Going nuclear
So, when you come across a watch that is inspired by Chernobyl, it may seem a little odd. But with a little perspective, it’s worth considering what humans are capable of.
The Chernobyl disaster was a rather scary event, particularly when you happened to be a little too close geographically. I was a child in Sweden when it happened in 1986 and I clearly remember watching the news and the huge concerns about large parts of Scandinavia being badly affected. In the end, wildlife and nature in the northern part in particular did get polluted but from what I remember, less so than first estimated. This was in no small part due to the absolutely heroic efforts of the first responders, and some of the local scientists in the Ukraine. There were men that walked in very close to the core of the disaster and sacrificed their lives, dying in some of the most horrific ways imaginable, to save large parts of northern Europe from unimaginable suffering. |
Again, human beings that had nothing to do with the disaster, still bravely faced horrific suffering to prevent millions of deaths – now that’s worth remembering.
I came across the Radia watch and the unusual design grabbed me immediately. To me anyway, it looked like a device that you’d have strapped to your clothing when on your way into any old Soviet bunker. What I feel is worth pointing out right away too is that Radia donates $20 to the Chernobyl Children International Foundation for every sale, that is truly admirable. There are large Swiss brands that support charities with purchases at a far less percentage than that. I chatted to the owner before purchasing the watch and he highlighted this immediately so it’s obviously a cause close to their hearts, and no wonder – Poland borders Ukraine and this event would have been incredibly scary. I purchased one and about a week later, it arrived in Australia. |
My impressions after some time with the watch
By far the most eyecatching aspect of the watch is the interesting wire frame that surrounds the dial. Surprisingly, it’s very solid and well made. There’s no plastic here, just steel. On the website images, it’s hard to determine if it would be prone to bending but I think you could chuck this out of a Russian Ka-52 helicopter and it’d just bounce off the ground unscathed. There are two screws on either side that holds the wireframe to the case.
So what about the crown then, difficult to manipulate? You’d perhaps suspect so but half of the crown is uncovered and set slightly below the wireframe so it’s very easy to pull and push. This being a quartz watch, you are likely to spend far less time messing around with it anyway so it’s unlikely to be an issue. |
Whilst we’re on this steel wireframe, we’ve got an interesting way to hold the nato straps in place. There are traditional spring bars that you wrap the included straps around. Using this system means that unlike traditional nato straps, where the case of the watch can tend to slide up and down a little, it’s held tight here using nothing but friction from the way the strap is wrapped.
On the included nylon strap, you have the usual separate part that wraps around the spring bars which you then attach to larger strap. I’ve always felt this adds pointless thickness so I cut that part off immediately on the brown leather strap, and I feel it wears much better closer to your wrist. You can pick between the black and brown nylon straps, and there are also brown and black leather options. I was so tempted to distress the brown leather strap and black case immediately, I think the overall package would look incredibly cool if it looked like a recovered artefact from a 50’s bunker. I think future models that offered this look, a bit like what Laco does with some of their models, could be a real winner. |
Further adding to the value proposition here is a proper sapphire glass covering the unusual dial. At this price point, you’d expect mineral glass and a lot of plastic..not so here, a real selling point I feel. The dial is attractive with just the right amount of Soviet influences. There’s a tiny throwback to the radioactive symbol at the 12 o’clock and we have the brand name and model number printed on a slightly rounded rectangular section that almost gives the impression of a sandwich dial.
This slightly sunken section has a different polish from the rest of the black matte dial and appears to be almost a deep purple colour, much more prominent in photos like this one than in real ife, in direct light. It almost resembles the grooves from an old vinyl LP. It’s a lovely little detail that is far from obvious. The 3 to 6 minute markers uses the same light brown colour as the model number and meets small print at the 6 position of CCCP & USSR. Again, this is small enough to be a detail that only an owner would make out and if fits the overall aesthetic and ethos of the watch in my opinion. There is a framed date window also. I’m not keen on small date complications myself, they are hard to see and break up the symmetry of a dial. At least it’s white print on black so it doesn’t draw too much attention to its existence. |
The final point of the dial shall be combined with my only main complaint. The brownish text is lumed, as is the minute and hour markers. The lume is probably the worst that I have ever seen and that’s after using a UV light to charge it up in pitch darkness. Now, it would perhaps be disrespectful to be cracking jokes about a watch, inspired by a nuclear disaster, that does in fact NOT glow in the dark so I’ll try not to go there…but let’s say, future iterations could benefit from strong lume. If nothing else, the high quality materials used should be matched by excellent lume.
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Turnng the watch over, you’ll find an etching of the reactor with the text of ‘Chernobyl 1986’. Nicely done despite the shape of the reactor not being particularly memorable. Further specifications are, stainless steel, sapphire glass, 5ATM and Japanese movement, again highlighting the quality material and parts used.
This is where I would normally write about the movement with included pictures but there’s not much to get excited about there. It is worth again calling out that a quality Japanese movement is in use which presumably should last longer and offer better precision that Chinese knockoffs. However, the seconds hand does not precisely hit each minute/seconds mark on the dial so if you’re bothered by such things, go get yourself a Grand Seiko quartz. |
Bart very kindly included one of each strap for me to photograph and test out. The nylon ones are of a good quality and so is the leather. We’re not talking over the top here, just reasonable quality. It’s great to see the buckle and strap retainer stitched in by what appears to me anyway, good quality stitching that should last.
The final detail I want to point out is the excellent packaging. You receive a form fitted box, a warranty card and even a letter of authenticity. It’s not overdone, you don’t feel like they’ve wasted money that should have gone towards the watch, it’s just nice attention to detail that adds to the experience. You really get the impression that this team has everything lined up for future releases that will hopefully include some automatic movements. I love good packaging and it’s worth it for me every single time. Even something as small as resell value is increased if you have the complete package to sell. |
Final Words
This is a really cool and unusual looking watch. I posted it on a couple of forums without going into detail on movements etc and it was well received. It’s also a great looking website and a lovely team behind the products. They really deserve to be successful, and I can’t see any reason why this watch shouldn’t sit on wrists on everyone from bearded men in bars to watch collectors looking for something unusual that is ready to go anytime and doesn’t require winding or servicing.
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It may seem unusual to draw inspiration from the worst nuclear disaster of mankind. But again, Radia's founders support a charity that helps people from the disaster and if you’ve seen the amazing HBO Chernobyl tv series that re-tells the events, and the heroic acts, it’s worth commemorating. Let’s hope we can get the watch stocked here in Australia I can easily see RBMK sell like hot cakes in a number of shops here in fashion conscious Melbourne. Just more lume please.
Cheers, Esbjorn |
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