Rado is a Swiss luxury watch brand that was founded in 1917 by brothers Fritz, Ernst, and Werner Schlup in the town of Lengnau, Switzerland. The company began as a small watchmaking workshop, but it quickly gained a reputation for producing high-quality and innovative watches.
In the 1950s, Rado began to focus on the development of new materials, including tungsten carbide and sapphire crystal. The brand's first significant breakthrough came in 1962 with the introduction of the Rado DiaStar, which was the world's first scratch-resistant watch. The DiaStar was made using a combination of tungsten carbide and sapphire crystal and quickly became a commercial success.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Rado continued to innovate with the introduction of several new watch models, including the Rado Manhattan, which featured a unique square shape and a scratch-resistant tungsten carbide case. The brand also introduced watches made with hard metals, ceramics, and high-tech diamonds.
In the 1980s, Rado continued to push the boundaries of watchmaking with the introduction of watches made entirely of high-tech ceramics, such as the Ceramica and Integral models. These watches were highly durable and offered a unique, modern aesthetic that was popular with consumers.
In recent years, Rado has continued to innovate with the introduction of new materials and technologies, such as the use of ultra-lightweight silicon nitride ceramic in the HyperChrome Ultra Light watch.
Today, Rado is known for its commitment to innovation and design, as well as its use of high-quality materials in the production of its watches. The brand offers a wide range of watch models, including dress watches, sports watches, and diving watches, that are popular among collectors and watch enthusiasts around the world. Overall, Rado is a brand with a rich history of innovation and technological advancement in the field of watchmaking.