Tag: casio

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recommendations Watches

Keep it simple: G-Shock GA-800

I was browsing a while ago and for some reason this caught my eye.

That’s the GA-800. Sixty eight bucks on Amazon.

It’s basic for a G. Analog and digital, a rare second hand, even lume on the hands to match the blue dial illumination. Easy to wear, a bit smaller than most.

It lacks gps, barometer, radio set and solar power. The reverse LCD is hard to read at any off angle. The lume is only on the hands and not the dial, so at night you have to use the overly bright light.

Nevertheless I’m delighted with it, it’s an affordable and deeply fun watch. Easy to read the time, very light and comfortable on wrist, and at this price I didn’t flinch when I bashed it on sandstone last weekend.

If the red is too bold for you, there are other colors including black, some with more legible standard LCDs. It’s easy to find on Amazon or wherever; not a jdm or limited edition.

Here’s where I got mine: G-Shock Men’s GA-800 Red One Size https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075JH53L9?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Categories
recommendations Watches

Quartz, distilled

I’ve magnetized a few watches, which is a pain: the watch will start running fast, which takes a while to notice, and it’s tricky to be sure that magnetism is the cause. I’ve read that you can hold your watch near a compass and if the compass deflects then that’s evidence of induced magnetism and you can then DIY with a demagnetizer coil.

If that reminds you of hand-cranking a car to start the engine, then yeah.

All of which kind of violates the first implicit contract between a watch and its owner: Keep time.

Quartz is much less susceptible, and of course a better keeper of time, so while I wait for the new 9F watches from Seiko, I’ve done some reading.

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Image credit: hashhashin on WUS

This is the Casio Oceanus OCW-S100F, in it’s -2AJF flavor. Solar powered, radio set, titanium case with titanium carbide surface finish, available in a few different color ways, most notably IMHO black vs plain metal bezel. From a design perspective, its the least-obtrusive world timer/perpetual calendar I’ve seen, and garners universal praise as a travel watch that won’t get you mugged.

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Image credit: verrauxi on TimeZone

I like the metal bezel version, myself (OCW-S100-1AJF). A tiny bit of blued metal detailing on the hands, and notably Casio got Seiko to do the casework using their Zaratsu (tin wheel) polishing, so by all accounts its superbly made and finished.

It’s even got decent lume:

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Image credit: Seiya

Anyway, if you’re in the market for a watch, worth a look. It’s extraordinary enough to have a 9-page thread on WUS, a glowing review on usually-snobby TimeZone and a rave on WatchTalkForum.

These are JDM, so a bit of a pain to buy: