Meet the Watch Inspired by Brad Pitt’s Space Helmet
Want more watch coverage? Sign up for About Time Esquire's free weekly newsletter devoted to the world of watches, with interviews, news, exclusives and more. Sign up here
The industrial designer Tej Chauhan describes his work as being "about the 'near future'".
His design style, he says, is fantastical. But "not so futuristic that it's intangible".
It's relatable sci-fi, of you will.
Chauhan's brand of “applied futurism” has leant itself to a car tyre designed for Lexus based on an Air Force 1 trainer, and a teardrop-shaped Nokia 7600 phone, among other things.
Now the designer has collaborated on a new watch for Rado.
The model is based on its DiaStar, a shaped timepiece from the 1960s originally made from a material called "hardmetal", noted for its scratch-resistance.
For the design, Chauhan began by looking at “AI futurescapes”.
But then: “I also happened to see a movie which featured a moonbase and some gold space helmets… this became the final inspiration.”
That film in question was the 2019 sci-fi thriller Ad Astra, starring Brad Pitt as a 22nd Century astronaut who ventures into space in search of his lost father (what could possibly go wrong?).
Ad Astra’s costume designer also shared Chauhan’s vision for a realistic portrayal of the near future, kitting out Pitt and his companions in plausibly authentic spacesuits and then jazzing them up with memorable, reflective gold-tinted visors.
Chauhan and Rado originally teamed up in 2021 on a version of the watchmaker's True Square, a line that combined the the brand's signature rounded square design with a case and integrated bracelet made from matching ceramic.
The Rado True Square x Taj Chauhan came with a bold matte yellow dial, an oval-shaped case and some playful rounded typography.
The story continues with the new Rado DiaStar Original x Tej Chauhan.
When the model debuted in 1962, it came with the distinction of being the world’s first scratch-resistant watch.
It was launched with a ballsy advertising campaign that featured someone taking a metal file to the front of the watch, above the legend “SPACE AGE MATERIAL SCRATCH PROOF” and the promise “Unconditionally guaranteed 3 years”.
The Rado DiaStar Original x Tej Chauhan is a 38mm x 45mm automatic model that comes in a polished yellow gold coloured PVD case, with a matt black concave dial featuring a silver and blue printed minute track and a grey, pillow-shaped rubber strap.
The date appears in a very bright red, in Chauhan’s own font, as does the day of the week, with each one appearing in a different colour, representing, the designer says, “the way I feel the week”. (An alternate disc setting displays the date in white.)
As per its experiments with scratch-proof ceramic, Rado badges itself as the “master of materials”, and the new watch is built from Ceramos, a proprietary material that combines 90 per cent ceramic with 10 per cent metal alloy, meaning it is both lightweight and even more resistant to scratches.
“I wanted this design to be its own special character, but also related to True Square,” Chauhan says.
“The two most obvious DNA elements are what we like to refer to – for obvious reasons – the party-time index, and the use of my typeface.”
“We strategically use shape, colour and material to bring joy to people. The very first concept proposed some atypical colours – including a very specific green. To develop it would have meant delaying the project, which is when we began exploring the gold. That green turned out to be a fortuitous obstacle."
Until relatively recently Brad Pitt was an ambassador for the watch brand Breitling.
Who among us wouldn’t like to see him dig out his old space suit and visor and get involved with this?
You Might Also Like
