Q&ARado’s CEO Comments On The Latest True Squares And India’s Importance

What made you choose this collection for the Le Corbusier collaboration?

The philosophy of Le Corbusier fits perfectly with our philosophy and Rado are among the few brands who have seen success with square watches, so we decided to extend the collaboration with the square shape. In India, a number of people prefer quartz timepieces and close to 50 percent of our bestsellers are square. The Indian customer also likes the thinness of the watch and to have a watch on one’s wrist that one can’t feel. They like to have a precise watch and a watch they can leave aside for a few days without having to set it again. It is light and comfortable to wear and fits the Le Corbursier colour palette.

We are very proud to have created a highlight and a product that is also creating attraction. When you have the dual-tone watch on your wrist, you are someone who has the courage to wear something different. Also the challenge to produce such a bicolour watch out of ceramic is huge but we like challenges and are used to tackling them.

Considering Le Corbusier’s significant connection with Chandigarh (the town planning), can we anticipate a special India edition, in a unique colour, perhaps, introduced in this series?

We have a strong presence around the world but the position we have in India—I don’t believe that any other brand has in any other market. No other brand has the kind of market share in any country like we have in India. The market is very competitive in our price segment, but we are truly dominating it. The reason is that the team in India have been able to bring the right inputs to the headquarters for product development and help us identify the right distribution to make sure that the companies such as Ethos are taking really good care of the brand in a way that is in the interest of both.

"No other brand has the kind of market share in any country like we have in India. The market is very competitive in our price segment, but we are truly dominating it." Seen here is the Captain Cook India edition, created in celebration of 20 years of Ethos Limited

So I have no doubt that the India team will come with a good idea for how could we explore further the Le Corbusier line or specific colours, but I believe that Indians like square, they like ceramic and also quartz. There is practically no other competitor that offers watches fully in full high-tech ceramic, in the price range that we do. This is also a reason for Rado’s great success. We are dominating our price segment in India. Over 50 percent of all watches in this price segment sold in India are Rado watches. They don’t just offer nostalgic value but also retain aesthetic value for a long time because of use of ceramic.

"With the square full-ceramic monobloc case...the True Square automatic and quartz editions are definitely a family that we will explore further in the future." Seen here is a recent True Square Automatic

₹2,10,500

Check Our Selling Price

This here is a more minimalistic True Square, closer in look to the new Le Corbusier watches

₹2,43,800

Check Our Selling Price

Here's a smaller True Square in white ceramic

01

We adore the True Round Thinline Les Couleurs™ Le Corbusier’s colours, but the new square watches have only come in three variations so far. Can we expect more colours in the square edition?

We are a very innovative brand in terms of product development, and the True Square, without a doubt, has become a very important family in the whole collection, because it’s clear Rado DNA, with the square shape. With the square full-ceramic monobloc case and the skeleton, and open heart versions, the True Square automatic and quartz editions are definitely a family that we will explore further in the future.

In the coming years, is there potential for the Rado Square Automatic to integrate with the Le Corbusier collaboration?

Never say never. We are constantly evaluating what kind of novelties we could create in order to surprise our customers. We have decided to really strengthen the collaboration with Le Corbusier because it has such a strong personality. Moreover, this partnership really fits our brand. We would like to strengthen further the collaboration with the association between France and Switzerland. But why not also India because of Chandigarh? It’s very well-known that Charles Edward Le Corbusier created their buildings, so why not do something there?

This watch is from the Rado True Thinline Les Couleurs Le Corbusier 2019 edition, of round watches

₹2,05,900

Check Our Selling Price

The Rado True Thinline Les Couleurs Le Corbusier draws from renowned architect Le Corbusier’s legendary Architectural Polychromy colour theory

₹2,05,900

Check Our Selling Price

Rado have been known to excel with colours in ceramic. This edition is one fine example

₹2,05,900

Check Our Selling Price

These watches are a product of Rado's partnership with Les Couleurs Suisse—the global licensor of architect Le Corbusier’s colours

₹2,05,900

Check Our Selling Price

01

Some watch brands are eliminating gender labels, to open up the choice of any watch for any gender. Is it possible that Rado might drop such categorisation in the future?

At Rado, we offer many unisex watches. However, a lot of women also wear some of our watches that are typically for men, because, despite the bigger sizes, they are not heavy because of being made from ceramic. Yet, there are watches, such as the Centrix 30mm, which are ladies watches. You could say that about one-third of our products are genderless. This is always an important step and we’ve been moving this way for the past few years.

"There will be more to come from the Diastar that we relaunched last year. We have some great innovations in the pipeline, and we have a very important business to develop with this family." Seen here is the DiaStar Original 60-Year Anniversary Edition

In recent times, Rado have introduced modern interpretations of classics, including the Diastar. Can we anticipate the revival of additional old favourites with updated versions?

There will be more to come from the Diastar that we relaunched last year. We have some great innovations in the pipeline, and we have a very important business to develop with this family. The Diastar is very important but we have another iconic product that will be relaunched with a few new versions this year and the rest of next year and it is also a typical Rado product. We are strengthening our roots and working with the existing key lines. We have many more iconic products in our past that made a big noise at the time of their development.