Rado
Rado True Square 44 mm Silvered 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 44 mm Silvered 18k
Reference 52891OR.80
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Rado
- Collection
- True Square
- Model
- Rado True Square 44 mm Silvered 18k
- Reference number
- 52891OR.80
- Year / era
- 1963 · 1960s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Moon phase
- Movement
- Automatic, 38-hour reserve
- Case material
- 18k yellow gold
- Dial type
- Silvered opaline
- Strap / bracelet
- Milanese mesh
- Water resistance
- 50 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 500 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 44 mm
- Case thickness
- 12.6 mm
- Case material
- 18k yellow gold
- Bezel
- Smooth polished
- Crystal
- Box sapphire with AR coating
- Dial
- Silvered opaline
- Hands
- Skeletonised sword hands, white luminescent
- Indexes
- Applied Roman numerals
- Bracelet / strap
- Milanese mesh
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 50 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 40E — Automatic, 38-hour reserve
- Movement type
- Manual-winding
- Frequency
- 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 55 hours
- Number of jewels
- 21 jewels
- Complications
- Moon phase
- Functions
- Hours, minutes, seconds, date
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1963 – 1970
- Limited-edition quantity
- 500 pieces
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Marc Newson
Marc Newson is an Australian industrial designer whose work spans Qantas cabins, Apple hardware and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos clocks; his watch design reduces the object to pure geometry and legibility.
Historical significance
Rado True Square 44 mm Silvered 18k sits within Rado's True Square line, introduced in 1963. It carries the house codes established since 1917 — 18k yellow gold case, silvered opaline dial and automatic, 38-hour reserve — 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.
- 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.