Inspired by the film Tron: Legacy, the Rado R-One is the wristwatch to go with the light cycle from the film. The R-One is an all ceramic chronograph with blue luminous accents on the case. Rado is better known for retro styled watches in glossy black ceramic with gold accents – the R-One is totally different and plain cool.

Rado R-One

At 46.5 mm long and 34.6 mm wide, this is a large watch. And it is fitted with a matching rubber strap (which unfortunately doesn’t glow) that has a ceramic and titanium clasp.  The case is one of the most beautifully made ceramic cases I have come across recently. It possesses a sculpted and highly defined shape, with clean edges between the matte and polished surfaces. The wide, polished bevel on the flank of the case is perfectly done.

The dial has applied steel rings for each of the chronograph sub-dials. Because of the lack of markings on the sub-dials and their small size, they are extremely difficult to make out. And the pushers are steel as well.

Despite the large case size, the movement is a small 10 1/2 ‘” ETA modular chronograph calibre (essentially a ladies watch movement) with a mere 37 hour power reserve. Rado would have done much better with a small Frederic Piguet movement, but that’s probably impossible due to the price positioning of F. Piguet as a high-end movement maker. But what takes the cake is the night view.

The luminous stripes on the case are just super cool. This is a limited edition of 300 pieces with a retail price of USD15,000. That is immensely steep for a Rado but nevertheless this is an unusually attractive watch. – SJX