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Sometime in the late 1960s Rado conceived and patented the NCC system. Sorry guys, in this case NCC does not stand for Starfleet Naval Construction Contract. It stands for New Conception Construction. The NCC watch concept was Rados attempt to rethink waterproofing and shockproofing a watch utilising new case design and materials. In traditional watches the case was an integral part of waterproofing but with the NCC method the watch case merely held the waterproofing elements in place. Four screw in the case back were used to hold the front and back together. The movement and stem tube of the watch were surrounded by an elastomeric bladder. This bladder fit firmly against the back of the dial which was in contact with the crystal. When the case back and front were screwed together a 22 atm depth rating was easily achievable. A split stem was utilised to enable ease of service.
Rado felt that such a radical leap in construction needed radical designs. Five men's and three women's models were designed and built between 1970 and 1978 ( the last reference of the NCC 505 was built until 1979). The design was so successful that Rado adapted the NCC 505 to a tungsten carbide case which became the Diastar 515.
All models featured ETA movements, as Rado had started the changeover from A Schild movements in 1968. Early versions of the NCCs featured quickset date/ slow set day and high domed acrylic crystals while later models carried quickset day/date movements and flat mineral glass. According to Rado data they built a total of 129,000 men's NCCs (this number does not include the Diastar 515) and 33,000 women's models.
Typical case construction.
Case front, dial and chapter ring typical of most NCCs.
Elastomeric bladder in case front.
NCC construction. One can see that when put together the case itself is only vaguely related to waterproofing. The gaps in the case are not plugged by the bracelet.
The movement of my 303, showing how effective the elastomeric bladder was.
The NCC line was also notable for it's size. All but the NCC 505 are at least 40mm wide and the 202 is nearly 42 mm wide without crown.
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