Rado Year In Review 2024: A Perfect Blend of Tradition and Technology With CEO, Adrian Bosshard

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The year 2024 was notable for Rado, and it was filled with timepieces that showcased the brand’s commitment to high-tech materials, cutting-edge design, and new meaningful and powerful partnerships. We sat down with Rado CEO, Adrian Bosshard to discuss this and more…

The luxury Swiss watchmaker Rado had quite an illustrious year in 2024, continuing to grow through their standout collections and important partnerships. The brand is well known for their use of ceramic material on timepieces, especially high-tech ceramic. Alongside other cutting-edge materials, Rado has paved their own path of creating timepieces with contemporary design and Swiss precision.

With the ever-evolving watch industry changing due to new consumer behaviours and global changes, Rado keeps pushing forward by balancing technological advancements alongside beautiful aesthetics, showcasing the modern luxury side of watches.

We had the opportunity to sit down with Adrian Bosshard, the CEO of Rado, and discuss Rado and their achievements for the year 2024. The brand released several new timepeices and limited-edition models, with the notable pieces forming part of the Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic collection and also the True Square High-Tech Ceramic collection.

“2024 is a year in which we have important developments happening in three different fields. First of all the Centrix models have had updates, such as the open-heart model. Open-heart timepieces is a great specialty of Rado. We have also had releases in the Captain Cook family, a lot of which are the skeleton dial timepieces. During April and May this year, Rado released the Anatom, which is one of our iconic designs that first appeared in 1983.”

“The collection was inspired by the original piece from 1983, but it has been equipped with the most modern technology. Rado’s square watches are also very important this year. Square watches for us are always in the top 10 in terms of pieces sold. This year will be the launch of High-Tech Summer Limited Editions, which featured a True Square model in the complete yellow colour makeover.”

It’s true that Rado’s True Square collection has been a standout release for the brand. While circular watches are the norm, square-shaped watches are on the rise in popularity, and Rado is capitalising on it this year having released several different options for their square watch collections, including High-Tech Summer Limited Editions, Anatom Automatic, True Square Open Heart and True Square Thinline.

Rado’s partnerships with its ambassadors also played a significant role in the brand’s growth in 2024. Just recently, Rado released its latest Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic alongside its ambassador, cricketing icon Cameron Green. With Cameron Green as the newest ambassador for the brand, they have continued to strengthen their partnerships this year and deepen their ties to the world of sports, design, and lifestyle.

Related Reading: INTRODUCING: Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton

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“At Rado, we have developed special relationships with actors, sports personalities and TV stars from across the planet. We embrace the artists, the explorers and the dreamers. Those with a passion for breaking new ground to reach the pinnacle of their craft. Inspiring audiences to ‘Feel It’, just as we do, with every timepiece we create.”
RADO

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Rado has already worked with some amazing ambassadors over the years. The brand’s current ambassadors include Katrina Kaif, Ji Chang-Wook, Jin Chen, Hrithik Roshan, Cameron Green, and, of course, our tennis superstar Ash Barty. Rado and the sport of Tennis have a very special relationship. The Swiss brand has sponsored tennis for more than three decades and now continues to support the brightest names in the industry. For over thirty years, Rado corner clocks have kept track of every moment during tennis tournaments.

“When it comes to choosing an ambassador for Rado, the most important point, of course, is the sports achievement, but the other, of course, is we look at the person as a whole. We have a scout that is on the tennis field, and this scout discovered that Ash Barty, after the tournament wins, has purchased a Centrix model from Rado (from the 2014 and 2015 wins). This means that Ash already has an affinity for the brand. When we started collaborating with her, she was really young, so we integrated her into the Rado Youngster program. Through this, we felt that she was a passionate lady, she liked the brand, she’s easy to work with, and she’s a humble lady. Our selection for all ambassadors of Rado need to share similar values of the brand, and this was the perfect case with Ash Barty.”

“When we translate this into timepieces, we have already done some limited edition models with Ash Barty. We are not doing too many limited edition models. Normally, we do between one and three limited edition models per year. Also, due to the fact that Australia is becoming an important country for us, it can be more of an avenue for us. For example, we did three special edition models with Ash Barty alone.”

2024 was also a year of continued technological excellence for Rado. The brand further strengthened their High-Tech Ceramic collection by offering new ceramic colourways and skeleton dial variants. The versatility of High-Tech Ceramic allows Rado to create a range of new models, each showcasing the brand’s commitment to innovation.

“Its always very important, before taking any decisions, before taking any directions to enter the world of this brand, to go to the roots, where the brand is coming from, the DNA, the roots, the history, in order to find the strength of the brand, and to find which fields you have to do improvements. This is the base, to see what will remain, what is strong and where I have to make adaptations.”

“During Covid times, for example, we have never stopped development. We started producing ceramic watches in 1986, so we are constantly developing and searching for new ways to innovate. For instance, we worked with black ceramic for a long time, then moved into white ceramic and then moved into different colours, from red, green, and blue. Every new colour of ceramic is a new development, and it is quite complicated to get the perfect colours for all the watches. You cannot have a blue ceramic watch, for example, darker than another blue ceramic (of the same shade, etc). You need to be consistent with the shade of colour for all the watches created with that colour. This is not an easy process. You need to give the development team and engineers the freedom to retain that pioneering spirit.”

We discussed with Adrian Bosshard any potential Swatch collaborations, like Omega and Swatch collaborating to create the Moonswatch and Blancpain and Swatch collaborating to create the Scuba Fifty Fathoms. These watches are great for those entering the luxury watch market who cannot afford to buy the original Omega Speedmaster or Blancpain Fifty Fathoms.

“This is definitely a Swatch Group CEO decision. However, in saying that, never say no! Of course, it would be a huge honour for Rado to have such an opportunity, but again, it’s a Swatch brand decision and a CEO decision.”

Australia is an emerging market for Rado. The Swiss luxury watch brand has made significant strides over the last few years. The increase in the presence of high-end watch retailers and the growing appeal among Australian consumers for watches that offer style, durability, and comfortability have made Rado a popular brand here. Within the price bracket that Rado is offering, the brand’s use of ceramic and other high-tech materials helps to set itself apart from its competition.

“In Australia, Rado has doubled its turnover in the last three years, but more importantly, the brand has doubled its customer base. For me, when a business has a turnover, there is a customer behind it. When you buy a watch for $6,000 AUD, for example, you need to be really convinced about the brand, the design, and the technique that it offers.”

Related Reading: Rado Launches Their 2024 Releases At Quay Restaurant Sydney

“India, UAE, and Switzerland are examples of countries where we are dominating the price segment in the watch market. How are we doing this? The reason is that the end consumers and the people in the stores are aware of all the advantages that Rado offers. The advantage in terms of unique design. We are not a mainstream brand. Round steel watches, everybody is doing. But square watches, oval watches, shaped watches, ceramic, high-tech material, nobody else can do this in the price point we are offering. The customers are aware of this. The aim of the whole Rado team is to bring this advantage closer to the Australian consumers.”

As we look ahead to 2025, we can rest assured that the brand’s commitment to innovation and creative thinking will make this next chapter in its story another remarkable one. The brand’s ongoing exploration of ceramic and high-tech materials alongside sustainable practices and cutting-edge craftsmanship puts it well-placed to redefine the boundaries of luxury watchmaking at affordable prices. Below are some of the standout timepeices released by Rado this year, summing up another great year of updates to outstanding collections.

Rado Timepieces released in 2024: