Longtime Time Bum readers might recall my review of Radia’s debut model, the Chernobyl Collection. I sampled an RBMK, and it was a fun watch, possessing one of the most radical cases I had seen. Their latest is the Radia Trinity, a more conservatively styled, yet still striking field watch that is vastly different from the RBMK and every bit as satisfying. I sampled a yellow-dialed version for this review.
Radia drew its inspiration for the RBMK from the 1986 nuclear disaster. It was an unusual point of departure for sure, but a successful one. The brand does not spell out the Trinity’s namesake, but it does not take much imagination to connect the model’s name and the brand’s atom logo to Oppenheimer’s first atomic bomb test.
The Trinity’s stainless steel case is 38.5mm wide, 46.5mm long, and 12mm thick, including the double-domed and AR-coated sapphire box crystal. These tidy, vintage proportions gain more than a modicum of industrial weight thanks to the case’s sheer sides and a surface that is brushed everywhere, including the lug chamfers, fixed bezel, and signed crown. It leaves no doubt that you are wearing a tool watch, and a proper one at that, with its screw-down crown and 200m water resistance rating. To keep this handsome brute looking its est, Radia added a 1000Hv hardening and anti-fingerprint treatment.
Like the case, the Trinity’s dial also walks the line between rugged tool and dapper sport motifs. While it lacks the 24-hour index and Arabic numbers that usually define a military field watch. Indeed, its index leaves a decorative gap between 11 and 1 that highlights, highlighting the three-dot 12 o’clock markers are the expense of pinpoint accuracy. Its tall bar markers and syringe handset look dapper and provide excellent legibility, even at night when the two-tone Swiss C3 and BGW9 Super-LumiNova come to life.
Brushing is the Trinity’s signature feature. Nowhere is it more apparent than on the dial, where pronounced grain carries on the no-nonsense mechanical theme established by the case. This is tempered by the cheerful, yellow-gold color and lovely sunray effect. “Trinity Automatic” is rendered in a handwritten mid-century script typeface, which, in conjunction with Radia’s logo, evokes nostalgic, atomic-age futurism.
The Radia Trinity doesn’t look like a watch from the 1950s, but it suggests it like a prop from a movie reimagining that era.
Behind its relatively unadorned (and brushed) case back is a Miyota 9039, a smooth (28.8k bph) automatic with a 42-hour power reserve. It’s a reliable, respected unit, and its Parashock protection will take the rigors of most tool watch use with ease.
I found the Trinity to be a comfortable and proportionate fit on my 6.75″ wrist. It will easily do double duty between your weekend adventures and daily grind, even if that grind requires dressing up a little. I say “a little” because the absence of any polish on the case really does give the watch a rough-and-tumble vibe. I’d wear it with a sportcoat, but not a suit.
Radia provided the Yellow Trinity with two 20mm leather straps, both with quick-release pins and signed buckles. One was smooth, oiled leather in medium brown with full stitching, the other was rust-colored suede with minimal stitching. Both were fine, but neither really did the dial justice. This is my quirk. A yellow-and-brown combination rarely works for me. Radia offers a black strap, and I’d be inclined to switch it up with a dark navy, but this is irrelevant as the Trinity is a limited-edition model and the Yellow is already sold out. Fortunately, they still have a lovely black dial version available, which looks particularly fetching on that rusty suede.
I had no idea where Radia would go after the Chernobyl watches. That first watch was pretty wild, and had a theme that may have been difficult to sustain. The Trinity is a worthy successor that manages to keep Radia’s offbeat ethos while presenting it in a more accessible package. Once this run is done, I’d love to see them explore new color combinations.
You can purchase a Black Trinity today for $479 at radiawatches.com. Given that half the collection is gone, I’d suggest you act fast.
