- Rado celebrates 40 years of tennis partnerships with a new Captain Cook limited edition.
- Production is restricted to 1,985 pieces, referencing the partnership’s starting year.
- The Calibre R763 offers an 80-hour power reserve & 300 metres of water resistance.
- Three additional straps in green, blue, & orange represent different tennis surfaces.
- The Rado Captain Cook x Tennis Limited Edition is priced at USD $3,000.
Rado may be best known for watches built to spend time underwater, but the Swiss brand has also spent four decades keeping an eye on the tennis court. Its first major partnership began with the 1985 Swiss Open in Gstaad, eventually growing into tournament sponsorships, familiar corner clocks and relationships with players including Ash Barty and Cameron Norrie.
To mark the 40th anniversary, Rado has introduced the Captain Cook x Tennis Limited Edition, a 39mm automatic watch restricted to 1,985 pieces. The number is not random—it points directly back to the year the partnership began.
The watch keeps the familiar Captain Cook shape, pairing a polished stainless-steel case with a turning bezel and brushed plasma ceramic insert. A box-shaped sapphire crystal covers the dial, while the stainless-steel rice-grain bracelet maintains the slightly vintage character that has made the modern Captain Cook collection so popular.
Rado also includes three textile NATO-style straps in green, blue and orange, representing the different surfaces used in tennis. The bracelet and straps use the EasyClip system, allowing owners to change the look without tools or the usual ten-minute search for a spring bar that has launched itself across the room.
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Inside is Rado’s automatic Calibre R763, which has been adjusted in five positions and fitted with an antimagnetic Nivachron hairspring. It delivers an 80-hour power reserve, while 300 metres of water resistance ensures this tennis edition has not forgotten that it is still based on a proper dive watch.
The tennis references are most noticeable on the ruthenium-to-white gradient dial, although Rado has kept them fairly restrained. Four dark-yellow Super-LumiNova dots refer to the sport’s 15, 30, 40 and game scoring system, while the tip of the seconds hand uses the same tennis-ball-inspired colour. White luminous material across the hands and hour markers keeps everything visible in low light, with a rotating anchor below 12 o’clock and a date window at 3 completing the display.
Turn the watch over, and the tribute continues with anniversary engraving and a layered caseback design representing grass, clay and hard courts. It is one of those details most people will never notice while the watch is being worn, but it may also be the smartest tennis reference on the entire piece.
Priced at USD $3,000, the Captain Cook x Tennis Limited Edition costs more than several standard 39mm Captain Cook models, although buyers do receive the three additional straps and a production number tied directly to Rado’s tennis history. It is sporty without looking like tournament merchandise, technically capable enough to remain a genuine Captain Cook and limited enough to attract the collectors who already know why 1985 matters.
- Brand: Rado
- Model: Captain Cook X Tennis Limited Edition
- Reference: R32222108
- Diameter: 39 mm
- Thickness: 12 mm
- Material: Stainless Steel
- Dial Colour: Light Grey
- Calibre: Calibre R763 Automatic
- Power Reserve: 80 Hours
- Water Resistance: 30 Bar (300 metres, 1000 feet )
- Price: USD $3,000 (Limited Edition – 1985 Pieces)
