HANDS-ON: The ladies Rado Golden Horse blue dial 35mm

James Robinson

These are strange times in the horological world … on the one hand, it honestly feels like a large portion of gents watches are regressing rather quickly into exceedingly vintage tendencies: aesthetically, dimensionally, mechanically — it just seems like there’s been a complete about-face from the pursuit of the avant-garde.

On the other hand, ladies watches have seemingly dodged the vintage vogue all together, and are instead carving a contemporary path forward that includes bright colours, big cases and better mechanical movements.

This is evidenced rather perfectly with Rado’s Golden Horse Ref.R33103203. It’s a watch that’s unequivocally made for the gentlewoman. However, unlike a ladies timepiece from a decade ago, which would’ve most likely been two-tone, champagne-dialled, quartz-powered and no more than 28mm, this Golden Horse features a complete stainless steel construction, large 35mm case, bright sunburst blue dial and a mechanical self-winding movement.

In fact, the only thing that’s antiquated about this feminine Golden Horse is its name — everything else about it is, for a ladies timepiece, very much from the new-school.

The radially brushed, sunburst blue dial, for example, features modish contrasting hints of red, which can be found on the quintessential Rado logo, seconds hand and date wheel.

Likewise, the 35mm stainless steel case — which measures a not unsubstantial 10.1mm thick — wears quite large even on my 6.5-inch wrist, and the Plasma high-tech ceramic bezel too presents a resoundingly modern savoir-faire. Then there’s the watch’s crown: it’s large, even oversized, and emblazoned with the same prominent shade of red you’ll find on the dial.

The overtly shiny case is capped by a raised sapphire crystal that features an anti-reflective coating, which really lets the dial sing. What’s more, unlike a large proportion of ladies watches currently on the market, the Golden Horse also features a display case back, which shows off the mechanical movement, which is self-winding and offers 38 hours of power reserve.

The intricate “beads of rice” style stainless steel bracelet is smartly tapered, and the accompanying deployant clasp utilises a push-button mechanism that is easy to interact with.

The ladies Rado Golden Horse blue dial 35mm is most likely not the type of watch I’d recommend for your mother. But with Valentine’s Day now just around the corner (horrifying), this watch could be just the ticket.