Rado
Rado True Square 40 mm Salmon 18k
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 · True Square
Rado True Square 40 mm Salmon 18k
Reference 47551OR.16
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Rado
- Collection
- True Square
- Model
- Rado True Square 40 mm Salmon 18k
- Reference number
- 47551OR.16
- Year / era
- 1978 · 1970s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Chronograph
- Movement
- Automatic Powermatic 80
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Dial type
- Salmon
- Strap / bracelet
- Integrated steel bracelet
- Water resistance
- 100 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 40 mm
- Case thickness
- 8.8 mm
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Bezel
- Fluted 18k gold
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Salmon
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- Integrated steel bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 100 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 76B — Automatic Powermatic 80
- Movement type
- Manual-winding
- Frequency
- 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 65 hours
- Number of jewels
- 31 jewels
- Complications
- Chronograph
- Functions
- Hours, minutes, small seconds
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1978 – 1984
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Consistently trades above retail; waiting lists at authorised dealers remain long.
Designer
Jörg Hysek
Jörg Hysek left Rolex and Seiko's European studios to build a design practice in Geneva, giving houses such as Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Seiko and TAG Heuer their sculptural, architecture-led cases before founding his own brand, HD3.
Historical significance
Rado True Square 40 mm Salmon 18k sits within Rado's True Square line, introduced in 1978. It carries the house codes established since 1917 — 18k white gold case, salmon dial and automatic powermatic 80 — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
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.