Rado Sintra

Three years after Rado made watch history with the ceramic Ceramica in 1990, the Lengau-based watch manufacturer reached their next milestone with the Sintra. These were the first Rado watches to use the material Cermet, a very light carbide made of titanium-based ceramic and various metals. This material is not only durable but also made it possible to have shiny silvery hues for the first time.

At first, its design was minimalist, reduced to the bare necessities. It had a square dial and case and was protected by seamless sapphire glass. Another interesting feature is its bracelet, which seems to be directly connected to the case due to its lack of visible lugs. Its design has remained largely unchanged over the years. Only the case has become slightly more barrel-shaped, making the transition into the bracelet a bit more elegant. Additionally, Rado has begun to use an advanced high-tech ceramic to construct more recent models.

While the original Sintra had a quartz movement, Rado went on to offer both the men's and women's versions with automatic movements. The current models, though, are once again offered exclusively with quartz movements. Otherwise, the date display at 6 o'clock, which only comes on the men's watches, has remained the same.

You can find pre-owned models with the original square shape, quartz movement, and metallic silver shine starting at 590 euros. A pre-owned Jubile model with diamonds on the dial will cost about 100 euros more. Prices for never-worn models with the same design sit around 1,200 euros for the standard version and 1,400 euros for the diamond-studded Jubile version. If you prefer the more recent, barrel-shaped Sintra, you can find pre-owned models for as little as 600 euros. The Jubile edition with diamonds on the dial and case can easily run you 1,300 euros. Set aside just over 1,300 euros for a new standard edition and about 150 euros more for the Jubile model.

As previously mentioned, the Sintra collection also included watches with automatic ETA calibers for a time. These automatic watches are no longer in the Sintra catalog, though you can still find a few of these timepieces online. Plan to spend about 700 euros for a pre-owned model and 1,550 euros for a never-worn one.

The Sintra Chronograph has also been left out of the current catalog. Its quartz movement provides it with a date display at 4 o'clock, a small seconds dial at 6 o'clock, and 30 and 10-minute counters at 10 and 4 o'clock, respectively. Pre-owned models in good condition go for prices of just over 1,200 euros, while a never-worn Sintra Chronograph requires an investment of slightly less than 2,000 euros. Tennis fans will love the Sintra Chronograph Tennis. Numerals on the bezel mark the minutes for 0, 15, 30, and 40 – just like a game of tennis is scored – and the numerals on the small seconds dial have been replaced by small stylized tennis balls. This chronograph's black rubber strap is also rather sporty. You can find one of these watches for just under 1,300 euros when pre-owned and a little over 1,300 euros when never-worn.