To be honest, I have been brooding over this model for more than two years. When it first came out in 2021, I was so keen to immediately get it. However, I realised that I already got a Rado Captain Cook (please click here to go to that watch). Nevertheless, the draw of having a casing and bracelet of a watch made out of ceramic appeals to me immensely as it will be a first in the collection. I've decided to continue to the search to find one that has a different design than a Captain Cook.
Although Rado has a number dress watch designs using ceramic, they don't attract my interest. Finally, after some soul searching, I decided to get a Captain Cook ceramic version. However, the price quoted was too rich for me especially when I already have a Captain Cook in the collection.
Although I was on the market for one, I was still looking at getting one at the best price possible. Recently, I was given a good offer of 30% off the MSRP for a new watch which I immediately took. The model on offer is the reference R32144202 which has the solid sunburst blue dial. A stroke of luck as this particular model has that blue dial that matches the smokey colour of the ceramic casing and bracelet which I believe to be the most eye-catching of all the solid dial versions of this series.
The Series
There are currently 12 models under this series. These can be further segregated either with a solid dial or with a skeleton dial sub-groupings. When Rado announced the ceramic Captain Cook back in 2021, although designed as a dive watch, it did not get the necessary certification as the dial was transparent. To fulfill the ISO6425 certification, Rado launched the solid dial version in 2022. This set of watches has the additional "Diver" in their names. For these watches, an ISO6425 certificate (in the form of a credit card sized acknowledgement) was also attached.
Below is the sub-grouping with solid dial. There are currently six models. Two models come with rubber straps. It is interesting to note that there are slight variations in the weights of the model depending on the colour (the weights were gotten from Rado's official website www.rado.com)
 R32129152 RM16,000 158 gm |  R32144102 RM16,000 160 gm |  R32144202 RM16,000 159 gm |
 R32129158 RM14,750 117 gm |  R32130312 RM16,000 158 gm |  R32130318 RM14,750 120 gm |
Below is the sub-grouping with skeleton dial. There are currently six models. One is a limited edition piece while another one comes with a rubber strap.
 R32127162 RM17,700 157 gm |  R32127156 RM16,000 114 gm |  R32127152 RM17,450 157 gm |
 R32128202 RM17,450 157 gm |  R32147162 (Limited edition) RM20,900 153 gm |  R32148162 RM19,150 120 gm |
As this is the first watch in the collection made primarily of ceramic, here are some interesting facts about the material as made by Rado. The company that produces ceramic casing for Rado is ComaDur. Part of the Swatch Group, ComaDur is a leading ceramics specialist supplying to group On the Vickers scale,
which indicates hardness, the ceramic of the Captain
Cook scores 1,250 points. Compare that to the 316L
stainless steel on most reputable dive watches that scores 152 points and the 904L stainless steel used by Rolex that scores barely pass 500 points, and one can see the vast difference in strength ceramic is.
ComaDur uses a plasma reactor to achieve temperatures exceeding 20,000°C to melt a combination of oxide powder to make the required ceramic. From then on, for the next two weeks, it will go through various processes before becoming a finished product to be be assembled into a watch. If you want to know more about the process, a detailed article from Monochrome can be found under this link.
The beauty of ceramic are numerous.
It is light, impervious to scratches, but also fully hypoallergenic and can be
finished to a mirror-like polish or with a matte sheen. Due to its nature, it is ageless i.e. it will look as new as it did the day it
left the factory, without any degradation due to time. Moreover, it feels warm yet soft to the touch.
The Watch
Despite the hype that the Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver is fully ceramic, there are other materials used such as titanium and stainless steel. The bezel and the crown are made from stainless steel while the case-back and the clasp unit are made out of titanium. All the rest are made out of ceramic.
Size-wise, the ceramic Captain Cook is bigger than the stainless steel equivalent. I have the stainless steel version in the collection (read it here) and below are some comparative statistics for your reference. As you can clearly see, the ceramic version is so much bigger and more capable.
| Captain Cook Type | Ceramic R32144202 | Stainless Steel R32505313 |
| Case: Bracelet: Crown: Case-back: Clasp: Width: Thickness: Length: Lug Width: Water Resistance: Weight: | Ceramic Ceramic Stainless steel Titanium Titanium 43.0 mm 14.6 mm 49.8 mm 21 mm 30 bar (300 m) 159 gm | Stainless steel Stainless steel Stainless steel Stainless steel Stainless steel 42.0 mm 12.1 mm 49.0 mm 21 mm 20 bar (200 m) 137 gm |
The watch that I have has the reference R32144202. The dial is a solid lacquered sunray blue. There is a sloping chapter ring with a similar colour with a minute scale with white lines. The applied hour markers are at the edge of the dial and painted with luminous paint (SuperLuminova with a green tint). Unfortunately, Rado completely replaced the 3:00 hour marker with a date aperture. With the stainless steel Captain Cook, the designers only took part of the hour marker. For the ceramic, having a bigger case size, I expected Rado to placed the date aperture between 4:30 thus keeping all the hour markers in place. I was surprised they took out the 3:00 marker completely. The symmetry is lost. It could have be designed better.
The iconic free-wheeling golden anchor nesting in a shallow pit painted red and the white painted brand sits prominently at the top quadrant. On the bottom quadrant, the words 'Captain Cook', '300m / 1000ft' and 'Swiss Made' are also printed in white.
Most people don't know the actual purpose of the free-wheeling anchor on the dial. It is not only a signature for the Rado brand but it is also an indicator for the need of servicing. As the anchor sits on a jewel, if the anchor starts to have difficulty in moving, that implies the friction is building up which could be due to the lack of oiling (for example). This would be a simple indicator that servicing is necessary.
At 3:00 is the date aperture that has one level of terrace. The date wheel has a white background and the date is printed in red. Meanwhile, the handset has sections painted with luminous paint. The hours and seconds hands are arrow-like in design while the minutes hand is more sword-like.
Protecting the dial is a boxed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides. Due to the angle on the side of the sapphire crystal, the dial is refracted to appear 'pan-shaped'. This is a nice effect.
The unidirectional coin-edge bezel is made out of stainless steel. The difference between the stainless steel section and the ceramic is obvious. Where the stainless steel part is polished, the ceramic is dark grey with a brushed texture. The bezel turns within a 120-click increment. The movement is solid and the alignment is close to perfect. The insert on the bezel is ceramic and is downward sloping while the markers are painted in white. The triangle marker at 12:00 on the bezel has luminous paint as required by the ISO6425 dive watch standard.
Another prominent piece of stainless steel part is the signed screw-down crown. Like the bezel, the crown is polished. In the photo above, one can see the nice contrast between the stainless steel parts and the dark grey ceramic casing.
After talking about the ceramic, sapphire and stainless steel materials, the fourth material used for this watch is titanium. The pressed-on case-back uses titanium with nicely decorated etching of two seahorses on a wavy background. Although titanium is hypoallergenic, ceramic also has the same property. Not sure why the need for Rado to use another material for the case-back when ceramic is already a core component of the watch. In fact, Rado's case designers could have gone in the same direction of Seiko for the Emperor Tuna watch (click here for more). Using a monocoque casing would make sense.
Underneath the case-back is the ETA-based three-hand automatic caliber R734. It is based on the ETA C07.611 movement and is made exclusively for Rado. Aside from the 80 hours of power reserve, the caliber R734 has the Nivachron mainspring which grants the movement enhanced resistance to magnetic fields.
This Captain Cook comes standard with a solid ceramic bracelet. The oyster-style bracelet is a departure from the iconic beads-of-rice-style bracelet of the stainless steel Captain Cook. With a width of 21.0 mm at the lugs, the bracelet tapers down to 18.0 mm at the clasp. Whereas the end sections of each link has the same matte finish as the casing, the center part is mirror polished. This surface is a fingerprint magnet and needs constant wiping to clear smudges away. Nonetheless with the ceramic's level of hardness (when compared to other materials), it is nearly impervious to scratches. As such, it will look as pristine as it is now, years in the future.
The signed clasp on the bracelet is made out of titanium. It is a semi-butterfly-style clasp with two-button catch. Only one side of the bracelet has the additional fold (hence the semi-butterfly-styling). Despite having the 'Diver' designation, the bracelet does not come with any divers extension. Not sure if the additional mechanism for this complication is too expensive to add. If you do intent to use this watch to dive and you wear a wet-suit, you may want to invest in a strap as well. I am actually disappointed that Rado did not add a spare strap in the original packaging.
As a certified dive watch, the Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver is water rated to 300 meters.
Below is a photo of the watch in the dark.
The Wearing Experience
If you’re looking at your collection and are getting bored of all your stainless steel watches, this Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver would be a great addition. It is value-for-money and a great watch overall. Scratch-proof with normal wear, the ceramic material is everlasting and the shine will remain years in the future even when all your stainless steel pieces dull with age. Below is a video of the watch on my wrist.
I do have suggestions for Rado to consider for this series. The first is regarding the bracelet. As highlighted earlier, the lack of a divers' extension is inexcusable especially for a watch that has the word 'Diver' in its name as well as a certificate that shows its compliance to an internationally accepted dive watch standard. The omission may be due to the complexity of the ceramic material. Even so, the solution is simple; provide a spare rubber strap (and a simple strap changing tool) as part of the standard package for buyers of the bracelet model.
The second is the provision of the illuminated pip at the 12:00 for the bezel. Most dive watches of repute has an applied pip with luminous paint at 12:00 that is very distinct from the rest of the markings on the dive bezel. Directly painting using luminous paint on the dial is a cheap solution which can wear out over time. This 'cheap idea' totally goes against what Rado is promoting about the quality of production and design that are synonymous with the brand. You can see many examples of quality dive watches with applied pip at 12:00 set on ceramic inserts. If those brands can do it, why can't Rado?
The third is the placement of the date aperture. With a bigger case size compared to the stainless steel version, there is more choices where to place the date aperture on the larger dial surface. Placing it at 4:30 is my preferred choice as it will mean none of the applied hour markers need to be sacrificed. Moreover, using a negative date wheel (using the same colour of the dial as the background on the date wheel) can reduce the potential disruption on symmetry for the dial. Visually, this is a good alternative especially when viewed in the dark.
These suggestions does not mean the Rado
Captain Cook Ceramic Diver is in anyway poorly designed. For the role it is intended to be used, the watch would perform admirably. Unfortunately, most of often times, watches are seen as accessories and used in situations that are quite benign. In my case, this diver is mostly used in formal settings than in the outdoors. Anyway. for my style of usage, this watch still wins.
The Buying Experience
Got the watch from AWG, Mid Valley for a very good price. Apart from the watch, there was also a free gift of a watch winder with Rado brand as well as a travel watch box from AWG.
Although the watch was 30% of the MSRP, it was legit as I was able to register the purchase via RADO's on-line ownership portal.
Specifications
Product Name: Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver
Reference: R32144202
Case Materials: Plasma high-tech ceramic, stainless steel, titanium
Case Thickness: 14.6 mm
Water Resistance: 30 bar (300 m)
Case Colour: Dark grey
Case Dimension: 43.0 mm
Case Length: 49.8 mm
Crystal: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides
Bezel: Unidirectional with 120-clicks for full rotation
Lug Width: 21.0 mm
Bracelet Materials: Plasma high-tech ceramic, titanium
Weight: 159 gm
Dial Colour: Blue
Complication: Hacking seconds & date at 3:00
Movement Type: Automatic with anti-magnetic Nivachron hairspring
Power Reserve: 80 hours
Movement Caliber: R763 (Powermatic 80) with 25 jewels; 21,600 BPH (3Hz)
Movement Reference: 03.763.735
MSRP: RM16,000
Purchase Price: RM11,200
Purchase Date: 15 June 2023
Vendor: AWG, Mid Valley
Warranty: Two (2) years
Certification: ISO 6425
Serial Number: 16263928
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I have the True Square. Ceramic is fantastic material and almost scratch proof. I hate having scratches on my time pieces.
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