Swiss watches Rado: how to distinguish the original from the replica?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Rado is a famous watch brand from Switzerland, part of the Swatch Group. Its history began in 1957. The highlight of Rado is space technology and the design of the future. These ingredients are the foundation of brand success.

Rado Materials

The brand's calling card is high-tech ceramics. The scratch-resistant surface of watch cases and bracelet details captivates the eye with a flawless finish.

Rado watches since 1993 have been made from Ceramos, a platinum-colored material created from ceramic and metal composite. Its distinctive features are lightness and quick adaptation to body temperature.

Another innovative material is the so-called plasma high-tech ceramic. Plasma-treated ceramics acquire high hardness, metallic luster and a recognizable platinum hue. This material is protected by patents, it is the exclusive development of the company's technologists.

The glasses in all models without exception are made of sapphire. Convex, flat or domed, they complement the smooth transitions of the hull shapes. A distinctive feature of the glasses is the metallized surface.

Rado Collections

About two dozen collections provide a potential buyer with a wide choicemasterpieces of the Swiss watch industry: women's and men's, on a belt and bracelet, mechanics and quartz… High technology and timeless design are the principles that unite Rado watches. Customer reviews highlight a few collections.

• True Thinline is an ultra-thin high-tech ceramic watch. Represented by quartz and mechanical models without a second hand.
• Ceramica - complete fusion and harmony of case and bracelet.
• Sintra - watches made of cermet (titanium-based cermet). Case shape - tonneau (barrel-shaped).



• Integral - rectangular models on bracelets. Special feature - metallized glass
• Esenza is the first Rado watch without a crown with touch controls. The dials are encrusted with diamonds.

Automatic mechanical chronographs attract attention. You can choose both men's and women's watches in this version.

Special attention to models with diamonds. Exquisite design combined with sparkling gemstones can't leave anyone indifferent.

Replica Swiss watches

The desire to have a status, exclusive thing, the purchase of which is too burdensome for the budget, is familiar to many. Manufacture of copies of expensive Swiss watches helps people to amuse their vanity. This business has become very popular in recent years. Replica watches of reputable, respected brands are offered - chronographs,skeletons, tourbillons.

Copies of Swiss watches can be divided into three large groups:

1. More like an imitation. These are the so-called surface copies. As a rule, the resemblance to the original is very distant. Only letters in the spelling of the brand can be common. The dials are poorly made. Markers and numbers are misaligned or rotated. Inaccurate lettering. The price is a few dollars. These are bought and worn for fun.

2. A product of the Chinese watch industry. The price is several tens of dollars. Copies the original in general terms. Upon closer inspection, you can see the difference from the original in the study of small elements. Overhead elements - numbers, hour markers, signs - can be inaccurately installed. Sold as copies.

3. Pretty accurate copy. The mechanism is most often Japanese, of good quality. The detail work is meticulous. In order to find differences from the original, you will have to arm yourself with a magnifying glass and an accurate catalog with high-quality photos. Such copies are often called replicas. May be sold as originals.

Why buy replica expensive watches?

Each person chooses what to write on a business card. After all, this is the role played by the watch on his hand. Often an accessory says more about a person than his business card. One glance at a watch is enough for an etiquette specialist to understand what kind of person wears it on his wrist. When buying a copy of a certified chronometer of a well-known brand, about which the sales assistant will tell a whole story in an expensive boutique, it is difficult to count on the fact that with him you will get the impression that heproduces. Most likely, the effect will be the opposite. The owner of a fake watch will give the impression of a person who pretends not to be who he really is.

Often the buyer who knowingly buys a fake is driven by curiosity, snobbery, the desire to impersonate a member of a higher social class.

Watch etiquette recommends choosing watches whose price corresponds to the level of income and position in society of their owner.

The difference between a copy of a Rado watch and an original

First, let's define what the problem is. If a customer is offered a copy of a Rado watch and makes a conscious purchase, there is no need to look for differences from the original. Everything is clear and so. You bought a replica (so more solid). If they sell you a copy under the guise of an original watch, you can talk about a fake. They are so common today that even a buyer in an expensive boutique is not immune from a mistake. Unfortunately, this is the reality. If, when you buy a Rado watch (original), you have doubts about its authenticity, there are some signs to check.

Replica signs

1. Too low price. Original Swiss Rado watches cannot be cheap. As a rule, expensive models are copied. In Rado, these are the Integral, Sintra, Ceramica collections, chronographs. All these are expensive, prestigious watches worth more than several thousand dollars. Be carefull. If you are offered a Rado watch for $300-400, there is no doubt that this is a copy.

2. Pay attention to accessories. The case is solid, leather, with a logo onlid. At the bottom of the outer cardboard case there is a special compartment in which a multi-page, multi-language instruction manual is inserted. The instructions are universal, covering all varieties of Rado watches. Here, in a special insert, there is a warranty card in the form of a plastic card. It has a hologram on it. When selling, the coupon is filled in by the seller. It indicates the model number, date and place of sale. The entry is stamped.

3. A Swiss Rado watch must have an immaculate dial. All inscriptions are even and clear. Overhead elements must be securely fastened, they are strictly symmetrical. The arrows should look the same. On cheap copies, even without a magnifying glass, on the shiny surfaces of the hands, you can find spots left by the picker's fingers.

The bottom of the dial must be marked Swiss made. The replica may be labeled "Made in Switzerland" or "Made in Swiss".

4. In Rado chronographs, all buttons and hands are working. The buttons should not have backlashes, when pressed, a distinct click is felt. In cheap copies, the arrows and additional scales can simply be drawn. Buttons are often props. There may be real chronographs, but with cheap mechanisms. If the original is a self-winding mechanic, then the replica is with a quartz movement. It is very easy to tell them apart.

5. The crown on the end of the original is embossed with the Rado trademark.

6. For making Rado watchesOnly scratch-resistant sapphire crystals are used. The same with the back cover. If it is made transparent, it can only be a sapphire. It can only be scratched with a diamond. The same applies to the case and details of the bracelet. On the replica, the pseudo-ceramic can be scratched with a nail file.

7. The clasp on Rado bracelets is made of titanium. The clasp is double-sided, it is securely fixed on both sides. The replicas have a steel clasp.

8. On genuine Rado watches, the case back is secured with titanium flat head screws. When assembling the replicas, steel Phillips screws are used.

9. Compare your model with the picture on the official Rado website. Pay attention to the description and dimensions of the original model, inscriptions and markings.

Recently, very high level fakes have appeared. They have all the external signs of the original. In this case, the most reliable way to verify the authenticity is to take the watch to a Rado Certified Service Center. In the manufacture of fakes, their manufacturers use low-quality mechanisms. An experienced watchmaker working with Rado products will easily determine the authenticity of the product.