Squaring the circle: Thukral and Tagra designs Rado’s True Square ‘Over the Abyss’

Artist duo Thukral and Tagra bring pop colours and their interpretation of time zones and travel to the first Indian-designed Rado watch

The watch face has always been where heritage brands tout their credentials. Pilot watches have bold, easy to see displays while diving watches have chronographs and timers to ensure dives are timed precisely. Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra’s design for Rado, True Square ‘Over the Abyss’, eschews all of that. Instead, the dial showcases firework-like hands — 18 spokes for the hour hand and 19 for the minutes. Taken together, the 37 spokes represent the number of time zones in the world, and, according to the New Delhi-based artists, is a way to depict human interconnectedness. “Communities cannot operate in isolation, and we empathise with this valuable insight. We wanted to connect the wearer with others,” says Tagra. A goal that takes on new urgency in the throes of a global pandemic.