Modern alchemy

Special treatment for a special substance... High-tech ceramic goes through a number of transformative treatments, to take it from organic powder to complex product with unique visual and tactile properties. Qualities such as colour, shade or brilliance can be further fine-tuned, thanks to Rado's own, unique plasma high-tech ceramic process.

Discover our ceramic watches

The passion for research and development at Rado has brought the world a number of new substances, many of which are now used in the production of their uniquely recognizable and exquisite watches.

Ceramos™ – a ceramic/metal alloy, high-tech ceramic, plasma high-tech ceramic, bronze and hardmetal, a special, extremely scratch-resistant tungsten-carbide ceramic compound, are all facets of the brand's never-ending quest for discovery.

Discover Master of Materials

THE ART OF CERAMIC

A material shaped by time, precision and innovation

40 Years of High-Tech Ceramic

From the beginning, Rado set out to create watches that would retain their beauty over time. This ambition led the brand to explore new materials and pioneer the use of High-Tech Ceramic in series in watchmaking.

In 1986, Rado launched its first watch featuring High-Tech Ceramic. A breakthrough that redefined what a watch could be.

Decades of research and development have since expanded the possibilities of ceramic in form, colour and finish, making it a defining element of Rado design today.

Ceramic vs High-Tech Ceramic

For thousands of years, ceramic has been valued for its purity and durability, used in everything from functional objects to works of art. Traditional ceramic materials are porous, hard and relatively fragile.

High-Tech Ceramic represents a new generation of ceramic materials. Engineered for exceptional density, hardness and stability, it offers the durability and performance required for modern watchmaking.

Key advantages of High-Tech Ceramic

Scratch-resistant

The exceptional hardness of High-Tech Ceramic helps protect the case and bracelet from everyday scratches.

Highly durable

Its dense structure makes the material robust and resistant to wear and corrosion.

Lightweight

Despite its hardness, High-Tech Ceramic is significantly lighter than many traditional watchmaking materials.

Hypoallergenic

The material is skin-friendly and well suited for everyday wear.

Comfortable to wear

Its smooth surface and low weight create a distinctive tactile experience on the wrist.

At Rado, innovation in materials is at the core of its identity. High-Tech Ceramic evolved into Plasma, creating a metallic appearance without the use of metal.

1 - PURE QUALITY
Raw material – pure zirconium oxide powder. Pigments are added to create colours

2 - READY FOR INJECTION
Powder and pigments are mixed with polymer binder

3 - PRECISION UNDER PRESSURE
The melted feedstock is injected under 1,000 bar pressure. The precision mould creates a monobloc.

ZIRCONIUM OXIDE POWDER & GRANULATION

INJECTION MOLDING

DEBINDING

SINTERING

MACHINING WITH DIAMOND TOOLS

SURFACE FINISHING

QUALITY CONTROL

ASSEMBLY

The Hard Facts of High-Tech Ceramic

With a hardness of approximately 1250 HV on the Vickers scale, High-Tech Ceramic is significantly harder than many conventional watchmaking materials such as stainless steel, titanium, or gold. This exceptional hardness provides strong resistance to everyday wear, helping watches retain their surface finish and appearance over time.

Key characteristics
• Up to 5 times harder than stainless steel
• Around 30% lighter than steel
• Approximately 10 times harder than 18k gold

At the turn of the millennium, Rado achieved a major milestone: mastering colour in High-Tech Ceramic. What began as a monochrome material evolved over the years into a refined palette of more than 20 distinctive shades.

Unlike traditional coatings, colour in High-Tech Ceramic is integrated directly into the material. Pigments are blended with the mineral powders before the ceramic is formed, creating colours that are deep, stable and resistant to fading over time.

Through continuous research and advanced manufacturing techniques, Rado continues to expand this palette while preserving the material’s signature smoothness, durability and purity of colour. A striking example of this expertise can be seen in the Rado True Round x les Couleurs® le Corbusier® Special Edition collection.

Discover The Collection

At Rado, innovation in materials is at the core of its identity. High-Tech Ceramic evolved into Plasma, creating a metallic appearance without the use of metal.

1 - EXTREME PLASMA ENVIRONMENT

High-tech ceramic components are placed inside a specialised plasma oven at Comadur in Switzerland. An ionised gas reaches temperatures of up to 20,000°C, surrounding the ceramic and producing a distinctive violet glow.

2 - MOLECULAR SURFACE TRANSFORMATION

Over several hours, this plasma atmosphere modifies the surface structure of the material at a molecular level. The result is a metallic appearance without adding any metal or coating. The material remains entirely ceramic in composition.

Benefits of Plasma

Metallic Glow

Plasma achieves a luminous metallic appearance without the weight or thermal properties of metal.

No Metal

The metallic look is created through a plasma transformation - no metal layers or coatings are applied.

Transformation

The plasma process alters the ceramic at a molecular level, changing its appearance while preserving its ceramic nature.

Lightweight

Despite its metallic look, Plasma remains light, smooth and comfortable to wear.

Long-Lasting

The colour and finish are part of the material itself, they remain stable without fading or coating wear.

Beyond ceramic, Rado continues to explore hybrid materials. Ceramos™ combines the hardness of ceramic with a metallic look and feel, creating a unique composite material.

With around 90% titanium carbide, Ceramos™ is lighter than traditional hardmetal while maintaining excellent scratch resistance and a distinctive metallic look.

Continuous improvements in the injection-moulding process allow Ceramos™ components to be produced with very high precision and minimal machining. By adjusting its composition, Rado can create a range of metallic colours - from warm gold tones produced with titanium nitride to rose-gold and other finishes.

40 Years of High-Tech Ceramic

For over 40 years, Rado has explored and refined high-tech ceramic, shaping it into a material that defines both design and durability. This ongoing pursuit has created watches known for their timeless beauty and lasting performance.

Discover the Story