Rado Release Limited Edition Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic with Updated Movement and Design

The Captain Cook has unequivocally become Rado’s poster watch. An adventure ready diver with an instantly recognisable design that has recently seen its collection expand with a slew of fresh complications like a worldtimer and its first ever chronograph. Now, Rado have launched a limited edition version of the model that started this modern renaissance, the Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic.

Stylistically, the limited edition offers a stealthier interpretation of the Captain Cook design than its non-limited brethren. That’s because it has a full matte black ceramic case, including the bezel that was steel or PVD in the past. It gives the piece a tougher attitude, although that’s slightly allayed by the dial.

One of my personal criticisms of the previous High-Tech Ceramics were the smoked sapphire dials, which obscured too much of the skeletonised movement below. That issue has been totally rectified here and the movement shines through brilliantly. The yellow gold hands and indexes also help the dial feel celebratory and bright, which is what off-sets the seriousness of the case.

In addition to the updated case and dial, the movement itself is also new. It’s the Rado R808, an automatic movement with an 80-hour power reserve and an antimagnetic Nivachron hairspring. It looks great through the sapphire dial, where you can see its skeletonised plates and Côtes de Genève engraving.

The Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Limited Edition is limited to 1962 pieces, a reference to the year the first Captain Cook was created in honour of 2022 marking the collection’s 60th anniversary. As for price, the limited edition is £4,295 making it the most expensive High-Tech Ceramic to date and actually joint most expensive Captain Cook, alongside the bronze chronograph edition. However, I think the improved style of the limited edition makes that extra cost worth it.