In the world of watches, many brands stand at the horological forefront, waving the flag of their brand history to enamour and capture the hearts of collectors everywhere. Brands have used their history as a marketing tool for decades. Yet, some partially unknown brands share a more profound and more interesting history through the evolution of Swiss watchmaking and have been at the forefront of innovation for decades. Such a brand that comes to mind is Rado—a brand with a rich history of innovation, spanning decades, and yet rarely discussed; a brand that certainly deserves more recognition as a horological powerhouse. Every brand starts somewhere, and the beginning of Rado’s history is the perfect place.
The beginning of the 20th century saw the boom of Swiss watchmaking and the origins of what we know as Rado watches. Three brothers, Friedrich, Ernest and Werner Schlup, would begin paving the way for Rado in 1917 by founding their first company, Schlup & Co. Located in their home village of Lengnau, halfway between the watchmaking centres Biel/Bienne and Grenchen, their first workshop was in their parent’s home and primarily manufactured hand-winding anchor movements. The brothers decided on manufacturing movements based on the growth of watchmaking and the ability to sell in foreign markets, leading to numerous commercial relationships with the United States early on.
In 1923, Schlup & Co. released advertisements to showcase their expertise as a movement manufacturer. The factory specialized in adapting movements for private label buyers or stamped with a specific company name depending on the customer’s needs. The rapid financial growth of the brand would come to a halt due to a global economic crisis that would last most of the 1920s. Schlup & Co. would begin making finished watches and their movements to combat the economic slump. The watches sometimes featured “Rado” on parts of the movement.
Now, you’re probably wondering, “Where did the name Rado come from?” The Rado brand name was registered in 1928 and is derived from Esperanto, an international auxiliary language created in 1887 by Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof. Still, there are no archives to prove this. If translated, “Rado” means wheel, a crucial component in any mechanical watch movement and one of the essential elements produced by Schlup & Co.
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The strategy implemented by the brothers to create complete watches and movements made it possible to build stronger links with their commercial buyers on the other side of the Atlantic through the 1930s. In 1937, Schlup & Co became a limited company and opened its first branch in New York, leading to many successes into the 1940s, making it possible to have a production facility built in their home village of Lengnau in 1948.
Shortly after World War II, the growth of the production facility slowed due to competition from brands based primarily in the United States. On top of the increased competition, the cry for more automatic movements instead of manual wound was loud. In response, the brand ceased manufacturing its movements and to focus on producing complete watches, which was more profitable. The change in strategy led to a small volume release of timepieces under the Rado Exacto brand in 1953, then again under the name Exacto in 1956. While the watches were associated with the Rado brand, Exacto watches were only produced in the Schlup & Co. production facility.
However, the name Exacto was already owned by a New York-based watchmaker, meaning the brand name would be rejected from registration in the United States and several other countries, leaving the Schlup brothers no choice but to abandon the Exacto name. While there were branding issues, the initial success of these watches gave hope to the company managers that their new strategy to become strictly a watch manufacturer would eventually succeed.
With the success of their initial release, management relied on Rado as the name for their watch brand, as it had been the name behind quality Swiss craftsmanship in multiple countries for three decades. Rado’s watches were increasing in popularity, standing out among the competition, leading to the release of the world’s first scratch-proof watch, the innovative and striking Rado DiaStar. Crafted from hardmetal, the DiaStar offered superior scratch resistance and an innovative design that would become an icon for Rado. With different collections of the DiaStar produced, Rado quickly became an icon regarding innovation, design, and development with different shapes and materials.
The Swiss watchmaking industry would enter a period of re-organization in 1986 led by Nicolas G. Hayek, placing Rado as a part of Swatch Group, the previous name being SMH (Société de Microélectronique et d’Horlogerie). Rado was able to pull the expertise of Swatch Group to strengthen itself but would maintain its research of unique materials and designs. Swatch Group offered Rado access to advanced technology, engineering, and design departments, and many high-performance materials for Rado to create and innovate. From this began Rado’s development of high-tech ceramic. The Ceramica, the first watch to use black high-tech ceramic for both the case and bracelet, and the Coupole, the brand’s first dive into all-white high-tech ceramic, are a perfect examples.
Carrying the momentum into the 1990s, Rado would create another watch from another new material. The Sintra was produced by implementing a titanium carbide-based composite for superior lightness, hardness, and stiffness, and then formed into a beautifully curved and sumptuous design.
Fast forward a decade, and Rado would present the V10K featuring what could be the world’s hardest watch case, featuring a coating made from a synthetic monocrystalline diamond.
Today, Rado continues to innovate and make a mark in Swiss watchmaking by developing and conquering new materials, specifically coloured high-tech ceramic. Rado’s creativity and innovations carry across a century of true Swiss craftsmanship and will continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible with materials and design functionality. Feel free to check out Rado’s beautiful collections here.
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About the Author
Born into a family obsessed with motorsport, Tyler Frederick became enamoured with speed and beautiful cars at a young age. His love of Formula 1–and all things mechanical–eventually lead him to horology. You can follow him on Instagram.
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