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Rado Captain Cook - how bad did I do?

Dsloan
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Are there any Captain Cook experts in the house?

Please feel free to educate and/or roast me:

I bid on a Rado Captain Cook late at night as I was falling asleep. It was a token bid that I didn't expect to win. Unfortunately, my bid prevailed. In the cold light of morning, as I took a better look at the single (!) photo of the dial in the listing, I was pretty sure I'd made a mistake.

And now questions remain: what's original and what's not on this thing?

PXL_20240312_001852737.jpg


Thoughts:
- The case and caseback look correct to me.
- The hands look correct if in rough shape
- The bezel insert turns and I see faint traces of reaction to UV light - they fade VERY quickly. The bezel has damage and the painted indices look sloppy to me.
- The dial indices have no lume. This seems wrong to me, but I couldn't find a vintage lume shot online.
- The 'T Swiss Made' on the dial doesn't match some of the examples that I see online - I see some that are similar, but not sure if those are legit either.

PXL_20240312_001658419.NIGHT.jpg PXL_20240312_001803644.NIGHT.jpg


So, what do you think: did I scrape a mostly original example from the bottom of the barrel, or is this thing a horrible made up franken?
 
JwRosenthal
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Mine for comparison

IMG_1332.jpeg


Sorry for the horrible glare- dresser lamp was best I could do on short notice
 
Dsloan
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JwRosenthal JwRosenthal
Mine for comparison

IMG_1332.jpeg


Sorry for the horrible glare- dresser lamp was best I could do on short notice

Thanks! I appreciate it.

So, mine looks like redial of some sort and the wrong date wheel to say the least?
 
JwRosenthal
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I wouldn’t say redial, hands look relumed and the lume on the dial is brittle so possibly some plots were missing and whomever relumed the hands just removed the rest to match. But all is not lost- if you got it cheap enough and it’s serviceable, there are a few vendors on eBay selling nos hands and dials on eBay. These were abundant in the east as were well stocked Rado service centers so the parts are pretty abundant.
Yours looks to have the factory crowns and case looks decent so that’s a good start.
 
Dsloan
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JwRosenthal JwRosenthal
I wouldn’t say redial, hands look relumed and the lume on the dial is brittle so possibly some plots were missing and whomever relumed the hands just removed the rest to match. But all is not lost- if you got it cheap enough and it’s serviceable, there are a few vendors on eBay selling nos hands and dials on eBay. These were abundant in the east as were well stocked Rado service centers so the parts are pretty abundant.
Yours looks to have the factory crowns and case looks decent so that’s a good start.

Thanks! I won it with a sleepy, ill-conceived bid of $250, so maybe that leaves enough room to sink more money into a project watch 😒.

I guess it's time to set up some eBay alerts.
 
Dsloan
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And, how did I just now find out that the little anchor in the logo spins when you wiggle the watch!? 🥰

I really should have researched more.
 
ken_hodson
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I have this watch too. I've never been sure about the bezel, the markers seem quite sloppily painted, but looking at other examples, maybe it's ok. The crystal on mine is crazed and needs replacing...I've been looking for a new one for a while, but no luck yet. The crystal has a little anchor logo which you can see with a loupe.

They are really cool watches. I think you did ok for $250, the AS movement is easily serviced and perhaps some new hands, it'll be great!

1000022131.jpg 1000022130.jpg
 
JwRosenthal
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My crystal js crazed too. I purchased a NOS one from eBay which claimed to be correct but my watchmaker couldn’t fit it- was slightly off, so I too am on the hunt for a replacement at some point.
 
JwRosenthal
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Dsloan Dsloan
And, how did I just now find out that the little anchor in the logo spins when you wiggle the watch!? 🥰

I really should have researched more.
The anchors usually get funky and freeze up. When they are free and oiled they spin- an awesome feature.

Rados are nicely made watches with excellent parts and attention to detail. I will say I have a few bug-aboos with the CCII like the tucked crown which is a pita to set with the 9/12 date and the inverse problem of the easily rotating internal bezel with the upper crown. It’s also a slightly small watch for the form factor (should be about 2mm larger imo)…but it’s so groovy it’s hard not to love it.
 
ken_hodson
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JwRosenthal JwRosenthal
My crystal js crazed too. I purchased a NOS one from eBay which claimed to be correct but my watchmaker couldn’t fit it- was slightly off, so I too am on the hunt for a replacement at some point.

Yeah the crystal is thick, strong and characterful. You wouldn't get away with any old, generic, high domed acrylic IMO. It literally is 50% of the watch...
 
1000022141.jpg
Dsloan
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ken_hodson ken_hodson
The crystal has a little anchor logo which you can see with a loupe.

1000022131.jpg 1000022130.jpg

I went to go see if my crystal has one, but results were inconclusive. There's a bit of a problem where the logo might have been 🙄

PXL_20240312_115421229.jpg PXL_20240312_115412932.jpg
 
Walrus
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I think it’s cool Dman. a project watch you can wear and decide what you want to do with. It’ll look fine on your wrist and a few feet from your eye. Something different. I got a soft spot for rado love my captain cook diver. Well done my good and faithful servant.
 
D
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I've had a couple Captain Cook's but mine were the current models. Not the vintage.
 
Dsloan
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D drster
I've had a couple Captain Cook's but mine were the current models. Not the vintage.

How did you like them and which models did you have?
They have some bronze ones that I thought looked nice.

But, this bump in the thread reminds me that I need to start sorting out what to do with him. Got to track down a good bracelet and maybe swap the dial and hands...
 
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