{"id":26347,"date":"2021-03-24T06:47:33","date_gmt":"2021-03-24T06:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.horbiter.com\/rado-hyperchrome-ultra-light-limited-edition-2018\/"},"modified":"2022-03-13T09:40:58","modified_gmt":"2022-03-13T08:40:58","slug":"rado-hyperchrome-ultra-light-limited-edition-2018-recensione-horbiter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horbiter.com\/en\/rado-hyperchrome-ultra-light-limited-edition-2018-recensione-horbiter\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rado HyperChrome Ultra Light Limited Edition watch hands-on"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you remember the first<\/strong> Rado HyperChrome<\/strong> Ultra Light<\/strong><\/span><\/a>? In 2016<\/strong> Rado<\/strong> launched an ultra-light version of the HyperChrome<\/strong> which is still, to this day, the lightest mechanical Rado<\/strong>, because it stops the scale\u2019s needle at 56 grams<\/strong>. It is also the most minimalist HyperChrome<\/strong>: the brand\u2019s designers have reproduced a miniature version of a Zen garden, a terminology that, as I have discovered, is improperly used in the West to describe a \u201ckaresansui<\/em>\u201d garden, in which nature is dry, and the geometry is essential, but regular.<\/p>\n

\"rado-hyperchrome-ultra-light-2018-4\"The purity of the first HyperChrome<\/strong> Ultra Light<\/strong> impressed enthusiasts and critics (even myself), and it earned itself the Australian Good Design Award<\/strong>, as well as debuting a new type of ultra-light ceramic.\u00a0In times when Rado<\/strong> takes pleasure in complicating the HyperChrome<\/strong>, our article on the Skeleton<\/strong><\/span><\/a> dates from only a few days ago, \u2026<\/p>\n

\"rado-hyperchrome-ultra-light-2018-9\"\u2026it is right not to lose sight of its authentic nature, made of a pure, regular aesthetics, worthy of an object of design rather a simple watch, as it has accustomed us on many occasions, whether we are talking about True collections<\/strong>, interpreted by internationally renowned artists<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, or dedicated for example to nature<\/strong>\u2018s elements<\/strong><\/span><\/a>. The HyperChrome Ultra Light<\/strong> is, to all effects, a milestone for the brand, as well as a heritage to be preserved and perpetuated.<\/p>\n

\"rado-hyperchrome-ultra-light-2018-2\"To promote this line of ultra-light products, Rado<\/strong> has launched two new limited editions (500 pieces each) that do not boast the same minimalism, extreme but immortal, of the first Limited Edition<\/strong>, but that are closer to the standards of the brand\u2019s current stylistic tendency. This trend has discretely evolved during the last two years. The version with Arabic numerals is the one that inherits the spirit of the original version, whose appearance \u00a0reminded more of a concept watch, with the NATO<\/strong> strap, of the same brown as the opaque ultra-light ceramic case: made of a single piece, it is completed by two bronze<\/strong>\u2013colored<\/strong> titanium<\/strong> grade 5<\/strong> hardened inserts, exactly like the crown<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"rado-hyperchrome-ultra-light-2018-1\"Coupled in such way, these two parts work very well together, aesthetically speaking. In this variation, the HyperChrome Ultra Light<\/strong> becomes more \u201curban\u201d, to use an adjective dear to marketing experts, and \u201cless enigmatic<\/em>\u201d than the \u201cno logo<\/em>\u201d look of the watches of the first of the series, to use my own words instead.<\/p>\n

\"rado-hyperchrome-ultra-light-2018-3\"The second version is decidedly more classical, and more contradictory at times: the shiny<\/strong> bronze<\/strong>\u2013colored<\/strong> case<\/strong> has the same tone as the Arabic numerals printed on a shiny brown dial and, if we exclude the lightness, the only aspect of a HyperChrome<\/strong> Ultra<\/strong> Light<\/strong> that it preserves, it is indeed a classic three-spheres Rado<\/strong> with date. However, it is fitted with an aged brown leather strap with slightly hinted stitching, and a very traditional pin buckle.<\/p>\n

\"rado-hyperchrome-ultra-light-2018-6\"It is beautiful, it is comfortable, but I have a hard time associating it with the spirit of a Rado<\/strong>. The case\u00a0back allows not only to see the caliber, realized by ETA<\/strong> following Rado<\/strong> specifics, which asked them to blacken the bridges (in aluminum) and redesign the winding rotor, to give the ceramic effect to metal parts, but to appreciate, above all, the construction of the case and the case\u2019s back, which is fixed to the first exclusively by means of four screws.<\/p>\n

\"rado-hyperchrome-ultra-light-2018-8\"Shiny and bronze coloured on the version with a leather strap, and mat brown on the version with the NATO<\/strong> strap, the case is not as small as photos would suggest: the Ultra Light <\/strong>is 43mm<\/strong> wide and 11mm<\/strong> thick but colors, tones and lightness make it look more like a 40mm<\/strong>. The most interesting aspect, however, is that to make a HyperChrome Ultra Light<\/strong>, Rado<\/strong> uses two light metals, Aluminum<\/strong> and Titanium<\/strong> Grade 5<\/strong>, two surface treatments (hardening and blackening), and a central ceramic monoblock<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"rado-hyperchrome-ultra-light-2018-7\"It is a very complex construction, that is easier to find on high-end watches and that, given its placement at less than \u20ac3000<\/strong>, indicates the unique ability that Rado<\/strong> has achieved, of using and combining extremely different materials, making them accessible to many.<\/p>\n