Ash Barty collaborates on a new Rado True Square inspired by her mum

Luke Benedictus

Apparently, Rado can turn you into a tennis champion.  When the British player, Andy Murray partnered with the Swiss brand in 2012, he’d never won a Grand Slam. After signing with Rado, however, he proceeded to win the US Open and then became the first Brit to conquer Wimbledon since 1936, when he won the tournament in 2013 and then again in 2016. Retired Aussie star Ash Barty experienced a similar change of fortunes when she became a Rado ambassador. “We started the relationship [with Rado] in 2016 when I had no ranking and no idea what I was doing,” she admits from an executive box overlooking Rod Laver Arena’s centre court at the Australian Open. She proceeded to go on to win three Grand Slam titles: the French Open (2019), Wimbledon (2021) and the Australian Open (2022).

The relationship has turned out to be productive for Rado, too. In 2019, the  Rado HyperChrome Ashleigh Barty Limited Edition was released, a watch cased in white ceramic with an elegant mother-of-pearl dial. Last year, they released the Rado HyperChrome Ash Barty II, a three-hand, quartz-powered watch that offered another high-tech ceramic case that encloses a mother-of-pearl dial in a shimmering blue. But the latest piece that Ash reveals tonight has an extra special inspiration. “I was creating this watch with my mum in mind,” she explains of the Rado True Square x Ash Barty Limited Edition.

The main way this maternal connection is conjured is through the colour of the watch. The polished monobloc case is made from Rado’s trademark high-tech ceramic that has been coloured in a light rose – her mum’s favourite colour. “She loves it,” Ash says. “She melted when she got it – she was very excited.”

The 38mm watch has a white mother-of-pearl dial with rose-gold coloured applied indexes.A skeletonised cut-out reveal a glimpse of the movement – a reminder of the automatic calibre behind the glossy exterior. Beneath the handset is a rose-gold tennis ball that’s ringed by an inscription that reads “Jeu, set, match”. On the flipside, Ash’s signature is digitally printed on the sapphire crystal caseback.

“We’ve created three beautiful timepieces together,” Ash says of her relationship with Rado, but she concedes this has created one slight problem. “Now I have more beautiful timepieces than I have occasions to wear them,” she says with a smile.