Captain Cook in Tahiti

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colonel
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Nov 10, 2021 12:17 am
Name: Harold Miller

Captain Cook in Tahiti

Post by colonel » Tue Nov 30, 2021 1:46 pm

The interesting thing is that if I designed a sporty/water proof watch from scratch, apart from a few complaints, it would actually be the spec of the Captain Cook.
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Consider: Ceramic bezel, tick, 12.x mm thick tick super comfortable metal bracelet tick, date tick, fits comfortably on my small 6.7" wrist tick, accurate in-house movement tick, distinct/recognisable design tick, clear time tick, a wrist comfortable lug to lug tick, etc.
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It is almost like Rado have brought back to life their 60s diving series with one eye on DNA and one eye on actual wear. A difficulty balancing act. Here is a 1960 version, remarkably close for a heritage copy:
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On top of all that, the piece is simply beautiful. After all, one has to look at it all day. My days of buying dull unoffensive forum favourites from the short list of adored brands are long behind me.
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The dial is stunning. A dark sunburst pie pan, covered by a domed crystal, spining the light in shades of white, blue and black. I don't know how it is made, but it has the look of enamel.

Large lume only pips, a stubby hour hand with an epic hour hand triangle, long thin lume filled minute hand and even thinner elegant second hand with end lume. So clear and easy to see the time, despite the interplay with the dial. The lume is very good, not excellent like my Tudor BB 36, but the size of the pips and contrast with the dial make the time stand out.
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Just getting started on the dial .... The writing is perfect. A bold RADO at the top, and an elegant script saying Captain Cook at the bottom. That's it. No automatic, no metres depth, no winding superlative. No super heritage.

The little purple and silver rotating arrow peeks out over the RADO trademark. This is a unique Rado traditional service indicator, when it stops moving, it's time for a service. The date is red on a white wheel. As well as being clear and funky, it goes with the rotating arrow, and is clear without needing a cyclops. Of course, no need to mention the benefit of the date on the right for right handers .. even if your watch is half covered by a shirt or sweater you still see the date. Bonus - Rado managed to fit a lume pip on the right of the date window!

I love to see a rehaut actually being used, and Rado have obliged by making it a dark silver container of the minute markers. This cleverly provides minute markers without cluttering the dial. The curved sapphire crystal presents the optical illusion of it being shallow, rather then steep.

The ceramic bezel is unusually thin, concave and almost matt, giving the illusion of a heritage anodised Alu bezel. Rado showing its mastery of materials. The dark blue with silver markings matches the rehaut and dial, and is encased by a polished steel ring with subtle but firm ridges, completing the bezel.
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Talking polished, the watch is pretty much all over, giving a more dressy look. The bezel is 42mm across, giving the watch size specification, but it overhangs the case either side, so the true case size is more like 40.5mm, thus the lug to lug can come in at just over 48mm. Together with an impossibly thin 12.1mm case for a 200mm depth rating, it is super comfortable to wear on small and large wrists.

The crown is not too large, not too small, and in heritage style has no crown guard, and thus easy to turn without being too dominant. It has the Rado ship anchor on the end.
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The back is a solid screwed in medallion with the original dancing sea horses logo of the Captain Cook. It covers the in-house C07 movement. A new generation of the 2824 series, almost completely anti-magnetic, high tech spring alloy, 80 hours power reserve and most importantly, laser aligned to be practically chronometer compatible out of the gate. Running at a respectible 21600 beats per minute, in common with many haute horological movements, such as the A Lange and Sohne L086.6. For me, the calibre is the significant edge this watch has, in common with many other ETA group watches, over most competitors at this price point, and, in some cases, up to three times the price.
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The thin lugs, encase the beads of rice bracelet, another major positive of the package. The outer links are brushed and the beads are polished, a nice contrast. Properly executed beads of rice and jubilee bracelets are much more comfortable then link bracelets, as they match the curve of the wrist better. This is the case here with one of the most comfortable bracelets I have ever worn. It tapers down to a well made and diminutive cute clasp, with the attention to detail we now expect with this piece, thin deck like lines on the outside, running through the RADO with anchor logo.
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Downsides to the bracelet ? Well it's 21mm which limits choices, although after wearing it I have no desire to change it. The buckle has a quick release system, allowing easy swapping with the many generic and Rado made straps. However, there is no quick slide or micro adjust on the buckle. Luckily the links are quite narrow, and I found a comfortable size for my wrist. Lastly this is a true beads of rice bracelet, with five bead segments and two outer links. Together with a pin and collar system it's a pain to resize. Although I think I have finally worked out a technique !!
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Many times I hear folk say a particular watch can be used in many different settings, but with the Rado Captain Cook it actually happens to be true. It is as great with a suit, slipping under a shirt, as it is with jeans or a swimming costume. Yes it's on the dressier side, but lets face it, no mechanical watch has been used by real divers for over 30 years, although I did hear recently of a North Sea oil rig diver having a dive computer strapped to one wrist, and a Rolex Deep-sea on the other. Apparently he liked that fact that they were completely different technologies and therefore would fail for different reasons!!!
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On top of everything, every time I need the time or date it brings a smile to my face .....
Last edited by colonel on Thu Dec 02, 2021 7:16 am, edited 4 times in total.

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rockmastermike
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Re: Captain Cook in Tahiti

Post by rockmastermike » Tue Nov 30, 2021 1:54 pm

Thank you for the in-depth write up on a what is obviously a fantastic watch.

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hoppyjr
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Re: Captain Cook in Tahiti

Post by hoppyjr » Tue Nov 30, 2021 1:59 pm

Hey, all good but maybe poke around the forum and introduce yourself in the main forum. It’s a relatively tight group here.

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colonel
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Nov 10, 2021 12:17 am
Name: Harold Miller

Re: Captain Cook in Tahiti

Post by colonel » Tue Nov 30, 2021 2:19 pm

hoppyjr wrote:
Tue Nov 30, 2021 1:59 pm
Hey, all good but maybe poke around the forum and introduce yourself in the main forum. It’s a relatively tight group here.
Will do
Thanks

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aikiman44
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Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2009 7:50 am
Name: J

Re: Captain Cook in Tahiti

Post by aikiman44 » Tue Nov 30, 2021 7:42 pm

Great looking Rado and nice write up.
"We'd better synchronize our watches."

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