BY JAY AQUINO

SEPTEMBER 1, 2026

Collins Street has long been Melbourne’s address for serious watches. Its grand façades and polished windows form an unofficial horological corridor, where Swiss names compete for the attention of collectors, executives and curious passers-by. Rado has now joined them, opening its first standalone Australian boutique at 298 Collins Street.

The opening gives the brand a dedicated home after years of building its Australian presence through independent jewellery importers and authorised retailers. It is also the first Rado boutique anywhere in the world to introduce the company’s new immersion-led retail concept, making Melbourne something of a testing ground for the brand’s next generation of stores.

“Australia has become an increasingly important market for Rado and we are excited to deepen our presence here through a dedicated boutique experience,” says Rado CEO Adrian Bosshard. “Melbourne, with its strong appreciation for design, sport and culture, is the perfect setting for our new chapter in the region.”

Founded in Switzerland in 1917, Rado established its reputation by taking an experimental approach to watchmaking. Its work with hard metal, high-tech ceramic and futuristic forms challenged an industry often governed by familiar materials and inherited design codes.

That rich history is present throughout the boutique, though not in an overly reverential way. Set within a historic building distinguished by golden arches, the space brings together timber surfaces, brushed bronze and stone-grey walls. The atmosphere is warmer than the glossy minimalism often associated with contemporary watch retail, with recessed lighting and softly illuminated display cabinets giving each watch room to be properly considered.

The boutique arrives as Rado marks 40 years since it introduced high-tech ceramic into serial watch production in 1986. Created from ultra-pure zirconium oxide powder, Rado High-Tech Ceramic is shaped under precisely controlled conditions and sintered at 1,450°C. The material achieves an impressive hardness of 1,250 Vickers, making it exceptionally scratch-resistant and requiring diamond tools for machining and finishing. The anniversary gives the Melbourne opening more significance than the usual opening, connecting the boutique to one of the most important chapters in Rado’s design history.

The boutique’s collection includes pieces exclusive to the Melbourne boutique, such as the DiaStar Original Skeleton Limited Edition, restricted to 555 pieces worldwide. The watch revisits a design introduced more than 60 years ago, pairing a gold PVD Ceramos bezel with a faceted sapphire crystal, an exposed automatic movement and a vivid green dial. Red Super-LumiNova details add a sharp hit of colour to a watch already distinguished by its unconventional geometry. 

After establishing its presence in Australia through other retailers, Rado now has a standalone space that presents the brand on its own terms. Surrounded by some of the watch industry’s most recognisable names, their Collins Street boutique offers a closer look at how materials influence the way a watch wears, ages and retains its character.

Discover Rado here.