One-on-one with Adrian Bosshard CEO Rado watches

05 July 2021 | Rado Watch Talk

Adrian Bosshard, one of the longest-established top executives within the Swatch Group and whose experience includes Certina and Union Glashütte, is Rado's CEO since July 2020. By leading Rado, Mr Bosshard has extended his responsibilities to a brand whose coverage is global and broader than Certina and Union Glashütte, other than being the Group's most innovative "spin-off" when mastering new materials. No wonder it has provided plenty of ceramic-based technologies to mid, top and premium brands due to years and years of research and development.

I hold a close relationship with the brand from Lengnau; the Rado Ticin you'll spot on the magazine is a vintage Captain Cook that my father purchased towards the end of the Sixties and has recently gifted to me; it still ticks as it did, day one. My first encounter with Mr Bosshard, held at the Swatch Group Italy's HQ, is much more than the ordinary interview; it was a friendly yet professional conversation whose main topics were products and strategy. Ahead of the meeting, we also found out we shared a passion for motorsport; if you happen to read his biography, you'll find out that Adrian Bosshard has an outstanding biography and prides itself on being a pro rider back in the day.

Also, it's the first time I have met a CEO who's so interested in discovering his counterpart's professional background; case in point, Mr Boasshard appreciated our project of growing exclusive Clubs of watch collectors, as we're consistently doing with Horbiter | Cafè®. As a brand, Rado is as mainstream when it comes to "bottom line" and sales figures as it is boutique when it comes to innovative materials instead; the watchmaker keeps playing as a forerunner to small, medium, large and premium brands.

Its material-testing think tank is one of a kind; I, therefore, took the chance to share a long-gone project: to run a comprehensive video review of what makes Rado's expertise on materials stand out. I do believe that the communication process might further explore the brand's capabilities in mastering much more than a standard zirconium-based case or bracelet. Most current and potential Rado customers are eager to find out more and understand what sets the difference between mainstream and exclusive in the benchmark. Once we got our hands on the products, I must admit it was kind of emotional, given the neverending lockdown we have been all forced throughout 2020 and 2021.

Adrian Bosshard first introduced this year's highlight, the bold Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic, a top-of-the-range to the Captain Cook collection as much as an HyperChrome Skeleton is to the HyperChrome collection instead. The new model brings exclusivity and engineering to new heights, and so does the mechanical movement, too; the one-piece mid-case houses a new calibre featuring a magnetic-resistant new Nivachron™ hairspring. The High-Tech Ceramic is a bold watch for equally bold wrists, a timepiece that I love in its grey and blue silhouette, whose letdown is, at first glance, the lack of a quick-release system to swap the bracelet easily. I hope we can get our hands and cameras on this tech-savvy beauty anytime soon.

We explored the base Captain Cook's latest releases, too, namely the bronze models, which didn't deserve enough coverage, in my opinion, so far. I suggest looking at the Captain Cook Automatic Bronze with a "Burgundy Red" dial and bezel; Rado designers paired a purple-red Pantone to the vintage-inspired case. Thumbs up to Rado for releasing such a beautiful bronze watch, at an attractive point, reasonably well below the three thousand euros threshold. Last but not least, I had a tour of the entire True Square offering. Last year, I released a detailed review about the True Square Open Heart, which was here standing alongside the signature True Square Designer collection, including the Formafantasma, the Tej Chauhan and my all-time fav, the True Square Undigital.

Let me please thank Mr Adrian Bosshard for such a pleasing meeting; it was inspiring. Many thanks to the Italian Rado team for organizing such a press day at the Swatch Group Italy HQ. It was great to meet once again and hear from the brand's CEO what is in the works at Rado. I believe the brand has not yet exploited its full potential. Also, I loved touching and feeling the watches as I used to do in the past.