Rado Puts India On The Map Yet Again With The Captain Cook Over-Pole Worldtimer

For true explorers, time never stands still. The same can be said of Rado's watchmakers, who have updated a classic model from the 1960s with a high-quality Swiss hand-wound mechanical movement with an 80-hour power reserve. With a high-tech ceramic insert added to the bezel, laser engraving, and a box-shaped sapphire crystal, classic design elements from the original "Over-Pole Worldtimer" have been upgraded, yet true vintage necessities, such as the famous 37mm diameter and overall style, have been retained. All modern adventurers and classic timepiece fans will be drawn to the watch.

A Rich History

International travel was a novel phenomenon in that thrilling era not long ago, and it inspired rock songs, books, and watchmakers all over the world. Exotic locations and strange borders where timeframes converged were popular fantasies. Gifted watchmakers at Rado were hard at work producing the Rado Over-Pole clock, a cunning version of the early Captain Cook series, sparked by the potential of that new world. The new "Worldtimer" included a rotating bezel with the world's major cities, allowing for rapid time calculation in those areas – a clever, open invitation to all would-be globetrotters.

Over the years we’ve seen massive growth in sales for Rado watches. In 2019, the Centrix + True + Captain Cook held 48% of the total share of product lines focused on strategic families. In 2021, the share for Captain Cook stood at 17% and they target to cross the 18% mark in 2022. During the last quarter of 2021, Rado has seen an overall 30.1% growth in India as compared to 2019.

India ranks 2nd among the top markets for Rado watches. Rado is maintaining its appeal in India, where it just celebrated ten years of relationship with brand ambassador Hrithik Roshan. "Rado is the strongest in our pricing segment [the entry-level is approximately 60,000, which falls into the premium range]; it gives them a lot of expectation and ambition to maintain its strong position in the country. Apart from that Rado has also put Mumbai on the map.

All About The New Captain Cook

Under an evocative moniker, the first Over-Pole was a major success, as it hinted at reliable timekeeping to the planet's polar limits. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of that exploration-inspired timepiece, Rado is releasing a new Captain Cook Over-Pole Limited Edition, which has been updated with the brand's latest technological capabilities while yet maintaining the "vintage" design. The totally modern workings are housed in a polished stainless-steel case, around which key elements of the original design, such as the inward-sloping bezel with city names, the classic red date-numeral at 3 o'clock, and the box-shaped glass, which is always a conversation piece, are clearly recognizable.

In the reissue, the bezel carries a black, polished high-tech-ceramic insert with laser engraving, for the city names, and the new glass is sapphire crystal, treated on both faces with anti-reflective coating. Real watch-lovers will marvel at the tactile, hands-on quality of the new model, thanks to its action-ready, explorer-centred, manually-wound movement. The screw-down case back now also includes its own sapphire crystal, showing the mention "Limited Edition" and the timepiece's edition unit number, so one can behold the heart that makes it all happen.

Successful reissues of any iconic object usually keep core aspects while updating those that technology has discovered clever ways to improve. Rado, as the "Master of Materials," has a long history of adapting its product range to new materials, designs, and manufacturing procedures. A good example is the new Over-Pole model. The edition will be limited to 1962 pieces and will include a manual-winding movement with an astonishing 80 hours of power reserve. The movement, which features a NivachronTM antimagnetic hairspring, was chosen for its exceptional precision and reliability, allowing the new Over-Pole to outperform test requirements by five full points.

The new Captain Cook Over-Pole Limited Edition comes in a sleek brown pouch with a second bracelet made of stainless steel in a rice-grain pattern that can be instantly swapped out for a different look thanks to the EasyClip technology. Looks like Rado’s Captain Cook has set off on the adventure to mark its position on the map.