News · Rado

Rado Gives the DiaStar Skeleton an Autumn Setting

Two 38 mm models pair gold-coloured Ceramos bezels with skeletonised R808 movements and rubber straps; both carry A$4,200 Australian prices.

Hen & Mills Editorial · 4 min read · 17 October 2026

• Rado announced two autumn-coloured DiaStar Original Skeleton variants on 16 October, adding yellow-gold and rose-gold Ceramos bezels to the existing line.
• The 38 mm yellow-gold reference uses a skeletonised R808 automatic movement with an 80-hour reserve, sapphire front and back, and black rubber strap.
• Both new references list at A$4,200 in Australia; the yellow-gold R12166159 also carries a US$2,700 price on Rado’s US site.

The DiaStar Original Skeleton is not a new idea in Rado's catalogue, but its latest pair of watches gives the openworked design a different setting. Announced on 16 October, the two 38 mm models use gold-coloured Ceramos bezels and rubber straps matched to black or brown dial surrounds. The yellow-gold version, reference R12166159, makes the combination particularly clear: a bright, brushed case outline holds an exposed movement, while a black strap takes away some of the formality the colour might otherwise suggest.

What is new around the skeleton

Rado's press release describes two autumn-coloured interpretations, one with a yellow-gold PVD finish and one with a rose-gold PVD finish that it calls a first for the DiaStar Original Skeleton line. The second watch, R12159309, has a warm brown rubber strap. The yellow-gold reference has a black rubber strap and black outer dial. Both place the skeletonised R808 movement at the centre of the design. These are new treatments of an existing watch, rather than the first skeletonised DiaStar.

The bezel is Ceramos, Rado's ceramic-and-metal composite, with a radial brush finish. On the yellow-gold reference it is PVD coated, and the broad, rounded shape remains unmistakably DiaStar. Rado dates the original DiaStar design to 1962. The new finish changes the way that shape reads: in the official images the brushed bezel forms a luminous frame around the many smaller, sharper components visible beneath the crystal. It is a strong contrast, though photographs alone cannot tell a buyer how the surface will look after years of wear.

The watch measures 38 mm across and 11.9 mm thick according to Rado's product specification. Its listed weight is 80 g. Those numbers make it possible to compare with other DiaStar models, but do not supply a lug-to-lug figure or the exact way the case sits on a particular wrist. The rubber strap should be a different experience from the more jewellery-like steel bracelets often associated with the shape. Its pin buckle is a familiar closure and Rado's EasyClip system is intended to make changing straps straightforward.

A movement that is also the dial

The calibre R808 is automatic and skeletonised, with an 80-hour power reserve. Rado says it is regulated in five positions and uses an antimagnetic Nivachron hairspring. Those are meaningful technical details, but the most immediate feature is that the movement's bridges and wheels are visible through the face. The yellow-gold colour continues from the bezel into the openworked mechanism, giving the watch a deliberately continuous palette rather than a contrasting grey movement inside a gold frame.

A dark annular dial provides the minute track around the mechanics. Applied indices and hands carry Super-LumiNova, and Rado says the rotating anchor symbol is luminous too. The little anchor appears to float above the movement, a visual trick made possible by the space in the openworked display. In the product image, the gold components make a busy centre, while the black ring gives the hands and markers a clearer boundary. Whether that is easy to read at a glance in every light is something an image cannot settle.

A square-faceted sapphire crystal covers the dial, and Rado lists a transparent sapphire caseback. That lets the movement remain part of the experience from both sides, although the dial is clearly the main event. The brand describes the surface as a way to see mechanical watchmaking in motion. It is a fair description of what the images show, with the qualification that this watch's appeal depends heavily on enjoying a dense, exposed display. Someone who prefers a quiet dial will find the older DiaStar outline but little of its visual restraint here.

The rose-gold companion matters to the story because it shows that the change is more than a single colour swap. Its brown strap and dial surround are warmer than the black-and-yellow version, yet the same 38 mm case and R808 movement connect the pair. Rado's press material calls out the rose-gold coloured Ceramos bezel as new for this line. The two versions make a useful comparison for anyone deciding whether the DiaStar's substantial bezel should be the watch's loudest detail or a frame for its moving parts.

Rado DiaStar Original Skeleton price and availability

Rado's Australian product page lists the yellow-gold R12166159 at A$4,200 and offers a Reserve Online control. The rose-gold R12159309 is also listed at A$4,200 in Australia. The yellow-gold reference appears at US$2,700 on Rado's United States storefront, where an Add to Cart control is available. These are the brand's current listed prices for the stated markets, rather than a conversion between currencies.

For a buyer, the decision is as much about presentation as mechanism. An 80-hour reserve, sapphire front and back, and five-position regulation give the watch a clear mechanical brief. The gold-coloured bezel, visible calibre and rubber strap explain why this October pair stands apart from other DiaStar Skeleton references. The exact pleasure of that combination is best judged on a wrist, but the new treatment is easy to identify without pretending that the Skeleton itself began this week.