Hank's rules for vintage Rados

[Henry Krinkle]

I received a message at WUS from a new guy looking for pointers to buy a vintage Rado. This alone is good. I usually get messages from guys who have already bought some pile of crap. Here were my tips

Yes, there are millions of fake Rados. From the 80s onward they have been heavily faked and the internets are flooded with them. Pre-1980s there are almost more frankens than authentic ones.

General rules:

-Until you know better do not buy anything from India or Pakistan.

-Exercise extreme caution when buying from Korea or the Phillipines.

-There are a series of "different" sellers located in Hollywood that sell really shiny watches for very high prices. Do not buy from them if you want anything authentic. There is a similar seller in Korea and another in New York (?) Do not buy from them for the same reason.

-Don't buy a Companion. Ever.

-Until you know better, don't buy a Voyager.

- If it is older than about 2000 and it has a display back- DO NOT BUY IT.

- If you can see the movement and it does not have a Rado logo on the rotor do not buy it.

Pre 1968 Rados were powered almost exclusively by A Schild movements, though there are a few Felsa powered watches from the late 50s/early 60s. After 1968 or so everything is ETA. Keep this in mind.

From 1962 through to around 1975 all acrylic Rado crystals have a tiny anchor cast into the centre of it.

From 1962 through to the mid seventies all automatic Rados will have a rotating anchor disc made from the same synthetic ruby as used in movement jewels. After this until around 2000 the anchor disc will be pink/red anodized aluminum.

Unless the dial says jubile, it does not have diamonds, no matter what the seller says. Do not pay extra for that privilege.

What else Scott?

[is that my watch]

how about Japanese rado ?

[Henry Krinkle]

how about Japanese rado ?

Much the same, but also

The dial will read Rado Watch, rather than Swiss Made or some other variant.
Asian Rados will often, but not always have a serial number that starts with a letter, generally a K or a T.

[is that my watch]

think I will stick to looking at scott's and your fine collections for now

[Henry Krinkle]

It can be a tough brand to collect. There are so many variations of the hundreds of models Rado made it can be pretty daunting for someone who is unfamiliar with them.

[is that my watch]

would not be so bad if like a while back like the Russians you could get a russian cheap so you could take a chance and if not like so you had parts or a frank but with the rado's so highly price it's a lot more risky well it is for me anyway but do like having a look think if I could find the one then I could look into it so I would know what I am doing with that model say

[scottjc]

It's difficult to create a list of do's and don'ts then it comes to buying Rados but you've made a really good start there Henry.
One of the biggies that has caught me out is assuming that, because the watch isn't a Diastar or Balboa and doesn't have a sapphire crystal, I will be able to fix any scratches. Certain models with hardened glass crystals, such as Ticino or StratoJet, seem to come up for sale with badly damaged crystals. It is almost impossible to make these look good again. I know that Henry has had some success but I haven't.
Many models have the model name stamped onto the case back. This is an easy first clue to the originality of the watch. Believe it or not, sellers will 'guarantee' that a watch is completely genuine even when the case back has a different name from the dial.

[scottjc]

Here is a perfect example of two of the points made by Henry and I.
This watch looks beautiful, is highly polished and was for sale at a very high price. The dial is from a Starliner but the case is from a SpaceWing...

[Henry Krinkle]

And despite there best efforts to polish it away, it still says Space Wing. Great example Scott.
And here is what that watch should look like. One can see the anchor in the centre of the crystal and the ruby anchor disc as well as the model name on the back.

[CFR]

Thank you very much for all the tips, Henry.