Rado DiaStar Original R12408613

Big thanks to Joe for sharing.
www.rado.com/en_us/collection...
www.jomashop.com/rado-watch-r...

[@DanTJones]

My Thai Grampa had one since the 60’s. He’s 90 and still wears it daily.

[@desiperson9252]

Same here my dad bought his in the 80’s still works great and no matter how many times it’s been banged on things not a single scratch

[@superrookie1554]

Great testiment to durability. Does it still look good?

[@desiperson9252]

@@superrookie1554 the gold on the bracelet is starting to wear off but I mean it lasted almost 40 years but the case however looks brand new and it’s never been polished not a single scratch on it

[@tc6578]

I believe tungsten carbide is formed under high temperature and extremely high pressure (1000 atm.) inside a vacuum oven. It is an extremely hard material but somewhat brittle. Machining can only be done using diamond-coated cutters and bits. As such, it is a very expensive and time consuming process to produce a Rado watch case. BTW, Rado was the first company to use tungsten carbide to form their watch cases. Furthermore, Rado was also the inventor of the sapphire crystals to replace mineral crystals on watches. The Diastar was the first watch to utilize both a tungsten case and sapphire crystal way back in 1962.

[@badarikrishna3169]

How about daily usage? Does a fall on the ground or hitting on wall while slipping from stairs? What are the chances of it breaking into pieces?

[@tc6578]

@@badarikrishna3169 I have wearing my Diastar on a fairly regular basis for a few years now with no signs of any scratches (not even micro scratches). I am completely happy with my purchase and I recommend this watch to anyone with confidence.

[@elpasadordeoro]

@@badarikrishna3169 yeah it could happen but it's hard with a simple fall because! Personally i seen some ORIGINAL diastar with the bezel completely cracked in 2 parts, so it s possible, anyway rado always sells the replacement bezel (only the bezel is hardmetal, the case is stainless steel)

[@omarhelmy113]

You are write the case is made from Tungestine carbide & Titanium Carbide dust melted in an oven under high pressure so as the size decreases about 20%, the sapphire crystal takes 50 steps till it is finished, the bevels on its surface is on the Auoto version as the battery on it is flat. As for the case yes it is scratch proof except for diomond! That is how the case is finally polished to its final shine using diomond dust under air pressure ( diomond blasting) but alase it is brittle and will brake if dropped upon a hard surfes and is very expensive to replace the case then maybe 40% of the watche's price! I have on sinse 1997 still working well and new only the bracket outer side got scrached did maher services 3 times I still admire the Engenering put in it!!

[@fungus70]

However the strap/bracelet/clasp is not made from tungsten is very prone to scratches and scuffs 😢

[@thumbs4fingers]

My wedding ring is tungsten. I’ve had it for 13 years and it still looks brand new. No scratches, zero. Just a little dulling of the shine.

[@courtpaul9334]

When I was a kid may late father owned a Rado & I didn't like it at all Now as an adult boy was i wrong 🥴 So much so now that I'm an adult i'm one of Rado ⌚ Biggest supporters ❤

[@IllusiveMan51]

Same! My mom had 4 of these. Different dials and colors. She got me one in 2006 wear it today (part of rotation) love it

[@rajaz1560]

This model is one of Rado's best selling watches in Asia and Middle East. It is scratchproof case.

[@christianaviles2199]

My dad had one with a blue dial while I was growing up. It got lost possibly stolen while he was on vacation when I was on a teenager. I just ordered a quartz version (he doesn't want to deal with autos at his age) for his upcoming birthday. I'm slightly tempted to pick up an auto version for myself or the newer version. Also I believe the original were all Tungsten and advertised as scratch resistant. Hence Rado nickname of Master of Materials.

[@chiane1968]

I have been collecting Rado’s in this case shape. You can find it in a 39.5mm case with applied markers instead of the diamonds and some discontinued with number markers. No watch has light play like these, and being an architect, the form is really interesting. Regular watch shapes bore me know. The shape also allows it to slip under cuffs. These things are both behind and ahead of their time!

[@desiperson9252]

Their durability is insane as well, my father had his in the gold colour with diamond dial and it’s nearly 40 years old and looks brand new. On my 18th birthday it was passed down to me and I have put a tiny scratch on the sapphire glass but the case is pristine they really mean the scratch proof watch marketing

[@kingdarius5252]

Question for you sir. Is the diameter really just 39.5mm? It looks much much bigger in pictures! I ask this because I love the watch but I have small wrists...

[@desiperson9252]

@@kingdarius5252 if you have a small wrist you can get this watch in a 35mm case and I personally find that size to be my favourite

[@kingdarius5252]

@@desiperson9252 Rado makes a beautiful watch!

[@chiane1968]

@@kingdarius5252 yes, 39.5

[@Phil-S8]

I love Rado. The smoothness of the bracelets with ceramic matrix is great. I believe this watch uses tungsten carbide, which is incredibly hard compared to steel.

[@1018Frankie]

I got one of those, it was my late father watch and if I remember well the first time I saw him wearing it was in 1972. It’s an amazing watch, tungsten carbide case and sapphire crystal, not a scratch on it in all this time, I love it plus is a heirloom!

[@desiperson9252]

My watch was also handed down to me by my father and it’s the same deal not a single scratch

[@martinharrison4245]

I have an original diver from rado . It's 39mm and built like a tank , but very refined. It also has the tungsten carbide bezels. Titanium swing arm . Incredible watch and not a blemish on that face. I also have a 42mm green captain cook and that too is a beautiful watch. Rado are one of the best Swiss watch brands , and one of the most innovative watchmakers in history. The captain cook has to be one of the best divers you can get for under 2k.

[@I-Libertine]

The Rado Original is truly sublime.

[@roniepalomeno2808]

I have rado diat gold plated,from my father its a souvenir when he was an ofw in saudi , Arabia....1981...very simple but elegant and compartable to wear...

[@KRJoye]

Thanks Joe for sharing such an great example of a classic Rado design. Getting into Vintage Rado myself luv the TV case Manhattan & NCC designs. Their automatic movements are real workhorses. Great review Rob!

[@jodysilvia2]

That crystal is fantastic looking.

[@lolotube100]

I had a coworker that had a gold plated one. A lot more intriguing in person, looks expensive, and really unique

[@WATCHDAVID]

I love this Rado so much. Thanks for sharing!

[@johngildart1108]

Good job, you pretty much covered everything. That watch is somewhere around year 2007 to 2010 is my guess. Although Rado does not make its own movements in house they were revolutionary as the first scratch proof watch ever advertised. You can take a nail head to the face of the case and it will leave no mark. Thanks for the video.

[@dadwholovessneakers1982]

I have a diastar for 5 years now (the gold one). It's in my rotation as often compare to my other watches. I can see tiny scrathes on the backcase and on the bracelet. But the front still looks shiny as new. also I got a lot of compliments on this watch.

[@fungus70]

Love the scratch proof tungsten carbide case ! The spring loaded micro adjustment at the clasp is ingenious - simple and yet effective. But one either likes or hates the design of this watch.

[@mistermastermind528]

I have this. My dad gifted it to me and when I checked the price at a local mall, I made sure I wore the watch as many times as possible until the pandemic happened. I banged this watch in our gate (accidentally) several times and I was scared because it showed some black marks...only to find out that it was the paint from the gate. It literally scratched the gate's black paint.

[@THiZZAAFuRR]

I have this one. My dad has the gold version with the black face. Beautiful wrist watch.

[@dochollidayda]

Those from Indian sub continent and mid east can recognize this watch immediately. Everybody and their uncle had it 30 years ago. Wildly popular and probably still is...

[@fungus70]

Lots of fakes from there too. Rado is like Rolex in those markets.

[@oblivion_007]

Back in the days, in kerala, south India, for us luxury watch means Rado! Because of huge number of kerala people in gulf. It was a status symbol for gulf returnees.Its still popular. But filthy rich people now prefer luxury watches like rolex.

[@red75v67]

I often look at the vintage ones on ebay. Never quite got my head around the case shape but good value. Thanks for the video.

[@calicobasin]

Great review. Those facets are very different.

[@ChitownRon]

Beauty in the eye of the beholder.

[@cy4624]

I have this one with brownish dial. Its a great design and I love the super comfortable bracelet. I also have the larger sports model with solid bracelet/titanium buckled but its too heavy due to the tungsten case and hardly ever wear it.. great value for the $ and original design.

[@gangadharanmk7710]

Prise

[@berislavpavisic3121]

That 's super fair priced watch, considering all the specs. Vertical day/date looks awesome!

[@adamant262]

I like that a lot, Would like to have 1.

[@morgan97475]

What a very cool looking watch. Feels very 1972.

[@larryc]

Thanks for sharing Joe 👍

[@hotlesbianassassin]

Looks terrific. Great review.

[@elpasadordeoro]

now the price for this diastar is very high! I paid 500 (from 750 of retail price) the last year, now the retail price is for 1200 euro :O

[@alfredovelazquez6450]

Excelente reloj

[@eddiehernandez651]

1962 rado diastar Iconic!

[@alexanderpavlenko6332]

I've got a tungsten case Orient ChronoAce reissue. I believe the case was still produced by Rado. The thing is unscratchable, been wearing it dealy. Still, the watch is heavy as hell, despite the case being rather small.

[@Brajin1]

Crazy light play on that watch.

[@opensage01]

I bought my Rado DiaStar Original from the Authorized Dealer in January of 2020 and there was a little bit of a back order for the one I wanted. That cost me about $1,100 USD after tax and I think that was maybe with a little discount. I think they might have come down in price some since then. I am not sure. But even though they all look about the same, there can be many subtle differences between them that effect the cost. The one that I got does not have jewels for the indexes. It has angled cut batons and I really like that style the most. I have seen other style of batons as well. They also have different hands for them, even though you would have to either know what you are looking for to see the difference many times and also close enough. My watch band is exactly the same as the one you had in this video, but I have seen at least one other style, but I don't think it gets used much. And lastly (I think haha) there can be differences in the dials of course. Even where the day/date stack are located on the dial, which can be 6 O'clock or 3 O'clock. The case, crown and crystal are all the same I believe other than like you said the choice between the gold tone and the silver tone. Oh and they do have two tone options for the bands as well. So there can be many different configurations and they all effect the price in different ways, so it can be very common to see many different price ranges for this watch. I also do not think this was a reissue, because I believe they have been making them throughout all of these years since the original first came out. I loved the video and thank you for sharing it. The quality of the video was really great. Thanks again and cheers.

[@opensage01]

@@eloquent-nuance Yes, that is the one that I have, the R12408623. I really like the angle cut batons a lot. It was in their catalog, and obviously I was able to buy it, so they had not discontinued this style. Although I do not see it listed on their website. Thanks again for sharing and have a great day.

[@alexyiu8028]

A watch with very special design language~!

[@piotrszmidel]

Diastar is a legendary watch in Asia from what Ive heard,many fakes in India etc.Pity older version on Eta doesnt have a screw down crown,I would buy it then

[@Trex100]

Wow, that’s neat.

[@caomhan84]

HMT from India had a copycat of this watch called the Rajat. It was produced continuously from the early 70's up until the company closed in 2016, but around 2013 they came out with a sized-up version called the Rajat Supreme and it was 42mm. I owned both...and to be honest, I preferred the original. This case style in a 42mm size was just too huge on the wrist.

[@daleclark3138]

Ordered one of these yesterday for $534 from Amazon. The tungsten case is about the same hardness as the sapphire crystal. With only 500,000 Rado watches produced each year with only a portion Diastar models these are not very common . MSRP is now $850 for this model. Two tone are higher

[@MidEnginedFan]

I had seen these in the various gold styles and just wasn't into the color. Then you showcased this one and I was hooked! I got a new one at a great price and it is beautiful, I love it. Tag me as influenced, LOL!!

[@safwanahmed9761]

Same here, I would love to know your opinion after 8 months. How is it going? Scratches? Any issues? Compliments? Thank you

[@MidEnginedFan]

@@safwanahmed9761 While I really dig the spring-loaded clasp, sizing the bracelet is the biggest PITA I've ever had to do for a watch! Getting the pins out is not easy at all. As for the watch itself, I don't wear it a lot because it's dressy and I don't do much "dressy" stuff...my preference is dive watches. But during the time when I do wear it, I love it. It's different, catches the light well with the beveled crystal face, and no scratches anywhere on it. The one downside of wearing it is that it is a total fingerprint magnet with that broad top case so I'll find myself checking the time and then buffing out the fingerprints I just put on it, LOL. My wife thinks the spinning Rado logo is cool (so do I), which is pretty good praise since most of my watches aren't her style.

[@safwanahmed9761]

@@MidEnginedFan Thank you so much, appreciate your detailed review :)

[@scatterbrain9490]

Interesting look, would make a cool eye patch lol

[@paulyoung4392]

Great video. What year is this watch? I have a 2011 issue. Thanks.

[@satzracing1]

Asians loves rado diastar 👌💫

[@anthonyonline4740]

"Lets checkout this very interesting (little guy right here)" Hi Nick!

[@stevenuk]

really like it..

[@Sean-et4vq]

I have the gold version with gold dial I picked up from Rado’s website for £560 about a year ago, I think it was priced wrongly somehow but wasn’t on sale as last time I checked it’s priced at over £1000. Incidentally they do make a larger version know as the ‘New Original’ sized around 39mm I believe with larger lug width and small crown guards.

[@cy4624]

I have both versions..love the smaller version. Larger one is unbalanced and way too heavy. 39mm is deceiving as the crown guard make it look much larger .also prefer the folded bracelet on the smaller version over the solid bracelet on the larger version as its much more comfortable..but I also prefer my vintage hollow jubilee vs my modern rolexes due to comfort..

[@Awkwardfruitfly]

its like one of the vintage seiko 5s

[@1SaG]

re the differences between the two models: Gnomon has the more expensive version listed. They say it has a screw-down crown and 100m of WR. Also: The bracelet looks different to me, seems to have solid links and is listed as made from steel and titanium. Perhaps the clasp is also a bit nicer on that one? Can't be sure about the clasp because there are no pictures of it.

[@rajaz1560]

Yes this is the cheaper version, the 100m one had a better bracelet and is 38mm I believe

[@piotrszmidel]

Bigger version is newer with Powermatic,smaller older version runs on Eta2836

[@Nefville]

Companies should put a thing like that Rado logo on dive watches so you know which way is up. I know it sounds like that should be easy to figure out but it isn't always. Love the idea of a tungsten carbide watch but I would love to see it on something a little more traditional.

[@1R26]

Breitling Transocean Worldtime has a tungsten carbide bezel.

[@happiness8138]

The bracelet is key... It looks very simple but that bracelet is really hypoallergenic. I have sensitive skin around my wrist. Even resin and natos irritate my wrist if i wear it all day. Only my Rado Diastar is wearable all day. Believe me my wrist tells me if the rado strap is fake.

[@upower1367]

Wow

[@22highlander]

This is my first watch in d 90’s a gold one which i gifted to my father, man i feel like a million bucks when i wear it, but afraid to get rubbed….. hehehe

[@kazifaiz]

My father told me a story of how in the 70s possibly a relative got this. He had a bet with a friend that this watch will not scratch. They ran a saw over this, the challenger had to buy the guy the same watch again because the watch did not get scratched.

[@CocktailVdo]

How to wind rado automatic.please make a video

[@markfeldman612]

The micro-adjust is very cool -- anyone else make a clasp like that? Seems like it would be industry standard.

[@opensage01]

I have not seen that micro adjust on any other kind of watch. I have not even seen that micro adjust on any other type of Rado. I have a Rado Captain Cook with a beads of rice bracelet and the clasp is similar to the DiaStar Original, but not exactly the same and it does not even have a micro adjust. I am not even sure that it was intended to be a micro adjust. The clasp on the DiaStar Original is very short, so when you open the clasp it does not give a lot of room to squeeze your hand into and that is what I think the expansion is for. Not so much a micro adjustment, but rather to give more room for your hand to slide in and out when putting it on and taking the watch off. It just so happens to double as an automatic expansion micro adjust as well haha.

[@kevinang5836]

love the watch but not the bracelet...

[@xanderford3036]

How much the cost of one color black aotomatic diastar? Thank u.

[@NurHayati-tt7hx]

Yg kembinasi kuning putih

[@thewatchmission7693]

love it except for the diamond indicators. otherwise very cool

[@allenu342]

The case design looks weird, but I kinda like it.

[@surajpawar7724]

PLEASE review the GOLD one too🤩🤩🇮🇳

[@kevinr206]

Cool material, need that in a better design

[@rajaz1560]

Classic

[@user-se6jy9um9t]

I bought a second hand 1 for £250. I think it's original and may have radioactive luminous hans which is deteriorating. Need original strap. It's my wife's.

[@dustdry]

Great watch and great price from jomashop

[@kavinsky4062]

i have this model watch.

[@williammoskovitz7772]

Looks like a vostok !

[@user-rm6hc1fp4o]

The price please how much in dollars?

[@yousiftube11022]

Yes there more expensive models than this because of the bracelet and I think also it bigger size 39 x46mm

[@user-vz3vl1ki5u]

How much price

[@earny9172]

I've got the diastar diver . Absolutely hate it ! Then I put it on and think to myself hey that looks cool . It's the ultimate retro 70s looking watch . Then I take it off and then hate it again. Don't know why but I can not warm to this watch .

[@subhanaja2642]

Berapa harga rado yg ini🙏

[@ArhamKhan-qp1dv]

Is watch ke price btya ga , qari muhammad azeem

[@orit1551]

Hi on rado website it says 38 mm. ?

[@davitchhut8674]

I love Rado vrry much but l'm not meney

[@Elizabeth-jk4yj]

Price?

[@3rdpig]

Too small and too funky for me. Tiny watches may have once been the norm, but so were 6.5" in wrists. With a nearly 8" wrist that would look comical on me.

[@han7902]

3bars, lol, i think the fake india version has better wr rating than the original.

[@michaelibrahim2026]

Boom! First!

[@Mark-sd7fc]

Lol is interesting another way to say not pretty 🤩

[@guidine7]

The hands are too small 💁

[@tmt7912]

Jam nya jelek banget...rado....rada dongok

[@NaveenKumar-oj7xh]

I am a Rado fan myself, but these styles are the ugliest watches ever made.

[@happiness8138]

Ugly is in the eye of the beholder. Compared to the endless number of fugly gshocks and its offshoots this diastar is a prince.