Rado
Rado DiaStar 42 mm Ice Grade
Photography on request
Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Rado · DiaStar
Rado DiaStar 42 mm Ice Grade
Reference 79769OR.50
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Rado
- Collection
- DiaStar
- Model
- Rado DiaStar 42 mm Ice Grade
- Reference number
- 79769OR.50
- Year / era
- 1965 · 1960s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Chronograph
- Movement
- Automatic Powermatic 80
- Case material
- Grade 5 titanium
- Dial type
- Ice blue
- Strap / bracelet
- NATO textile strap
- Water resistance
- 150 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 42 mm
- Case thickness
- 11.3 mm
- Case material
- Grade 5 titanium
- Bezel
- Baguette diamond rainbow
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Ice blue
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Printed minute track with applied batons
- Bracelet / strap
- NATO textile strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 150 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 11E — Automatic Powermatic 80
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 55 hours
- Number of jewels
- 25 jewels
- Complications
- Chronograph
- Functions
- Flying tourbillon, power reserve
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1965 – 1968
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Rado DiaStar 42 mm Ice Grade sits within Rado's DiaStar line, introduced in 1965. It carries the house codes established since 1917 — grade 5 titanium case, ice blue dial and automatic powermatic 80 — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- The case is finished by hand, alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces in a single pass so the edges stay razor sharp.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
The House
Rado
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1917
- Founder
- Fritz, Ernst & Werner Schlup
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Affordable & Tool Watches
- Major collections
- Captain Cook, DiaStar, True Square, Florence, Hyperchrome
- Signature technologies
- Shock-absorbing movement mounting · Hand-applied guilloché dials · Composite and ceramic case materials
- Famous movements
- Automatic COSC chronometer · Quartz · Automatic Powermatic 80 · Automatic, 38-hour reserve
- Notable watches
- Rado Captain Cook 43 mm Meteorite 18k (1952) · Rado Captain Cook 40 mm Black 18k (1971) · Rado Captain Cook 37 mm Blue Sapphire (2003) · Rado Captain Cook 40 mm Salmon Ceramic (1957)
Brand history
Rado has spent more than 109 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Captain Cook, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Fritz, Ernst & Werner Schlup established Rado in 1917, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Rado calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1917
Fritz, Ernst & Werner Schlup founds Rado in Switzerland.
1969
The quartz era forces Rado to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Rado enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Rado continues to produce Captain Cook, DiaStar, True Square and other icons in limited numbers.