Rado Gives the DiaStar Original Skeleton an Autumn Gold Treatment

Rado’s DiaStar has always sat slightly outside the usual codes of Swiss watch design.

The newest DiaStar Original Skeleton editions lean into that identity with two warmer seasonal takes, bringing rose-gold and yellow-gold tones to the model’s sculptural Ceramos case and openworked dial.

It’s a timely update for a watch that still feels rooted in its 1960s futurism, but now carries the visual language of modern Rado more clearly than ever.

At a glance

• Rado has released two autumn-themed DiaStar Original Skeleton models in warm golden tones.
• Both watches use a Ceramos bezel, a skeletonised R808 automatic movement and a faceted sapphire crystal.
• The models are priced at EUR 2,600 or USD 2,700 and are paired with brown rubber straps.

Ceramos brings a warmer edge to the DiaStar case

The DiaStar name matters because it’s tied to one of Rado’s earliest material experiments.

Launched in 1962, the original DiaStar used brightly polished tungsten carbide sintered under intense heat, and Rado has long described it as the world’s first scratch-proof watch.

That original design also helped establish the model’s unusual silhouette, with a futuristic, helmet-like case and a sapphire crystal over the dial at a time when mineral and polymer glasses were more common.

The contemporary DiaStar Original was revisited for its 60th anniversary in 2022 using Ceramos, Rado’s ceramic and metal composite.

For these seasonal Skeleton editions, the convex Ceramos bezel appears in a warm rose-gold colour for the first time, alongside a familiar yellow-gold tone.

The bezels are PVD-coated and radially brushed, giving the watch a less dressy, more technical surface than a fully polished gold-tone case might suggest.

A skeleton dial with golden hardware

The case keeps the established DiaStar Original proportions, measuring 38mm across, 45mm in length and 11.9mm thick.

Its middle case, caseback, bracelet and crown are stainless steel with a polished gold-coloured PVD coating, while water resistance is rated to 100 metres.

One of the DiaStar’s defining features remains the hexagonally faceted sapphire crystal, which forms a central square with sloping flanks.

Under that crystal, the skeletonised automatic calibre R808 is finished in a golden colour, with a horizontally brushed train bridge that visually echoes the brushed bezel.

The dial architecture uses a black or brown annular outer ring with white minute markings, while the golden hour markers appear suspended above the movement.

White Super-LumiNova is applied to the golden indices and hour and minute hands, adding a practical note to what is otherwise a strongly decorative openworked display.

At 9 o’clock, the pivoting Rado anchor appears in gold, a small signature detail that keeps the dial recognisably within the brand’s design vocabulary.

The R808 movement keeps it practical

The sapphire caseback reveals the golden anchor-shaped rotor, decorated with Geneva stripes.

Inside is the automatic R808 calibre, a modified and skeletonised variant of the ETA Powermatic 80 family.

The movement uses a Nivachron hairspring for resistance to magnetic fields and temperature fluctuations, is regulated in five positions and delivers an 80-hour power reserve.

That long reserve suits the watch’s everyday positioning, especially for owners who rotate between several pieces during the week.

Both autumn-themed editions are supplied on a sporty brown rubber strap with a gold-coloured PVD-coated steel pin buckle.

Rado’s EasyClip interchangeable system is also included, making strap changes simpler without disturbing the case.

Details & Specifications

The appeal here is less about reinventing the DiaStar than sharpening its seasonal character.

For collectors drawn to Rado’s material story, these golden Skeleton editions offer a warmer, more expressive version of one of the brand’s most distinctive case designs.