My Watch Story

[mywatchstory]

It’s Better than the Casio Royale - The Casio-AE-1300WH-8AV

Casio - AE-1300WH-8AV

The desire for a new watch experience pulled me to the watch store yet again. This time I wanted the AE1200WHD-1A aka the Casio Royale. But instead, I purchased the Casio - AE- 13000WH-8AV, a watch I consider better than the Casio Royale, a cult classic.

The Casio - AE- 13000WH-8AV is a digital Casio watch that offers 100M water resistance, an orange LED backlight and six time-keeping modes. It comes in a comfortable black resin strap, a silver bezel, and neutral dial.

Once again, the watch bug bit me. I was all over Amazon for a couple of weeks, looking at all the Casio watches available on the site.  I came across a plethora of watches, but one particular watch got my attention. The Casio AE1200WHD-1A aka the Casio Royale was the watch I wanted to add to my collection. After reading some reviews and watching quite a few videos on Youtube, that gave positive reviews about the watch I decided to pull the trigger.  So the following weekend I headed to the store to get the cult classic.

After checking one store, I found the watch. But not the exact model. I found the AE1000WD-1AVCF Silver-Tone model instead. This version has a circular case instead of the square case that I liked. I tried it on and, it looked cool, but it didn't feel right. And that surprised me. I found a version of the watch with a different case shape and same function and, it just felt wrong on my wrist. It was mind-boggling, but I accepted it and headed to the next watch store in town.

At the next store, I didn't find the Casio Royale. But I found another watch I wanted. I found the F105W-1A Illuminator sport. This watch actually mimics the F91W in terms of size and function. But where it excels is with the retro look - that I love - and the blue illuminator light. That light is truly amazing to look at. But after trying it on, and seeing the look on the face of the female watch store employee, I realized that I could not wear this watch and be taken seriously as a grown man.

So after that rude awakening, the shop woman placed the illuminator back in the display. While she did that, I noticed the Countdown Timer aka the AE-1300WH-8AV. I asked her to see it and, I carefully examined it. The watch had the exact same case shape and size as the Royale. It had a lot of time keeping modes, for a Casio watch. One that stood out was the world time mode. After close examination and realizing that the watch is actually better than the Royale, I decided to buy it. When you think about it, the Countdown Timer functionally is a better watch. The Royale offers four functions while the countdown timer has six. One of which is the world time function. This watch immediately became something special. I was able to find another watch that offered more than expected. And with that, I bargained a bit for a discount, got it and took it home. I should add that I removed the text from the top and bottom of the watch. I thought it was distracting me from the dial that contained useful information.

So why do I love this watch? Aside from getting the function I wanted and more, I realized that it was incredibly useful. The world time function was not the only function that made the watch special. The timer function is remarkable and fun. It came preset with 45 to 10 minutes of settings. And the interval timer mode is useful for tracking sporting events with 9 interval times. I thought that to be useful.

Overall I think, as a purely functional digital watch, the Countdown Timer a great watch. I will also say that it is better than the Casio Royale (That's my hot-take for the day).

If you own this watch, let me know what you think about it.

That you for reading my blog and thank you for your time.

[mywatchstory]

My First G-Shock - The  G-SHOCK G-7302RL

The CASIO G-SHOCK G-7302RL is one of the many watches under the G-Shock line. Some of its functions include a solar powered battery, a 1/100 stopwatch, 12/24-hour format, auto-calendar, battery power indicator, daily alarms, dual time, electro-luminescent backlight, full auto EL light, and power saving mode.

I purchased this watch when I started my associate degree at community college. This watch was my adventure watch. When I started community college, I met a lot of different people from the east and the center of Trinidad. And after a while, I became friends with those people. I learned a lot about where they live in Trinidad and their lifestyles. Eventually, I made the drive to their homes and my g-shock came with me.

This watch accompanied me to different parts of Chaguanas, Trincity, Sangre Grande, San Fernando and other places I can't recall at the moment. This watch was there with me for some memorable times I had with women and when I went drinking with the boys. A lot of good things were experienced while wearing this watch.

For me, while I knew the watch is a g-shock, I did not treat it as such. What that means is I just wore it as a watch. I went on every adventure around the country and, my g-shock came with me.

The EL backlight is a feature that I appreciate. Whenever you lift your hand to check the time, the watch just lights up.  That is a very cool feature. At night or in a dark theatre the display is impressive. Secondly, the solar-powered battery works well. The battery itself lasted about 12 years. (I think). When I display did not come on automatically, it was time to retire the watch. It was a sad day when it stopped working. I  tried leaving it in the sun for it to charge. But that semi-worked. I eventually placed the watch in a drawer and moved on to a new watch experiences.

Overall, the CASIO G-SHOCK G-7302RL worked quite well. I took it on different journies and, it was there for different experiences. A part of me wishes that worked but, I think its time has run out.

Let me know about your g-shock adventures and your thoughts about my g-shock.

Take care and thank you for your time.

[mywatchstory]

Retro Classic - Casio W217H

I consider Casio, the master of digital technology. They create a wide range of products that include electronic musical instruments, calculators, cash registers, projectors and of course watches. Their watch lineup is impressive. Casio creates a wide range of watches from ultra-affordable digital and analog time-pieces, to high-end hybrids known for their accuracy and multifunction capabilities. But, with their impressive catalog at hand, there is one particular watch that has grabbed my attention ever since its debut. This watch has awakened the feeling of nostalgia, taking me back to a simpler time. Let's talk about the Casio W-217H-9AV.

The Casio W-217H-9AV is the successor to the cult classic, the Casio F-91W. It offers the same functionality but, is updated to be more ergonomically useful to its user. The watch maintains a square 41mm case design that enables 50 meters of water resistance. There is an alarm function, and an orange LED illuminator light. There watch also carries an auto calendar function and a 7-year battery life all provided by Casio's digital quartz movement. Additionally, after measuring its accuracy myself, the Casio W217H-9AV comes in at -0.9 seconds per day. Furthermore, when it comes to comfort, the resin strap is probably one of the most comfortable on the market.

So why do I love this watch? The watch brings me back to my childhood. Back in the early 1990s, I was in primary school. At that time my mother could not afford the Casio F-91W. Instead, she purchased the bootleg version which we in Trinidad and Tobago called the "Chinee watch." The "Chinee watch" was a legend on its own. It had similar functions to the original but lied about its water resistance. Hence, when the watch got drenched in the rain, it would stop working. But if you left the watch to dry in the sun, it would miraculously come back to life. That watch was legendary.

Though I did not own the F91-W at the time, I did admire my classmates that had the watch. As a child, different students with different types of technology surrounded me. I remember classmates with the Nintendo Game Boy, the Transformers watch, the Tiger Electronics handheld game and of course the F-91W. I truly admired my classmates that were lucky enough to own one. At the time, the functionality was state of the art. My classmates never used the functions, other than the time-keeping mode. That didn't bother me. I just admired my classmates for owning a watch that became a horological icon.

So, years later I purchased the watch. I wore it and enjoyed it. But over time, I noticed that it was too small for my wrist and I stopped wearing it. Instead, I wore my purple g-shock and used that as my everyday watch. For a while, that was my favorite watch.  Fast forward to the present, I learned that Casio updated the F-91W with the W217H-9AV. I was thrilled primarily because of the new case size. This updated case size meant I could enjoy the F91-W experience and not worry about looking odd. I should also mention that the color scheme of the W217H-9AV screams retro. The gold line and the screen color works well with my skin tone and, I look cool wearing it.

So that's why I love the Casio W217H-9AV. It's a retro watch that succeeds a horological legend in every way. Let me know your thoughts if you own this watch. And also let me know what Casio digital watches are in your collection.

Take care and thank you for your time.