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Bethan Gray & Rado

Client: Rado
Year: 2018
‘We have worked with Nick for many years and he’s become part of our team, getting the best out of all of us. His empathy for Bethan and the creative process means that he puts everybody at ease, quickly identifying the ‘red thread’ running through a project and translating that into engaging films that help us to connect with our clients and partners, even in these socially distanced times.’
Massimo Gray
CEO of Bethan Gray Design
‘I was really excited by the opportunity to redesign the Rado True Gent for women and decided to design a watch for the cool, confident women that I know – it’s about a contemporary, more nuanced understanding of femininity’
Bethan Gray
Designer
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Bethan Gray Design teamed up with Rado to create the Rado True Thinline Studs, a watch for contemporary women. Bethan invited Hand Built Films to make a film capturing the process of redesigning the Rado True Gent for the cool, confident women she knows, embracing a modern, nuanced understanding of femininity.

All of Bethan’s collections are inspired by natural materials and this project was no exception, so leather was a natural choice for the strap. There are no visible stitches and the leather has been ‘scithed’ so it can be folded and retain its thinness in line with the face.

The design, inspired by hand-crafted furniture, had to executed at a tiny scale with tolerances of just 0.1 millimetres. The watch face references Bethan Gray Design’s Masirah Table, the surface of which is made using ancient marquetry techniques. The 12 segments of birds-eye maple catch the light echoing a sundial, an effect which is replicated in the face of the watch using a master mould was hand-cut from metal just 0.4mm thick. Finally, the studs reference the brass details in the studio’s Stud collection.

Nick visited Bethan’s studio and spent time getting the know the project and craft processes involved in the making of the watch. Combining in-situ and studio shoots with macro-footage to capture the finest details of this incredibly precise project, he worked with the team to co-create a film that invites viewers into the story at a level of insight and detail that would be hard to replicate even in face-to-face setting.

Nick’s exacting and empathetic approach to filmmaking creates a visual narrative that draws viewers into the finest details of the craftsmanship involved in the making of the watch at the same time as building an emotional connection. The delicate balance of head and heart is exactly what’s missing from many remote or virtual brand experiences and enables Bethan to reach her worldwide clients and partners in a way that is hard to replicate even when travel and in-person showcases are possible.