The Schlup brothers laid down the foundation for their ébauche movement factory, Schlup & Co, in 1917 in Lengnau, Switzerland. The movement factory laid down the foundation for the successful company Rado, as we know it today. Initially, the operation focused on the strict manufacture of raw movements. It was only following 40 years of operation when the company launched their first watch collection under the suitable name of Rado in 1957.
A few years following the launch of the Rado collection, the sensational DiaStar was presented to the market as the first scratch-resistant watch in the world. It goes without saying that the watch immediately gained cult status. The model featured robust elements that served to be extremely useful in everyday life. However, the initial motivation behind the creation of a scratch resistant timepiece resulted from more than just everyday functionality.
When Rado first began producing in-house gold watches – a material that was very much in high demand during the 1960s – the timepieces were being exported from Rado headquarter to the Far East. Upon arrival, the watches often had to be refurbished because they were clearly marked with distinct scratches as a result of their long travel. Consequently, the former Rado chief, Paul Lüthi, set out on creating a watch case that offers durable scratch resistance. The conventional watch materials could not measure up to scratchproof standards, however, and so Rado turned to the innovative field of watch material research and testing. Subsequently, the strong and resistant hardmetal material came to light in the form of the 1962 Rado DiaStar. Thanks to the oval shape of the watch, the model demonstrated further resistance to scratches both during shipping journeys and throughout everyday use.
As hard as a diamond and as shiny as a star, the Rado DiaStar is derived from the words “diamond” and “star”. Despite an initially hesitant response from the watch-loving world, the DiaStar became a highly-sought out model among watch experts and connoisseurs within a very impressive period of time.