Rado Celebrates Third Annual Rado Star Prize U.S. with NYCxDesign and WantedDesign

In keeping with their place at the forefront of materials-based innovation, Rado participated for the third time as the Official Watch Sponsor of NYCxDESIGN, an event held annually in New York City showcasing different design disciplines through installations, exhibitions, trade shows, and more. From May 18^th through the 22^nd, Rado worked with WantedDesign, a platform dedicated to promoting design and fostering the international creative community at large, to launch the third U.S. edition of the Rado Star Prize, which is held internationally to promote the work of upcoming designers and give them a platform from which to showcase their work in myriad disciplines and mediums.The theme for this year’s U.S. edition of the Rado Star Prize was the concept of “Design Inspired by Nature,” which explores the influence of the natural world on design. Ten finalists presented their concepts at the showcase, where Susannah Weaver’s “Felted Concrete” was ultimately chosen as the Jury Prize winner by a panel consisting of design and watch community members. Weaver’s project combines solid concrete and wool into a mass that utilizes the properties of both materials to create both juxtaposition and cohesion. As the Jury Prize winner, Weaver was awarded a Rado Thinline watch and $5,000 in prize money to help her further her work and design.

Other artist submissions to for the prize included projects utilizing stone, light, recycled goods, plants, and other materials to comment upon and utilize the beauty of nature in design. All ten finalists are eligible for the Public Vote Award, for which the public can vote from May 19^th through July 1^st on rado.com/radostarprize-us (the winner of the Public Vote Award receives a Rado watch).

Rado has long been a pioneer in the innovative use of materials in its watches. The new True Thinline Nature Collection seamlessly blends the elements of nature and horology via the use of beautiful mother-of-pearl and metallized dials and high-tech ceramic cases and bracelets available in striking blue, green, or brown finishes. Featuring ETA 282.002 boosted quartz movements, 39-millimeter cases, and lightweight ceramic/titanium construction, the new True Thinline Nature collection is exemplary of Rado’s materials-forward approach to watchmaking and design.Rado’s quest to remain at the forefront of innovation in the watch industry sees the brand uniquely poised to continue supporting innovation across different facets of the design industry as a whole, and if the last three years’ worth of submissions to the Rado Star Prize are any indication, more and more boundary-pushing and forward-thinking ideas can be expected from these young, up-and-coming designers in the future.