When Rado introduced the original Captain Cook in 1962, the Lengnau-based watchmaker couldn’t have predicted just how instrumental to its future this classic dive watch would become.

Initially made over a period of six years in an 8,000-piece run – tiny, by contemporary standards – the Captain Cook lineage has expanded steadily over the last half a century. Among other features, the first watch’s pivoting anchor motif remains prominently in the collection: a symbol of the pioneering spirit with which every Rado timepiece is made today.

Despite fairly conventional origins, the latest generation of Captain Cook is anything but. Among modern enthusiasts, the collection is synonymous with material innovation – thanks to its wide and reoccurring usage of high-tech ceramic.

Courtesy of Boss Hunting

The company’s nickname – ‘Master of Materials’ – is richly deserved. In 1986, while other brands were still fussing about with naturally occurring soft metals, Rado had launched its first fully ceramic wristwatch – aptly named the ‘Ceramica’. All of the external components – the bracelet, winding crown, and case – were made of a high-tech scratch-resistant material. An impressive feat and one which many of Rado’s competitors have trouble replicating even today.

The newest chapter in the Captain Cook’s ceramic voyage expands upon the sleek, monochrome design of 2023. Now: with a soulful gold PVD-coated crown and bezel. Where that watch excelled, according to my colleague Nick Kenyon, at “sartorial stealth”; Rado’s latest black-and-gold effort wears more rugged – and intentionally so.

Courtesy of Boss Hunting

What hasn’t changed is the feel-it-to-believe-it quality of the brand’s ceramic. Lightweight and famously colourfast, this tungsten carbide material is the ultimate foundation for a summertime sports watch. Cool but not cold, and with a vaguely silky handfeel, it’s precisely what you need when the sun and surf beckon.

True to the adventurous spirit of the Captain Cook Skeleton collection, this release makes a big impression on the wrist. A robust 43mm x 14.6mm case ensures uniform legibility at every angle, and allows wearers to better appreciate the contrast between the case’s matte surfaces and finely sandblasted finish of the bezel.

A transparent sapphire dial hides this Captain Cook’s final treasure in plain sight – its skeleton-style movement. Sandwiched between two layers of sapphire glass, the full breadth of the watch’s automatic movement can be enjoyed from top-to-bottom: whether you’re hitting the water in ideal conditions, or turning it over in a moment of quiet reflection. In either case: good looks don’t come at the expense of smart tech.

For Rado fans, this will come as familiar (but welcome) news. The new Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton gives wearers 80 hours of reserve power to play with, and despite its monobloc construction, will work unfazed to an underwater depth of 300m.

In our view: compared to the vast glut of steel luxury divers on the market, that makes it twice the watch – at half the price.