Rado True Square x Kunihiko Morinaga Special Edition
Night & Day with the Rado True Square x Kunihiko Morinaga Special Edition
Today, Rado and Japanese artist and fashion designer Kunihiko Morinaga announced their latest collaborative timepiece. You can’t deny that the Rado True Square x Kunihiko Morinaga Special Edition makes the transition from day to night unlike any other watch on the market.
By Mike Espindle
Executive Editor
Today, the design-forward watch brand Rado opened our eyes to an artful version of “transition lenses” in its just-released collaboration with Japanese artist Kunihiko Morinaga.
“The intent was to add color and take it away,” said artist Kunihiko Morinaga in a press release about the new watch. “I tried to capture the ethereal nature of time in design by integrating a photochromatic lens that changes color based on ultraviolet light.” And as the founder of the “color-at-play” clothing brand ANREALAGE, Morinaga knows of what he speaks (just ask Beyonce).
That artistic vision is oh so much more subtle in real life. But after seeing the effect on the Rado True Square x Kunihiko Morinaga timepiece first-hand, I have to say that its subtlety possibly makes this special edition even more alluring.
The dial darkens when exposed to full sunlight; then, as the sun goes down, the dial lightens to a gray tone, eventually becoming fully transparent.
So, what is going on that is worth waiting for sundown?
Let’s take a look.
Design After Dark
In addition to the appealing frame for the photochromatic transition in the form of the watch’s cornered-off, 38 x 44.2mm True Square case design in polished black monobloc high-tech ceramic, your perception of the dial details shifts along with time.
The exquisite pearlage along the corners of the dial plate and the view into the Rado calibre R734 movement in the circular dial center, with its own exquisite finishing, moves from soft to tight focus through the day, with some details virtually disappearing in full light.
Moreover, the movement, which boasts an impressive power reserve of 80 hours, will impress observers with the sight of its antimagnetic Nivachron balance spring with eye-catching circular grain decoration when you have a fully transparent view.
Time of Day
However, despite this special edition’s ever-changing dial opacity, no matter when you glance down at this index-less watch, its legibility throughout the day is ensured via the rhodium-colored hour and minute hands with a white veneer and white Super-LumiNova coating.
Finally, this visual package is topped off with a gorgeous polished black ceramic bracelet, titanium three-fold clasp, and a sapphire crystal caseback with the metalized message “KUNIHIKO MORINAGA SPECIAL EDITION.”
Pricing & Availability
Released today, the new timepiece will have a non-limited production and retails for $2,700. For more information, check out Rado’s website.
(Images © Rado)
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