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HANDS-ON: Get marooned with the Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy launched with RedBar HANDS-ON: Get marooned with the Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy launched with RedBar

HANDS-ON: Get marooned with the Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy launched with RedBar

Zach Blass

Since its release, the Rado Captain Cook line has provided watch buyers with a robust option in the dive watch category at a pleasingly approachable price. The watches boast ceramic bezels, 300m water-resistant cases of varying materials, plus movements that last longer than many of their more expensive competitors. Yet despite such attributes, the Captain Cook manages to keep its costs down. The introduction of a new colour configuration into the mix – the Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy – is likely to only enhance the watch’s heady appeal.

Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy

When Rado developed this red/burgundy configuration of the watch, Rado CEO Adrian Bosshard realised there was a perfect group to pre-launch this unique and eye-catching watch with. RedBar is a group of watch collectors and enthusiasts that meets regularly in NYC and the red tones of this watch made this a fitting match given the group’s colourful name. This led to a partnership where the watch pre-launched exclusively to the RedBar group for two weeks, with a branded travel folio, bundled leather strap, plus a special gift – a branded watch winder! Fortunately for buyers outside of RedBar, the watch is also available in the same build and format – but without those bonus extras.

Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy

The case

Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy

The case of the Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy is 42mm in diameter, 12.5mm thick, and 48.3mm across the wrist lug to lug. The coined bezel has a red ceramic insert to match the burgundy red of the dial, which is an incredibly hard colour to manufacture in this material. It offers loud audible clicks with each turn to offer you tactile assurance that it’ll remain fixed in place. As a dive watch, the Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy can withstand depths up to 300 metres (1000 ft), in part thanks to its screw-down crown.

Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy

The majority of the case is satin-brushed, with only a hairline ring beneath the bezel, parts of the bezel’s knurling, and the face of the crown rendered in a high polish. Although uniform in finish, the lugs are highly faceted with sharp rectangular geometries that blend well into the case. The caseback is solid, and is the only component of its body that is not fabricated in bronze – it’s made of stainless steel instead.

Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy

The bronze body is actually flashed with a three micron layer 23k gold plating. According to Rado, “This is designed to avoid patination between the time the watch is produced and the time it reaches the customer’s wrist.” As someone who has received a new bronze watch in the mail with signs of patina before wear, I can appreciate why Rado wants to postpone the aging effect for the consumer experience. Over time the plating will deteriorate, and will then leave the bronze vulnerable to patination over the course of wear.

The dial

Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy

The burgundy red dial fluctuates in colour depending on the lighting. The bubble sapphire crystal warps the light in a fun way, changing the tone of the dial with every new angle. More often than not, the colour is more subdued than the red found on its bezel. But when the light really strikes it, the dial comes alive as if someone were shining a light into the depths of a red ocean. The sunburst gradient is revealed when the dial brightens, and disappears into the darker quadrants of the dial. It is definitely a rich red texture that shifts between subtle and loud.

Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy

The dial utilises large hands and applied hour markers for increased legibility. The broad arrow hour hand is impossible to miss but does not overwhelm the dial, the minutes hand is a more typical pencil style while the central seconds is tipped with a luminous spear-like arrow. Like each of the hands, the hour markers are filled with Super-LumiNova as well. The luminescent coating used across the dial is a creamy sage tone, creating a slight fauxtina appearance to the dial. The outer minutes track is stepped and integrated into the inner bezel, sloping down towards the hour markers for increased legibility. At 3 o’clock is a red-on-white date disc complication and while it would have been nice to have a white-on-red disc to better match the dial, the white disc isn’t too obtrusive.

The strap

Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy

The NATO strap has a strong build, but is soft and comfortable on the wrist. The logo-engraved bronze buckle is large but rests flush to the strap, providing solid closure while not adding bulk to the wear experience. The fixed loop fasteners ensure the strap end does not flare out, and are positioned well to cater to all positions of fastening. The loopholes for the buckle are reinforced with what appears to be stitched in leather. In my opinion, this is an interesting choice as leather is less resistant to water than fabric, but it does provide interesting contrast and texture to the strap’s overall look and feel. The RedBar package also includes a brown leather strap that can allow owners to tone down the redness of the watch, but the Bronze Burgundy is definitely most at home on the synthetic fabric NATO strap.

The movement

Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy

The watch utilizes the ETA C07.611, which is a Powermatic 80 upgrade to the 2824 base. The slower 21,600 vph helps extend the power reserve of the watch to 80 hours, 10 hours more than the latest 3235 caliber from Rolex. Over the course of my week with the watch, I found the deviation each day to be well within chronometer standards – gaining around four seconds per day. This is a great example of where an industrial mass movement is not only a cost saver, but a true value add in performance as well.

The verdict

Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy

In almost every respect, the Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy gets it right. I would not change 98 per cent of the watch, so it’s an A+ watch for me. The remaining 2 per cent? If it were possible to have a matching date disc and NATO strap without the leather reinforced loops, that would make it close to perfect. But there is little not to love here between the 300m water resistance with a screw-down crown, reliable and accurate ETA movement with extensive power reserve, rich red dial and bezel, and a bronze case that will tell its own unique story over the course of your wear. What this watch comes down to, ultimately, is do you like burgundy/red as a colour? If you do, this a great watch to add to your collection. If not, you’re kinda missing out on the fun – but at least the Captain Cook lineup has many colours to choose from as well.

Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy

Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy pricing and availability:

The Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy is available now in-store and online. It was initially available to RedBar members for the first two weeks with a branded leather folio case and watch winder, but has since been made available to the public.

Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy – Price: $2600 USD

Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy RedBar (exclusive to members) – Price: $2750 USD