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Totally unexpected.
After work today my wife and I are enjoying a cold drink in the sunny and warm back yard, a Steigl Radler for my wife and a Ste. Ambroise IPA for me. My wife steps away for a moment, comes back and says I have something for you and holds out a black box, who's shape I instantly recognize.
"Where'd you get that?" Yeah, I know. I am gracious.
"X gave it to me, to give to you." X being a very successful racing driver that our business has sponsored for years (He's raced in American regional Nascar series with decent results). He runs a pawn shop. In my town pawning stolen jewelry is almost impossible, requiring photo id and registration of the pawned item with the police among other things. I had helped him with some watches a couple of times and he remembered I had a soft spot for this brand. He told my wife to "Save it for a special occasion" but... everyday is special isn't it?
The Ref 152.0347.3 is a heavily faked watch but everything checks out on this one, right down to the hacking ETA 255.111 inside. My first modern quartz and my first watch with diamonds. Not a first choice, but I kind of like it and it is extraordinarily comfortable. This exact variant is still available in Canada.
27mm X 42mm and all black ceramic and 100% free to my household.
P6022209 by Hank Blanc, on Flickr
P6022205 by Hank Blanc, on Flickr
The Ceramica was introduced in 1990 and is still available today. It has grown in stature and is now considered a classic modern Rado design from the same era that spawned the Integral and the Sintra. This is my first Rado from this era.
Last edited by Henry Krinkle; Jun 3, 2016 at 04:06 AM.
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Post Thanks / Like - 17 Likes
iyonk,
wschofield3,
popoki nui,
meijlinder,
mlcor,
DJW GB,
happyscrappyheropup,
HKEd,
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Upstate,
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BlackNomad liked this post
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A modern classic. Congratulations - and your wife is an awesome enabler. (Mrs. Skywatch is pretty tolerant as well, for which I am rather grateful.)
Too many watches, not enough wrists.
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I didn't realise Rado did the digital autoquartz. Still the world's only jewelled digital watch and all the cooler for it...
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Very cool, and what a thoughtful gesture by your friend.
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Looks great. Really great of your wife to surprise you with it.
-- Wayne
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nice gesture from the Mrs Henry- as you say these ceramic Rado's are indeed a heavily faked watch which unfortunately takes the pleasure out of wearing one for me
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Originally Posted by
Iyonk
I LUV it! yes i remember in the early 90's that model is awesomely popular in my city...
any wrist shot yet Henry?
i'm a wirdo and there's some peculiar Rado that has been sparking my interest like these:
enjoy your new watch with happy heart and great health Henry.. and Ohh.. the diamonds are part of the charm..
Thank you Iyonk. That first picture is a Ceramica with an autoquartz inside. Those are quite uncommon. I have an autoquartz that is around 15 years old and has never had battery change.
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Originally Posted by
skywatch
A modern classic. Congratulations - and your wife is an awesome enabler. (Mrs. Skywatch is pretty tolerant as well, for which I am rather grateful.)
My wife is a master enabler.
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Jun 3, 2016, 11:16 AM
#10
Originally Posted by
Matt
I didn't realise Rado did the digital autoquartz. Still the world's only jewelled digital watch and all the cooler for it...
They have made a few models over the years. The first Autoquartz model from Rado was the Accustar dating from the late 90s. Here's mine. It has never been serviced and may have been run over by a motor vehicle. It is the slightly newer Autoquartz with the rechargeable battery rather than the capacitor. The power reserve is only a couple of days now, rather than 106, but that isn't too shabby for a battery that is around 15 years old.
P4060425 by Hank Blanc, on Flickr
P4060417 by Hank Blanc, on Flickr
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