Swiss watch maker Rado has been rather quiet recently whilst getting ready to show it new time piece with pioneering materials. Here is the new Rado HyperChrome that strengthens Rado’s leading position.
With its case and bracelet made of ultra-light silicon nitride ceramic and a new movement with aluminium bridges, the HyperChrome is now lighter than ever. Silicon nitride, whose chemical formula gives this ultra-light urban timepiece its name, is naturally dark grey in colour. The addition of a matt finish gives the watch a superhero feel. Although it follows the HyperChrome’s streamlined design with stainless steel side inserts, this model breaks out into a field of its own, with a black dial sporting a supercar vent-like design. The red-tipped second hand stands out against the dark matt background of this watch as it flies round the dial like a car on the track.
This ultra-light high-tech ceramic was first introduced by Rado in 2012 for the watch case of a limited edition True Thinline. Since then Rado has dreamed of making a full watch out of this distinctive ceramic, and in 2015 the dream has become a reality. Known for its exceptional properties, Silicon Nitride is an extremely light-weight, hard, man-made, high-performance material used elsewhere in the production of mechanical and thermal applications such as automotive engine parts. While its hardness of 1,450 Vickers renders it super scratch-resistant, its density of 3.4g/cm³, less than half that of standard high-tech ceramic, makes the material ultra-light and adds an extra dimension of comfort to this new HyperChrome.
The new and high performance ETA calibre A31 ALU powers this new ultra light Rado watch. By using an ébauche (movement blank) made of aluminium, the weight of the movement is significantly reduced compared to ones that traditionally use brass. Developments have also increased the power reserve offered by the movement by 22 hours. The 21 jewels, high tech automatic movement offers a minimum of 64 hours power reserve. Anodised aluminium offers an innovative design and as well as increased corrosion resistance and wear resistance compared to untreated aluminium.
Technical details
Model: Rado HyperChrome Si3N4 Automatic
Ref. 888.0069.3.015
Movement
11 ½ ETA A31 ALU, automatic, 21 jewels, 3 hands, date 6 o‘clock, 64 hours power reserve, black oscillating rotor, decorated movement, black aluminium bridges
Case
Matt ultra-light silicon nitride high-tech ceramic, monobloc construction
Matt stainless steel side inserts with hardening treatment
Matt ultra-light silicon nitride high-tech ceramic case back with sapphire crystal
Stainless steel and black rubber moulded crown
Curved sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides
Water-resistance:5 bar (50m)
Dimensions: 43.0 x 49.4 x 10.4 (WxLxH in mm)
Dial
Dark grey, black applied indexes with white Super-LumiNova®
Dark grey flange
Moving anchor symbol
Silver coloured printed Rado and Automatic logos
Hands
Black with black veneer and black Super-LumiNova®
Black second hand with red tip
Bracelet
3-row matt ultra-light silicon nitride high-tech ceramic
Titanium 3-fold clasp
