Brand: Rado

Model: Balboa V

Ref.: n/a

Issued Ca. 1970

Case: Tungsten-Carbide bezel, stainless steel back

Crystal: Sapphire with squared facets

Bracelet: Stainless steel with expandable clasp (not original)

Movement: ETA 2783, 25 jewels, gilt.

Description: This is an uncommon Diastar-like Balboa V model with tungsten-carbide bezel and a dial made of black goldstone. The Balboa line was apparently sold mainly in the Far East (see the gallery of vintage advertisements for images of some Japanese Balboa ads, showing a variety of Balboa case shapes). With a printed anchor logo (as opposed to the in-set rotating anchor found on most Rado automatics) and the white printing and marker elements setting off the stone dial material, this is a very distinctive piece. Highly reflective silvery specks are scattered throughout the material giving the impression of stars in a night sky. Click the links for information about a Diastar 13G with Tiger-Eye dial and a Diastar with similar black stone dial (also shown below).

The case shows almost no wear and the back has minor scratches. The movement is running smoothly but its service history is unknown. Overall condition of this watch is 80% or better.

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This watch has been sold.

Text and images © C. Bradley Jacobs, WatchCarefully.com

Description: Roughly contemporary to their first automatic chronograph was Rado's first automatic alarm watch (Ref. 680.7000.4). Production began in 1973, the same year that its power plant, the famous AS 5008, was introduced. This watch features a distinctive slate blue dial, a stainless steel case and fitted bracelet, and signed crowns. Only 1000 examples of this reference were made between 1973 and 1980. The low production totals, coupled with the fact that Rado made comparatively few complicated watches, make it a doubly rare item.

Information on the scratchproof sister to this watch--the Diastar 54 alarm--is available elsewhere on this site.

Data (courtesy Rado Watch Co.):

The original SK bracelet with signed Rado clasp is present on this watch.

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This watch has been sold.

Note: More specific information pertaining to this watch or similar models is welcome. Please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Description: In 2002 Rado celebrated the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the DiaStar series, the original scratch-proof watch with case components made of tungsten-carbide. Among several commemorative models Rado produced at the time, were DiaStar Accustar models with ETA auto-quartz movements. The present watch is one from a commemorative set, of which 300 were produced. The dial is an unusual textured grey color with features akin to the tentacles of an octopus. Hands and markers are luminous. The case features a special display-back, which reveals via star-like apertures a pattern of silver & black panels on a disc attached to the rotor. The case back is engraved with the dates 1962-2002 and the individual series number of the watch (also the number of the set of which it was once part). The auto-quartz movement, ETA Cal. 205.911, is gold-plated and signed. This caliber is a slightly more elaborate version of one offered in Swatch Auto-Quarz models; that 15-jewel movement (Cal. 205.711) cannot be hand-wound.

The original bracelet with signed Rado clasp is present on this watch.

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This watch has been sold.

Text and images © C. Bradley Jacobs, WatchCarefully.com

Brand: Rado

Model: Starliner Daymaster

Ref.: 11780/1

Issued Ca. 1968

Case: Stainless steel with screw-back

Crystal: Acrylic with Rado logo at center

Bracelet: none

Movement: A Schild 1859, 25 jewels, gilt

Description: This is one of the second series of Starliner models issued by Rado in the 1960s. This example has the large (38 mm) case and the addition of the day display; earlier models had date only and some had cases of 35-36 mm diameter. The distinctive silver/black dial paint is original, as are the desirable cylindrical markers with beveled tops in either black or white. The dial is well preserved, showing only moderate aging. The anchor logo rotates properly, and the correct silver/black hands are present.

The case front shows little wear and the back has some minor marks. The movement, stamped A.S. 1859, was completely serviced in July 2007 and is keeping accurate time.

This Starliner Daymaster model is one of several included in a 1969 magazine ad promoting the Day-Date models in the Rado line. Note that the text accompanying this model (C.) erroneously identifies it as a Voyager, a model with completely different styling.

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This watch has been sold.

Note: More specific information pertaining to the manufacture/issue date of this watch is welcome.

Text and images © C. Bradley Jacobs, WatchCarefully.com

Rado Golden Horse
2007 Re-issue for Japan

This is a 2007 Rado Golden Horse made for the Japanese market. Rado issued this limited-production model to celebrate 50 years of selling the Rado brand in Japan; this is a modern interpretation of a typical style from the Golden Horse line that was a tremendous success in Japan.

This watch sold new for 126,000 Yen, but was not available outside of Japan.

Features of this Golden Horse watch (reference R658.3832.4; model R84832153 indicating black dial) include:

• 25-jewel ETA automatic movement

• Stainless steel case and bracelet (with extra links)

• Screw-down crown (for 100m WR)

• Plexiglas crystal with cyclops

• Applied hour markers and logos

• Original papers and 2-year warranty card (valid through 7/09)

• Original boxes & hang tag

This watch has been sold.

Text and images © C. Bradley Jacobs, WatchCarefully.com

Brand: Rado

Model: Diastar 515

Ref.: 515

Issued: 1970s

Case: Tungsten-carbide with stainless steel screw-back and Rado's NCC movement protection system

Bracelet: Stainless steel "fish-tail", mfd. by SK, reference unknown

Movement: This watch has not been opened to determine the caliber, but it is presumably an ETA 2824 or similar

Description: Sometime during or just after the production of Rado's NCC series, this watch was produced. Its case is identical in shape and dimensions to the NCC505 model, a steel watch made from 1970-1979 (click here for a comparison photo), but is shrouded in tungsten-carbide as are all Diastar models. Diastar 515s are apparently a rare model and this example is even more so due to the dial being made of Tiger-Eye stone. In the 1970s, Rado made many different models available with dials made of various minerals and composites. Tiger-Eye seems to have been a popular material (click here for a comparison review which includes another Tiger-Eye Diastar). Notable on the stone-dial models is the lack of a rotating anchor logo found on nearly all Rado automatic watches since 1962. The fragile nature of the dial material forced the designers to limit the number of apertures in the dial in order to maintain rigidity. As a result, the printed logo often found on hand-wound Rados is present here, though this watch is self-winding.

The original SK "fish tail" bracelet with signed Rado clasp is present on this watch. Each of the links is also signed underneath with the anchor logo.

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This watch has been sold.

Text and images © C. Bradley Jacobs, WatchCarefully.com