Ceramic watches are usually a yin-yang affair – in that they either appear in black or white and nothing much else in between. Not that the brands making them are lacking the creative flair. Rather injecting colours into ceramic watches can be a delicate and wasteful affair as Hublot’s chief executive Ricardo Guadalupe once told us. Which explains why having these hardy scratch-proof timepieces in anything other than monochromatic hues is a rarity.
Not for Rado. The Swiss watch brand, which has been pioneering coloured ceramic watches in shades like forest green and royal blue, has just released its most impressive range of coloured ceramic timepieces yet. Come August, its True Thinline range of slim timepieces will debut a range of models that sport the trademarked colours created by legendary Swiss-French architect, designer and painter Le Corbusier.
In particular, the folks at Rado were drawn to Le Corbusier’s seminal Architectural Polychromy, a tonal guide of 63 shades that he created in 1931 and 1959. Think of this as any design insider’s bible to navigating and understanding the world of colours. Till this day, the palette is still largely used by architects and designers.
The range – dubbed True Thinline Les Couleurs Le Corbusier – features the 39mm quartz-powered watches ($2,810) in nine unique shades that are found in Architectural Polychromy. Rado holds the bragging rights as the only watch brand allowed to reproduce these colours – from creamy beige to a seafoam green – which are said to be the most appealing hues in the range and also the most challenging to create in terms of their consistency.
Each coloured model is produced in a limited edition run of 999 pieces. As a treat for design geeks, the case back features a colour wheel complete with all 63 shades from the Architectural Polychromy spectrum. And adding to the minimalist appeal of the design, even the dial, hour markers, and watch hands are adorned in the same tone-on-tone treatment.
