Rado - Green Horse - No reserve price - 345602 - Men - 1965

Offered in this auction by Second Vintage This Rado Green Horse is a captivating testament to the brand's fearless mid-century design language, featuring an incredibly unusual and visually striking vertically split dial. During an era when most manufacturers were producing conservative dress watches, Rado pushed aesthetic boundaries with bold colors, dynamic logos, and unconventional layouts. This particular example perfectly encapsulates that adventurous spirit, combining a robust 30-jewel automatic movement with a dial configuration that immediately commands attention, offering collectors a piece of true vintage eccentricity. Brand: Rado Model: Green Horse Reference Number: 345602 Serial Number: 11786 Movement: Automatic, Caliber AS 1700/01, 30 Jewels Dial: Split two-tone champagne and silver dial, applied indices, showing visible spotting and age-related patina throughout. Case Size: 36 mm (excluding the crown) Case Material: Gold-plated with stainless steel caseback Production Year: 1965 Condition: Good vintage condition with honest wear and distinct dial patina. Dial and Hands The dial is the undeniable focal point of this timepiece, featuring a dramatic vertical split with a brushed champagne finish on the left and a silver-tone finish on the right. It is adorned with applied block indices featuring black center inserts, complementing the framed day-date aperture at three o'clock, which displays the day in green and the date in red. The dial proudly bears the iconic rotating Rado anchor logo against a purple background at twelve o'clock, and a vibrant green seahorse emblem at nine o'clock. A close visual inspection reveals clear signs of age and moisture exposure, with noticeable spotting, surface marks, and staining scattered across the dial, particularly concentrated on the silver right half. The simple gold-tone baton hands display visible oxidation and age-consistent patina, harmonizing with the overall vintage character of the face. Case and Crystal The 36 millimeter gold-plated case presents a classic mid-century profile with gently sweeping lugs, topped by a domed acrylic crystal that shows minor surface wear. The case exhibits honest, heavy vintage wear, with visible scratches, handling marks, and significant brassing where the gold plating has worn through on the lug edges and case flanks. The original Rado-signed crown also shows heavy plating loss. Turning the watch over reveals a well-preserved stainless steel screw-down caseback, deeply engraved with the Rado twin seahorse "Water-Sealed" medallion, alongside crisp reference and serial numbers. Movement Powering this distinctive timepiece is the Swiss automatic Caliber AS 1700/01, featuring a beautifully finished gold-tone rotor signed by Rado and proudly displaying its 30-jewel count. The movement components present cleanly, maintaining the mechanical integrity expected from Rado's mid-century output. Exhibiting remarkable accuracy and consistency, performing brilliantly for a vintage timepiece. +15 to +20 s/d. Strap The watch is fitted with a thick black leather strap, distinguished by heavy white and gold-tone contrast stitching that echoes the colors of the dial and case, secured by a standard steel pin buckle. Condition This watch is presented in good vintage condition, wearing its history openly. The gold-plated case shows clear signs of regular use with noticeable rub-through and brassing on the high contact points. The highly unique split dial exhibits significant, honest age-related spotting and patina. It remains a structurally sound and mechanically strong example of Rado's creative heritage. Dimensions Case diameter: 36 mm (excluding the crown). Remarks Finding a Rado Green Horse with this specific split-color dial configuration is a rare occurrence. Despite its visible cosmetic aging, its mechanical strength and sheer visual audacity make it a highly desirable target for collectors of unconventional vintage Swiss horology. History Introduced in the late 1950s, the "Horse" collection was Rado's pioneering effort to create highly durable, water-resistant watches for everyday wear. The Green Horse quickly became one of the most successful lines within this family, celebrated for its reliable automatic movements and often daring aesthetic choices. It helped establish Rado's enduring reputation for utilizing unique materials, dynamic branding like the free-spinning anchor, and designs that refused to blend into the background. / Second Vintage SKU: RAD-RGH-0007