In 2017, Rado collaborated with the visionary Japanese fashion designer Kunihiko Morinaga to create a limited edition timepiece – the Rado True Shadow – that blended the brand’s renowned mastery of materials with the colour-changing technology for which the avant-garde designer is so well known. Rado and Morinaga have announced the release of their latest shared masterpiece, the Rado True Square x Kunihiko Morinaga Special Edition watch.
It’s no surprise that the new Rado True Square x Kunihiko Special Edition watch is visually breathtaking. It features a squarish polished black monobloc high-tech ceramic case and crown. The black PVD sandblasted titanium case back is fitted with a sapphire crystal with the metalized words: KUNIHIKO MORINAGA SPECIAL EDITION.
The transparent dial is one of the watch’s defining elements. In true Kunihiko Morinaga fashion, it has a photochromic treatment, which means that it changes colour according to the available light. The designer explains, “The intent was to add colour and take it away. I tried to capture the ethereal nature of time in the design by integrating a photochromic lens that changes colour based on ultraviolet light.”
And it works! When it is exposed to sunlight, the True Square’s dial darkens. But as the sun goes down – as it invariably does – the dial shade evolves into grey and finally becomes transparent, revealing the Rado calibre R734 at the heart of the watch. The sight of the automatic mechanical movement is worth waiting for. It is fitted with an antimagnetic NivachronTM balance spring and, like the movement holder, features circular grain decoration.
In stunning contrast to the eye-catching dial, the rhodium-coloured hour and minute hands have a white veneer and are coated with white Super-LumiNova®, which makes them legible regardless of the position of the sun.
The Rado True Square x Kunihiko Morinaga is presented on a polished black high-tech ceramic bracelet secured by a titanium three-fold clasp. The watch, which is water resistant to 5 bar (50m), is delivered with a Special Edition certificate.
The Rado True Square x Kunihiko Morinaga Special Edition is the result of a natural partnership between an innovative brand and a disruptive fashion visionary who are dedicated to blending the boundaries between technology and design.
