Rado releases their chronograph in the popular Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic collection. The first time a chronograph is released in the brand’s signature case material.
Press Release information with commentary in italics.
New: Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Chronograph
The Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Chronograph at EUR 5,935 / SGD 8,700 for both the models in this novelty release.
Commentary
The Captain Cook collection is one of the staples in Rado’s suite of offerings. We have reviewed many of the watches in this collection, including those in the innovative High-Tech Ceramic models. Here are some highlights:
- Rado Captain Cook Hyperchrome in 2017
- the base Captain Cook Automatic in 2019
- Captain Cook Bronze in 2020
- Captain Cook Over the Pole in 2022
And in 2033, the collection welcomed a chronograph. And with this latest novelty release, Rado now offers this chronograph in the brand’s signature material of ceramic in a full monocoque case.
Two versions are offered. Both are offered in ceramic cases, the first in matte black with a rose gold PVD accents on the bezel, crown and pushers, while the other is with a plasma ceramic case with a bezel with a silver accents. Both feature ceramic inserts on the bezel, the former in black to complement the rose gold, and the latter in green. The dials are in matching colours of black and green.
The two watches look completely different. The black with gold accents look a touch flashy, and the green one looks much more restrained but perhaps with a feel of ruggedness.
The movement fitted to both models is the Rado calibre R801, which is a workhorse movement offered by the maison and has seen service in many other models. The R801 is based on the ETA A31, a modular chronograph movement over the ubiquitous ETA 2894.
Pricing wise, the retail of SGD 8.7k places almost a 50% premium for the full ceramic case and bracelet over the standard steel version of the Captain Cook Chronograph Ref. R32145208 retailing at just below SGD 6k.
Release details
RUGGED, ATHLETIC AND DEVASTATINGLY GOOD LOOKING
Outdoorsy and metropolitan? Sporty yet sophisticated? The new Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Chronograph attains the unattainable…
For one, that’s because it might just be the most dynamic example of the entire Captain Cook family of timepieces, already well known for its rugged good looks and utilitarian functionality, thanks to its chronograph. For anyone that needs precision timing on or under the water, on the slopes or at the racetrack, we got you.
But it’s also undeniably stylish, presented here in two contemporary colourways that help it flex from the great outdoors to life in the big city. For 2025, choose from black and rose gold, like the urban skyline at night, or plasma and dark green – a first for the Captain Cook series – that captures the look and feel of the concrete jungle.
Perfect balance
And that’s the point of the Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Chronograph – a performance watch that can be relied upon in the wildest of locations, yet which also looks great with workwear, in social situations and even during more fashion-oriented occasions, because it doesn’t look overly sporty. Almost impossibly, it effortlessly bridges different worlds.
Its athletic credentials emerge through the choice of materials. Both watches represent the first time a high-tech ceramic monobloc case has been deployed for Captain Cook chronographs. And with high-tech ceramic across bezel insert and bracelet, it’s unbelievably lightweight – wearing it feels like second nature – as well as being incredibly scratch resistant. Its box-shaped sapphire crystal is similarly impervious to scratches and the case is water resistant to 30 bar, featuring a screw-down crown and two screw-down chronograph pushers to prevent water ingress. So it’s great in the field, capable in almost any scenario.
Contemporary opulence
Beyond its sporting kudos, discover fashionable aesthetics. The black and rose gold-coloured Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Chronograph boasts ‘two-tone’ black ceramics: a polished high-tech ceramic bezel insert and polished middle bracelet links contrast with a matt high-tech ceramic case and matt outer bracelet links. Along with a black dial, it’s all beautifully shadowy. Rose gold-coloured embellishments – across bezel, hands, indexes, pushers and crown – bring contemporary style.
Its plasma high-tech ceramic sibling also features dual finishes on the bracelet, with polished plasma middle links flanked by matt components. Add in the stainless steel bezel, crown and pushers and the rhodium-coloured hands and indices, and it offers up an intriguing mix of metallic finishes. But it’s the bezel’s ceramic insert, in a dark, sumptuous green, with a polished finish, and a dial in a matching shade, that signals pure opulence.Less is more
In outdoor pursuits, at-a-glance accuracy is essential, and that comes easy with substantial hour and minute hands that point to equally purposeful indexes – all of which are finished with white Super-LumiNova®. The second, minute and hour chronograph hands all sport a painted red tip for easy identification.
Overall, the dial feels supremely well balanced, with its three subdials lending an unmistakeable sense of energy – a chrono hour counter is a new addition to Captain Cook chronographs. Rado’s moving anchor symbol is at 12 o’clock, rotating on a synthetic ruby backplate, and there’s a trapezoidal date window at 6 o’clock shaped to match the indexes. Around the edge runs a subtle minute track, surrounded by a turning bezel with deliberately spartan engraved markings.
Collectively, it’s all a brilliant demonstration of ‘less is more’ – which helps explain why the piece never feels too energetic. This approach also applies to the Rado calibre R801 automatic movement, featuring a 59-hour power reserve, whose svelte dimensions mean the height of the case, including the crystal, measures just 16.2mm – making it easy to accessorise an outfit.
Balancing sporty with stylish is a claim made frequently in watchmaking, but the Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Chronograph irrefutably owns both characteristics – without compromising on either.
Why High-Tech Ceramic? – Because it feels like nothing else…
This is exactly what Rado high-tech ceramic is all about. It’s why we say, “Feel it.” The ancient origins of its base material render its durability almost inevitable, but it is indeed a great testimonial to the know-how and experience of the “Master of Materials” that it has proven to be true. High-tech ceramic is a beautifully light substance, and one that is also magnificently scratch-resistant.
In itself, all that might be enough qualities to love, in one exceptional material, but surprisingly, it doesn’t stop there. Not only is ceramic durable and impervious to almost everything, it has a rare silkiness to the touch that makes for exquisite comfort against the skin. Place it over a human wrist — fine, large, gentle or rugged, and it feels like it was made to be there — since forever. This is of course particularly true for timepieces making use of ceramic elements also in their bracelet, where the sensory experience becomes total and absolutely unforgettable.
Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Chronograph Specifications
Ref. R32190153 and R32189313
Movement Rado calibre R801, automatic chronograph, 37 jewels, 5 hands, date at 6 o’clock, 59-hour power reserve, antimagnetic Nivachron™ hairspring, exceeds standard test requirements from 3 to 5 positions for higher accuracy
Case
R32189313: Matt black high-tech ceramic case, monobloc construction * Rose gold-coloured PVD-coated stainless steel turning bezel with a polished black high-tech ceramic insert with engraved numbers, markers and triangle in white Super-LumiNova® * Polished rose gold-coloured PVD-coated stainless steel screw-down crown with embossed and laser-enhanced anchor logo * Polished rose gold-coloured PVD-coated stainless steel screw-down pushers * Circular-brushed, black PVD-coated titanium case back with sapphire crystal * Box-shaped sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both faces * Water-resistant to 30 bar (300 metres)
R32190153: Matt plasma high-tech ceramic case, monobloc construction * Stainless steel turning bezel with a polished green high-tech ceramic insert with engraved numbers, markers and triangle in white Super-LumiNova® * Polished stainless steel screw-down crown with embossed and laser-enhanced anchor logo * Polished stainless steel screw-down pushers * Circular brushed, titanium case back with sapphire crystal * Box-shaped sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both faces * Water-resistant to 30 bar (300 metres) * White printed Rado and Captain Cook logos, 300m/1000ft
Dial
R32190153: Black * Polished rose gold-coloured applied indexes with white Super-LumiNova® * Polished rose gold-coloured PVD-coated moving anchor symbol on synthetic ruby backplate
R32189313: Green * Rhodium-coloured applied indexes with white Super-LumiNova® * Rhodium-coloured moving anchor symbol on synthetic ruby backplateHands
Hands
R32190153 Polished rose gold-coloured minute and hour hands with white Super-LumiNova® * Polished rose gold-coloured small second hand counter * Polished rose gold-coloured second, hour and minute chronograph hands with red tip
R32189313 Polished rhodium-coloured minute and hour hands with white Super-LumiNova® * Polished rhodium-coloured small second hand counter * Polished rhodium-coloured second, hour and minute chronograph hands with red tip
Bracelet Titanium 3-fold clasp
R32190153 Matt black high-tech ceramic * Polished black high-tech ceramic middle links
R32189313 Matt plasma high-tech ceramic * Polished plasma high-tech ceramic middle links
Dimensions 43.0 x 49.8 x 16.2 (W x L x H in mm)
