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All the watch news, reviews, videos you want, brought to you from fellow collectors
Rado has introduced a new series of special-edition watches under its ongoing collaboration with Les Couleurs® Le Corbusier®. The latest releases form part of the True Round collection and pay tribute to the architectural legacy and colour theory of Le Corbusier, widely regarded as a pioneer of modernist design. The series features three models crafted in Rado’s high-tech ceramic, each inspired by a landmark project designed by the Swiss-born architect and finished in colours drawn from the Polychromie Architecturale palette.
This marks the latest chapter in a long-running partnership between Rado and Les Couleurs Suisse®, which licenses Le Corbusier’s original architectural colour system on behalf of the Fondation Le Corbusier. To date, the collaboration has produced 12 watches, each referencing a major architectural work.
The first model, Ref. R27049012, takes inspiration from La Cité Radieuse in Marseille. It is crafted entirely from Ivory White high-tech ceramic, encompassing the case, crown, dial, and bracelet. The dial features a laser-engraved abstract interpretation of the building’s béton-brut concrete surface. The timepiece marks the first time this colour has been produced in high-tech ceramic by Rado. The hands are finished in Lucent Sky Blue for the hours, Luminous Ultramarine Blue for the minutes, and Light Ultramarine Blue for the seconds.
The second model, Ref. R27048162, draws from the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts - the only building designed by Le Corbusier in North America. For this version, Rado has used Iron Grey high-tech ceramic. The dial here also showcases a laser-engraved abstraction of the building’s moulded concrete façade. The lacquered hands are finished in Cream White for the hours, Powerful Orange for the minutes, and Slightly Greyed English Green for the seconds.
The final timepiece, Ref. R27111162, takes cues from the Palace of Assembly in Chandigarh, India, part of the Capitol Complex completed in 1962. Made from Ivory Black high-tech ceramic and laser-engraved with an abstract detail from the building’s façade, the design is completed with lacquered hands coloured in Powerful Orange for the hours, Emerald Green for the minutes, and Olive Green for the seconds.
Measuring 40 mm, all three new models are housed in monobloc high-tech ceramic cases and bracelets, a material Rado is renowned for. The watches are powered by the Rado calibre R763 automatic movement, which features an antimagnetic Nivachron™ hairspring and offers an 80-hour power reserve. Visible through a sapphire crystal caseback, each caseback is decorated with 63 digitally printed colour strips representing the full Polychromie Architecturale palette and features the Le Corbusier logo at the centre. The watches are water-resistant up to 50 metres.
Images - Courtesy RADO
Rado has introduced a new series of special-edition watches under its ongoing collaboration with Les Couleurs® Le Corbusier®. The latest releases form part of the True Round collection and pay tribute to the architectural legacy and colour theory of Le Corbusier, widely regarded as a pioneer of modernist design. The series features three models crafted in Rado’s high-tech ceramic, each inspired by a landmark project designed by the Swiss-born architect and finished in colours drawn from the Polychromie Architecturale palette.
This marks the latest chapter in a long-running partnership between Rado and Les Couleurs Suisse®, which licenses Le Corbusier’s original architectural colour system on behalf of the Fondation Le Corbusier. To date, the collaboration has produced 12 watches, each referencing a major architectural work.
The first model, Ref. R27049012, takes inspiration from La Cité Radieuse in Marseille. It is crafted entirely from Ivory White high-tech ceramic, encompassing the case, crown, dial, and bracelet. The dial features a laser-engraved abstract interpretation of the building’s béton-brut concrete surface. The timepiece marks the first time this colour has been produced in high-tech ceramic by Rado. The hands are finished in Lucent Sky Blue for the hours, Luminous Ultramarine Blue for the minutes, and Light Ultramarine Blue for the seconds.
The second model, Ref. R27048162, draws from the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts - the only building designed by Le Corbusier in North America. For this version, Rado has used Iron Grey high-tech ceramic. The dial here also showcases a laser-engraved abstraction of the building’s moulded concrete façade. The lacquered hands are finished in Cream White for the hours, Powerful Orange for the minutes, and Slightly Greyed English Green for the seconds.
The final timepiece, Ref. R27111162, takes cues from the Palace of Assembly in Chandigarh, India, part of the Capitol Complex completed in 1962. Made from Ivory Black high-tech ceramic and laser-engraved with an abstract detail from the building’s façade, the design is completed with lacquered hands coloured in Powerful Orange for the hours, Emerald Green for the minutes, and Olive Green for the seconds.
Measuring 40 mm, all three new models are housed in monobloc high-tech ceramic cases and bracelets, a material Rado is renowned for. The watches are powered by the Rado calibre R763 automatic movement, which features an antimagnetic Nivachron™ hairspring and offers an 80-hour power reserve. Visible through a sapphire crystal caseback, each caseback is decorated with 63 digitally printed colour strips representing the full Polychromie Architecturale palette and features the Le Corbusier logo at the centre. The watches are water-resistant up to 50 metres.
Images - Courtesy RADO
