A guide to every Casio brand, from affordable calculator watches to four-figure metal G-Shocks
Buffy AcaciaIt wouldn’t be right to say that Casio is underrated, especially considering that it literally makes the most-produced and worn watch in the world. However, there are a lot of aspects to Casio that are misunderstood. It was never supposed to be a watch brand, and in many regards, it still doesn’t operate as a traditional watchmaker. And yet, Casio manufactures a huge variety of digital, analogue, and ana-digi hybrid watches across plenty of price points. So while we’ll look past the digital pianos, calculators, and medical imaging equipment that also happen to be for sale on Casio’s website, it’s worth exploring all of the brands through which it sells watches.
Casio
Have you ever seen something new and thought you could do it better? That pretty much sums up the legacy of Casio’s entry into watchmaking. In 1974, the Casiotron was the first digital watch with an automatic perpetual calendar, utilising Casio’s expertise as a manufacturer of calculators. Throughout the late ‘70s, ‘80s and into the early ‘90s, Casio’s standard range of digital watches became legendary. Some models became immortalised in films, like the dual F-100s worn in Alien and Marty McFly’s CA-50/CA-53W calculator watch in Back to the Future, while others like the F-91W earned their popularity through sheer practicality, style, and affordability. Now with approximately 3 million units made per year and a retail price of just over US$20, the F-91W is the best-selling watch in the world (though admittedly still only about a tenth of the market share the Apple Watch commands).
It’s not that Casio ran out of steam, but as more energy was channelled into the various other sub-brands, the pure Casio name began to be reserved for its retro-flavoured releases. It does still create some new watches, but they’re usually inspired by the vintage catalogues and updated with fresh colours and case materials. Generally speaking, the traits of a Casio watch are being at an affordable price between $20 and $200, including plenty of features such as a calendar, alarms, multiple time zones, and a case made of lightweight resin. There are also plenty of Casio watches in stainless steel cases, although their bracelets are known to be a little bit jingly and can pull hairs from the wrist.
With 331 references available for sale at the time of writing on the US site alone, it’s impossible to summarise the entirety of Casio’s core range, but there truly is something for everyone. You won’t be backed into a corner by the vintage-inspired digital watches, because there are also plenty of 1970s-flavoured analogue watches to balance them out. Integrated bracelets, coin-edge bezels, or even military field watch dials can be seen across the range. One thing that can get confusing is that Casio will often create affordable alternatives to its own watches under different brand names, ruining other brands’ chances of capitalising on Casio’s identity. For example, the F108WH-1A is a US$22.95 version of an original G-Shock from 1983 but with less water and shock resistance. Speaking of G-Shock…
G-Shock
If Casio’s brand presence wasn’t already so dominant, G-Shock could easily be the world’s #1 watch company. Born from the desire to make a watch that was practically indestructible, the G-Shock philosophy is based around cradling the digital module with multiple shock-absorbing layers. Still cased and strapped with resin, the strap itself can be considered structural, as it can act as a spring in the event of the watch being dropped. The initial project in the early ‘80s was a huge success once it was noticed by American TV, and torture tests were the natural response to such impressive claims of invincibility. More models followed, and there’s a huge number of G-Shock models that have become fan favourites in one form or another.
Over the years, the technology that protects the movement has vastly improved and allowed the watches to take on more creative freedom. The Full Metal range hands in resin for solid stainless steel or titanium cases and bracelets, and you can feel the difference in finishing quality immediately. Along with that, digital watch technology has also improved. Satellite linkage for automatic time synchronisation has been implemented in some models, as well as Bluetooth compatibility so you can set your alarms, time zones, and other preferences from the convenience of a smartphone app. Solar charging can also remove the need for battery changes, effectively making a G-Shock both eternally invincible and self-sustaining.
A curious development of G-Shock from its origins to now has been its evolution from something designed to be beaten up into a fashion statement. Through its popularity in the ‘90s, it was worn by graffiti artists, skateboarders, and musicians, making it a streetwear staple. Now, it’s been adopted by the luxury streetwear movement. There have been numerous collaborations with brands like BAPE, SoleFly and HIDDEN NY, elevating it to unprecedented levels. That said, G-Shock has never been pretentious and has also done less serious collaborations with the likes of Dragon Ball Z, League of Legends and Nintendo.
The 1983 DW-5000C was the first-ever G-Shock, introducing the classic square shape that is still in wide use in Casio’s catalogue today. The DW-5600 range is the modern equivalent, retailing at around US$99 and retaining 200 metres of water resistance, a daily alarm, a chronograph and multiple time zones. The most recent G-Shock to gain legendary status is the GA-2100 series, better known as the CasiOak for its fleeting resemblance to the much more expensive Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. Its ana-digi display and harsh, geometric case makes for a compelling blend of utility, style, and surprising levels of comfort.
G-Shock’s sub-brands
Well, even G-Shock as a sub-brand of Casio isn’t simple, because G-Shock has its own internal brands too! I mentioned the Full Metal series previously, but there are also G-Steel watches that use metal caps around a resin core for a more affordable approach. The Master of G is designed for the extreme explorers, and styled with way more intensity than usual. They generally put a bit more information on the dial too, either with chronograph sub-dials or full digital screens. Among them are legends like the Mudman and Rangeman which almost look incomplete when they’re not covered in grime; the Frogman divers with purposefully bulbous pushers; and the Gravitymaster, which offers intenses take on pilot’s watches. The G-Shock Move series includes a step counter that can link to a smartphone, and the watches are purpose-built for exercising and matching activewear.
If you’re a fan of G-Shock but you have high-end money to burn, then there are two product ranges that are specifically aimed at the luxury market and discerning buyers like yourself. First, the MT-G stands for “Metal Twisted G-Shock” because of its approach to shock resistance, integrating lightweight carbon fibre into the stainless steel case. Not only is the construction on another level to regular G-Shocks, but the aesthetic touches are far more intricate and detailed. Then, there is MR-G. These are the pinnacle of Casio’s craftsmanship within the G-Shock brand, experimenting with unique metals such as super-hard titanium and a cobalt-chrome alloy called Cobarion. The designs walk a fine line between extremity and ‘80s G-Shock accuracy, occasionally bringing in elements from traditional Japanese culture.
Baby-G
Finally, there’s Baby-G. It is technically a separate brand from both regular G-Shocks and the G-Shock alternatives under the plain Casio name because it’s supposed to cater to children. But while these water and shock-resistant watches are perfect to endure the rigours of childhood play, Baby-G watches have also found a home among adults who are young at heart and small of wrist. Casio seems to be aware of this, too, filling the collection with a huge range of colours and case sizes in both solid and translucent materials. Some models like the BA110 range are purely just shrunken versions of larger G-Shock watches, but others like the BGD10L have picked up on a cutesy style of their own.
It can be easy to dismiss a brand originally intended for kids, but Casio isn’t a company to skimp on effort. Baby-G timepieces may be smaller and more affordable than most of its G-Shock siblings, but you’re still getting swimmable water resistance and a watch that would take a sledgehammer to break. In that regard, they are technically superior to the sub-$50 Casio watches that just look like G-Shocks.
Pro Trek
While they don’t have the inherent shock resistance of a G-Shock, the Pro Trek watches by Casio are made for the outdoors. Instead of being built to handle the most intense abuse, they’re designed with a variety of useful complications that can help you avoid getting yourself into dire situations. Altimeters, barometers and compasses are some of the features you can expect a Pro Trek to have, and they can be extremely handy on a daunting hike. Overall, practicality takes precedence. For instance, let’s look at the PRJB001B-2. The dial itself is quite similar in form and function to the GA-2100 CasiOak, but it has a rotating octagonal bezel for use as a compass. Then there’s the strap, which is a hybrid of nylon fabric and bungee cord, so you can quickly and comfortably secure it to your wrist, below or above clothing. With Tough Solar charging, Bluetooth connectivity and 100m of water resistance, you could strap it to the outside of your rain jacket during a storm to keep time without worry.
The PRG-600 series takes on more of a pilot’s watch appearance thanks to bold Arabic numerals and sword hands, but the watch also features a thermometer, which is a rare treat in ana-digi watches. There’s also the PRG-340 series with a fully digital take that prioritises the navigation aids by separating them from the clock display. Another aspect of Pro Trek watches is that the cases are made of bio-based resin, giving them more of an ecological angle to help justify their presence in nature.
Edifice
Born in the year 2000, Edifice was the first Casio brand to focus entirely on nice, analogue watchmaking. It didn’t quite cross over into luxury territory, but the solid steel cases and bracelets were more aligned with traditional watchmaking than Casio had dabbled in prior. That brief has pretty much remained true for Edifice 25 years later, although its watches are still occupying the affordable ranges below US$300. You’ll find a plethora of quartz chronographs inspired by racing watches of the 1960s, but also models that are purely contemporary and unafraid of pushing boundaries.
Edifice has also had some time to shine in the Formula 1 paddock with Scuderia AlphaTauri before the team was rebranded to Racing Bulls and its watch sponsorship was taken over by Tudor, but it’s wild to acknowledge that an affordable Japanese brand like Casio Edifice was lined up on the grid alongside the likes of Richard Mille and TAG Heuer. It still has ties to Honda Racing, evidenced by the high-octane ECB2000HR-1A limited edition that’s imbued with carbon case technology. If your tastes lie with something a little bit more classical, then something like the EFB730D-2AV is an incredible offering. There aren’t many quartz chronographs that look this good for US$150, effortlessly capturing a ‘60s sporty feel in a 40mm diameter and still having 100m of water resistance.
Another Casio Edifice model that deserves pointing out is the EF106D-2AV. It’s quite a simple watch on paper, being a three-handed model with a date complication, but its Y2K styling is undeniably evidence for a 2000s comeback era. The integrated bracelet is slick and oozes bio-mechanical boldness, and its solid construction means that it’s probably one of the best-value watches you can buy for US$50. The fact that there’s a watch for sale at that price bracket within this heightened sub-brand is a testament to Casio’s mission of affordability, and the company’s resistance to the rising tide of inflation-driven price increases over the last few years.
Oceanus
While Edifice had to walk so that Oceanus could run, it was clear that Oceanus was going to be one of Casio’s premium outlets from the first OCW-500 launched in 2004. Quality, utility, and thinness were Oceanus’ imperative qualities as these solar-powered, radio wave chronographs emerged. When the OCW-S1000 came out in June of 2007, it was the world’s thinnest chronograph with solar and radio capability at 10.2mm. The range kept developing from there, and the current generation of Oceanus watches was perfected in 2019.
It is slowly becoming common knowledge among enthusiasts that Oceanus is an underrated brand, especially outside of Japan. A lot of people may see the Casio name attached to a watch with a price tag above US$1,000, but they need to look past the name and to the package on offer. The Manta S7000 series comes in a 42.8mm titanium case that’s just 9.5mm thick and water-resistant to 100m. It’s solar-powered with Bluetooth connectivity as well as the option for radio-controlled timing. Second time zones? Try a 38 time zone world timer with automatic DST switching, a perpetual calendar, and all on an analogue watch without digital screens. The fit and finish is easily on par with some recognisable Swiss brands, but Casio doesn’t have any points to prove. It simply exists to provide customers with the best watches possible for their money.