plus. Both my battery watches run out every 18 months or so, and it’s rather annoying to have to replace them, so maybe having an automatic would be better and one to add to my small collection.

The Design

In short, it’s a nicely designed watch. At first, I wasn’t a fan of the sunburst pattern on the dial. I thought it was a little much and not my style. But as I wore the watch for the week, it grew on me. I ended up liking the way the silvery-white pattern looked in the light and gave it a little something extra. So I guess sometimes first impressions can change!

The diamond hour markers around the dial does give it some added elegance. I think Rado have picked the sizing and placement perfectly. They’re not too big or too small. I sometimes see other women wearing watches with diamonds on them, and in all honesty, too much bling isn’t my thing, I prefer classic and less in your face. The Centrix has balanced that nicely.

My other watches don’t have a date, so it was nice to have one that did and be able to glance down at the date window quickly. This was especially handy for work, as I’m constantly working on projects that I need to know the date or future date from today. It saved me from picking up my phone all the time!

The hands work well with the overall look. The rose gold Rado has used is a nice tone, and matches my other rose gold jewellery and one aspect that I think worked well with the watch. For me, too much gold isn’t a good thing, so having the white ceramic mixed with the rose gold toned the watch down, gave it that more sporty appeal, but didn’t take away from the dressiness of it.

The bracelet finishes off the watch nicely. As I said, the mix of the rose gold and white ceramic means the watch isn’t too in your face, and with more white than rose gold on the bracelet, it works for someone like me who doesn’t want to have too much on my wrist. The push button clasp is fairly similar to my current watches, so this meant I was able to do it up and undo it pretty easily without having to learn a new way of doing it up.

Matt’s Comments: I agree here with Dominique. When I picked the watch up, I felt it was a good everyday watch that could be dressed up or down. The dial I feel is the star here, with the way Rado created the facetting by stamping a shaped dial and then filling it with lacquer. It’s a nice effect and sets it apart from other pieces out there. You’ll also find Rado’s rose gold-coloured laser-enhanced moving anchor logo on the piece, something that is now synnonymous with Rado watches and being a rose gold PVD coated steel, it keeps the watch’s weight down, something we’ll comment on in the next section. Each of the 12 Top Wesselton Diamonds are VS-SI, full cut, and each 0.051 carat.

How It Wears

At first, the weight of the watch caught me off guard. I’m not used to wearing bigger and heavier watches, but when talking to Matt, putting it into context, most of my other watches are around the 31mm mark, and comparing it directly to my white Rado True Slimline, which is quartz and only the thickness of the bracelet, I feel anything would wear bigger and heavier.

After a while, I got used to it, as with most things, what you get used to becomes your normal. I do have one other larger watch in steel, but it doesn’t get much time on my wrist perhaps because of that factor. But, the ceramic helps with this and the rose gold coated steel means it’s not the weight of full gold either. If it were, it would wear much bigger and heavier.

After a few days, and once I was used to it, it wore very comfortably on my wrist. The bracelet was smooth and didn’t pinch and as it was sized to my wrist, had very little movement. I don’t like tight watches, but I don’t like them wearing like a bracelet either.

Whilst the Centrix was thicker than most others, it’s not too thick and when you consider I have very small wrists, and when I say small, I mean 14cm small! But when you look at it, the 35mm size fits pretty well and doesn’t overwhelm my wrist.

The Movement

This is where Matt can take over here, as I’m not as knowledgeable on this stuff…

Rado have fitted the new Centirx Automatic Diamonds with the calibre R763. An automatic winding movement fitted with an antimagnetic Nivachron^TM balance spring. This is the same technology you can find in many of Rado’s pieces and being part of the Swatch group, the base movement is an ETA base, the same that is used in Tissot’s Powermatic 80. As a result, the R763 delivers an 80 hour power reserve.

Rado has given the Centrix a display caseback, where you can proudly view the R763 Calibre. Whilst the base components are the same as the Powermatic, Rado have taken the movement and given it some more love with the finishing. The rotor is in the shape of the Rado anchor finished in Côtes de Genève, and you can see some machine finished pearlage on the top plate. For this style of watch at this price point, you wouldn’t want much less.

Final Thoughts

After wearing the Rado Centric for a week, I’ve come to love the Rado Centrix. At first, it was a little weighty on the wrist, but this was mostly due to the fact I wear a much smaller and lighter quartz watch most of the time. After a few days, it honestly didn’t bother me all that much. The 35mm size felt about right on my wrist as well, and looking at the photos in the third person, it looked good. If I were in the market for a new watch right now, this is one piece I’d definitely consider, but me being me, I would want to shop around first. But that’s where my husband comes in!

Matt’s Final Thoughts: Whilst I couldn’t wear the watch, I did spend a lot of time with it taking photos, seeing it on Dominique’s wrist and just going over it the way I do most pieces we get for our Hands-On Reviews. I feel Rado have done a good job with the Centrix. It’s a good mid-level luxury watch, with a contemporary design, a combination of white ceramic and rose gold PVD and the sunburst dial pattern which I liked from the start. It’s a nice touch. Value-wise, it probably sits in the “it’s worth it” category. $4,250 AUD for a well-made, good-looking automatic watch with 80hrs of power reserve, ceramic and rose gold (even if it’s PVD) seems like decent value for money. So if you’re looking for a great watch for that special someone, or if that special someone is yourself, head in store and try it on!

Reference: R30037744

Specification

• Case: 35mm, 11.1mm thick
• Case Material: Rose gold PVD Steel
• Dial: Silver dial, stamped and lacquered sunray pattern. Hour markers with 12 Top Wesselton Diamonds: VS-SI, full cut, and each 0.051 carat.
• Crystal: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides
• Water resistance: 50m (5BAR)
• Movement: Calibre 763 Automatic winding with antimagnetic Nivachron^TM balance spring
• Power reserve: 80 hours
• Bracelet: Rose Gold PVD steel with white ceramic inner links and double folding push button clasp

Australian Recommended Retail Price: AUD $4,250

Availability: Available now through Rado authorised dealers or online at Rado.com