Since the reintroduction of the Captain Cook series in 2017, the vintage-inspired diver line has been a cornerstone of Rado’s lineup. Over the past five years, the brand has taken the series in a wide range of stylistic directions, from compact and faithful reinterpretations of the ‘60s original to aggressive and hyper-capable full ceramic redesigns. Despite this variety in sizing and styling, the brand has been reticent to add complications to the basic Captain Cook design, preferring to keep the series focused on traditional three-hand diver models. For its latest release however, Rado brings the first chronograph to the Captain Cook series, marrying the style and functionality of the complication to its modern Captain Cook design without sacrificing water resistance. The new Rado Captain Cook Chronograph series is a bold step forward for the line, striking an attractive chord between vintage and modern influences with solid performance and eye-catching finishing.

At 43mm-wide and a beefy 14.8mm-thick, the cases of the Rado Captain Cook Chronograph series fall at the larger end of the Captain Cook spectrum, and maintain the simple sporty lines of the three-hand version. Available in either fully polished stainless steel or fully brushed CuAl bronze, the case’s long square-tipped lugs and unguarded pillbox crown keep the flavor of the original Captain Cook intact in images. The line’s signature inward-sloping dive bezel also makes a return here, with ceramic inserts in black or navy blue for stainless steel models, and a brighter navy blue for the bronze variant. Rado opts for bold, prominent pushers to set these models apart visually from their three-hand counterparts, with broad diameters and a robust screwdown design. Rado completes each case in the series with a sapphire display caseback, and rates the watches for an ocean-ready 300 meters of water resistance.

Like the cases, the dials of the Rado Captain Cook Chronograph series cleave close to their three-hand stablemates with smoothly integrated new elements. Rado uses a two-register design for these models, with handsomely recessed azurage subdials that add a sense of visual depth and complexity to the design in images. The dial layouts themselves are pure classic Captain Cook, with the series’ distinctive arrow and sword handset flanked by polished applied rectangular indices. These clean vintage-inspired dial designs are greatly elevated by the dial finishing in initial images. Rado offers the Captain Cook Chronograph with a trio of dial finishes, each of which brings its own personality to the design. The warmest and sportiest of the three is the black fumé dial colorway. With a dramatic, abrupt gradient from silver at the dial center to smoky brown and finally deep gloss black in images, this variant gives the layout a vintage cast while remaining free of divisive faux patina. Rado’s blue fumé dial option offers a slightly richer color palette than its black dial counterpart in images. Here. a similar rapid transition runs from silver at the center, through cobalt blue, to a dial edge in deep midnight. This blue gradient works particularly well with the red accents on the 12 o’clock anchor emblem, central chronograph seconds hand, and 6 o’clock date window in images, offering a handsome color contrast without feeling oversaturated. Lastly, bronze-cased models are fitted with a sunburst dial in navy blue, forming a darker backdrop for the bright highlights of the gold-toned dial hardware.

Inside the Rado Captain Cook Chronograph series beats the R801 automatic chronograph movement. The R801 is a new powerplant developed in conjunction with Rado’s parent company Swatch Group, but the brand offers few details about the movement’s lineage. With that said, the R801 does offer modern performance, with a magnetic-resistant Nivachron hairspring and a robust 59-hour power reserve at an unspecified beat rate. Rado offers the Captain Cook Chronograph with an impressively robust suite of strap options. Stainless steel models are presented with a three-link oyster style bracelet in stainless steel, with polished outer links and sharply brushed center links, along with a sporty fabric NATO strap in black or navy blue. Each stainless steel model is also equipped with a leather strap – navy blue leather for the blue dial model, and mahogany brown alligator-pattern leather for the black dial version. For the bronze Captain Cook Chronograph, Rado instead offers two styles of navy blue fabric NATO straps alongside a navy blue leather strap.

With cleanly integrated complications, classic Captain Cook styling, and striking dial finishing, the new Rado Captain Cook Chronograph series brings the brand’s popular diver line to attractive new shores. The Rado Captain Cook Chronograph series is available now through authorized dealers. MSRP for the Rado Captain Cook Chronograph line stands at $3,710 for stainless steel models and $4,100 for bronze variants as of press time. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.