ReviewTruly Square And Truly Colourful: Rado’s True Square Thinline Les Couleurs Le Corbusier
Following the 2019 True Thinline Les Couleurs Le Corbusier in nine colours, Rado have now launched a True Square version, with five colours, in three new watches
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There are only a few brands that can pull off a square watch that people love, and Rado are among that exclusive club. They also boast a long history with scratch-resistant materials, starting with the DiaStar 1—launched in 1962—which was the world’s first scratchproof watch, with a case and bracelet made of tungsten carbide. And a few decades later they were also one of the first brands to come up with a ceramic watch, which makes it safe to say that they more than live up to their claim of being the ‘Master of materials’. And now they have the new True Square edition of the Le Corbusier watches.
The new True Square Thinline Les Couleurs Le Corbusier collection merges both of these achievements into one, and makes it even more exciting with an interesting collaboration—the result is nothing less than magic. An extension of the existing collaboration with the Le Corbusier foundation, these three new renditions are limited to 999 pieces each. In a world where every watch brand is trying to invent new complications and skeletonising dials to exhibit their horological prowess, this launch is a refreshing change. On the one hand, watches like the True Square Skeleton reiterate the maison’s watchmaking expertise, on the other hand launches like these show Rado’s courage to do something different, something daringly simple to look at.
Truly Square: Le Corbusier
Housed in a square 37mm, extremely sleek high-tech ceramic case with a monobloc construction that measures only 5mm in thickness, it wraps around the wrist with a bracelet made of the same material. This makes the complete watch very light and highly scratch-resistant. Powered by a reliable Rado quartz movement—calibre R420—the collection offers two dual-tone versions: grey brown natural umber contrasting with cream, and iron grey contrasting with a greyed English green hue, in addition to one all-black variation.
Les Couleurs Of Le Corbusier
The colour palette of this collection pays homage to the iconic architectural colours—the Architectural Polychromy of Le Corbusier. Diversified in two selections—the ‘1931’ that features 43 shades across 14 series, and ‘1959’ that features 20 additional colours—each hue has its own relevance and depicts certain spatial elements and human emotions. What makes it even more fascinating is that all these hues are naturally harmonious and can be used in any combination. The perfect example for this can be found in two of the new watches launched in this collection with a dual-tone aesthetic.
Le Corbusier And India
It would be unfair to mention Le Corbusier in India and not talk about one of his great contributions to our country, the city of Chandigarh. There are still a number of architectural sites in Chandigarh that were designed by Le Corbusier such as the High Court and Capitol Complex, and many more designed by others, but embody the same spirit.
The inaugural collection of this collaboration offered nine of these colours in monotone timepieces, while the latest launches feature five of them, across only three timepieces. This indicates that there could be several more interesting additions to this series in the future.