For more than sixty years, the DiaStar Original has held a place all its own in the watchmaking landscape. With its instantly recognisable silhouette and its avant-garde approach to materials, it has always cultivated its difference. For summer 2026, Rado reinterprets this icon in a particularly bold limited series: three new DiaStar Original Skeleton Limited Edition pieces that blend vibrant colours, skeletonised architecture and technological expertise.
Blue, green or red: each of these editions, limited to 555 pieces, asserts a distinctive personality and turns the wrist into a true canvas of summer expression.
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An icon that has never stopped innovating
When the first DiaStar Original appeared in 1962, it shook up the conventions with its futuristic design and its exceptional durability. More than six decades later, that pioneering spirit remains intact.
This new trilogy preserves the model’s signature architecture while placing even greater emphasis on its mechanical heart through a spectacular skeleton construction. The famous convex oval bezels in Ceramos™ — Rado‘s emblematic material that combines the properties of high-tech ceramic and metal alloys — now frame ring-shaped dials in dazzling colours that immediately draw the eye towards the movement.
The result is at once contemporary, playful and resolutely horological.
Three personalities, three chromatic worlds
The freshness of blue
The first version plays the card of summer lightness with a blue ring-shaped dial paired with a silver minute scale. The rhodium-plated hands and floating indexes seem suspended above the skeleton movement, while the touches of yellow Super-LumiNova® bring a particularly successful contrast.
The whole is completed by a blue rubber strap that reinforces the sporty, luminous character of this interpretation.
The audacity of green and gold
Probably the most spectacular of the trio, the green version is dressed in a Ceramos™ bezel with a yellow gold PVD treatment. This choice creates a striking contrast with the green ring-shaped dial and the red luminescent accents found on the indexes and hands.
This combination of colours, rarely seen in the world of watchmaking, gives the watch a strong personality that will leave no one indifferent.
The energy of red
The third interpretation celebrates summer with a particularly dynamic palette. The red ring-shaped dial is paired with rhodium-plated indexes and hands featuring green luminescence, creating an immediately perceptible contrast.
The red rubber strap extends this powerful visual identity and makes this version the most expressive of the collection.
The movement as spectacle
Beyond their colourful appearance, these new DiaStar Original Skeleton pieces appeal above all through the staging of their mechanics.
At the heart of each model beats the automatic Rado R808 caliber. Developed specifically for the brand, this three-hand movement carries 25 jewels, an antimagnetic Nivachron™ hairspring and a comfortable 80-hour power reserve.
The skeletonised construction makes it possible to admire the gears in action from different angles, creating a permanent interaction between the watch and its owner. The decorated bridges and brushed finishes further heighten this sense of mechanical depth, which is one of the collection’s main attractions.
Rado also announces a five-position regulation, guaranteeing chronometric performance above the usual standards for this category.
Faithful to the DiaStar DNA
Despite this resolutely contemporary approach, the newcomers retain all the codes that made the DiaStar a success.
The 38 mm by 45 mm case keeps its characteristic proportions, while the faceted, square-section sapphire crystal accentuates the model’s unique identity. The transparent case backs make it possible to observe the movement while recalling the exclusivity of each piece thanks to the “Limited Edition – One out of 555” engraving.
The rubber straps, matched to the dials, are fitted with the EasyClip system that allows for a quick, convenient and tool-free change.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Movement | Rado R808 (automatic) |
| Case | 38 × 45 mm |
| Power reserve | 80 h |
| Limited edition | 3 × 555 pieces |
Passion Horlogère’s verdict
With this new limited series, Rado once again demonstrates its ability to venture off the beaten track. Where many brands favour discretion, the Swiss manufacture fully embraces a more expressive, almost playful approach, without ever sacrificing the horological dimension.
These three DiaStar Original Skeleton Limited Edition pieces strike an appealing balance between iconic design, material innovation and mechanical pleasure. The skeletonisation admirably showcases the R808 caliber, while the chromatic pairings breathe new energy into a collection already rich with an exceptional history.
A refreshing proposition for enthusiasts in search of a watch with character, capable of combining heritage, technology and originality in a single movement.
Frequently asked questions
It is a trilogy of skeletonised DiaStar Original watches in blue, green and red, each limited to 555 pieces. They feature a Ceramos™ bezel, ring-shaped coloured dials and the automatic Rado R808 movement.
Each of the three colour editions (blue, green and red) is limited to 555 pieces, individually marked “Limited Edition – One out of 555”.
The automatic Rado R808 caliber, a three-hand movement with 25 jewels, an antimagnetic Nivachron™ hairspring and an 80-hour power reserve.
The case measures 38 × 45 mm in Rado’s Ceramos™, topped by a faceted square-section sapphire crystal, with a transparent case back.
Three: a blue dial on a blue rubber strap, a green dial with a yellow-gold-PVD Ceramos™ bezel, and a red dial on a red rubber strap.
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