Casio Watches

I've been a Casio fan since the late '80s and that is trivial. I've owned many of them. That also puts me alongside potentially billions of people. As capitalism continues to consume itself in a never ending desire to extract everything it can from the land and the consumers on it, Casio continues to make products with that golden combination of quality and affordability. I also collect fountain pens - cheap ones. With watches too, I like models anyone of any age can afford to buy. With all this in mind, I present my little Casio page, dedicated to that timeless classic on your wrist.

Casio W-86

The Casio W-86 is an old favourite, since it was the one I wore throughout my 20s. I bought my first one in March 2003. At the time I chose it because "for an extra couple of quid" you got a way better backlight and increased water resistance. The original strap lasted until 2009; the replacement lasted around a decade and can be seen in the pic. Since the W-86 was priced at £12.99 at the beginning of 2023, it led me to thinking about its cost over time. I can't remember exactly what I paid in 2003 but I think it was £7.99. Anyway, indulging a wave of nostalgia I pored over every Argos catalogue I could find from 1995 onwards, since that was the year of the W-86's introduction. Sadly, I cannot find any Argos catalogues for the year 2000 onwards. If you can provide data on the price of the Casio W-86 from spring/summer (S/S) 2000 until autumn/winter (A/W) 2022 (or anything in between) I would be very grateful.

Table of Cost, W-86

Both my Casio W-86 models were purchased from Argos in the United Kingdom using GBP (£). Prices are taken from the old catalogues. These can all easily be found online. The Bank of England Inflation Calculator was used to obtain the amount in 2023.

The cost of the W-86 at Argos in the first half of 2023 ranged from £12.99 to £16.99. This is an average of £14.99, which in 1995 was the equivalent of approximately £8. Therefore, the price of the W-86 has halved since its introduction, even accounting for the recent increase in price. In this inflationary system, this should be commended.

Casio W-86 Imperfection

I think the later W-86 models feature a more grey than black finish, though I cannot confirm this as items fade over time. One thing I have noticed on my 2023 W-86 is this minor imperfection. If you don't notice it in that pic, try this one. I've also seen it in some other, presumably later, W-86s online, such as this one. Starting above the 'S', peaking above the first 'A', ending over the 'HR' of CHRONO. The plastic lip is out of alignment in some way, causing a white mark to appear. It's not a reflection from flash, and if you look on the corresponding spot opposite on the face, the imperfection isn't there. On my 2003 era W-86, I didn't notice it, but I'd be interested to see others. Have you noticed this on your W-86? Let me know!

Watch Synchronization

Casio watches listed in this table contain varying modules and are accuracy rated to ± 30 seconds per month (with one exception). The table below is intended to monitor this specification over time. I use time.is as my reference and the 8th day of the month just happened to be when I decided to begin. During the morning of the 8th is when every watch is synchronized with the reference. The figure below represents how far each watch was out by the 8th of the following month. 'Fake' indicates a fake F-91W I purchased at Canadian Tire for testing purposes. The watch labelled 'Pocket' is not a Casio model. It is a modern quartz analogue watch with battery power and is included for curiosity. 'Timex' is a quartz analogue watch of unknown model number which I purchased at Sears in 2006. My AE-1200WH ('Casio Royale') displays the 3198 module number in the diagnostic screen but 3299 is printed on the rear.

Key

• set: Initial time setting
• 0: Exact accuracy
• -0.5: Approximately half a second slow
• +0.5: Approximately half a second fast
• -5: Five seconds slow
• +5: Five seconds fast
• +3:25: Comically fast

Superior Casios

Listed in the table above is the Casio WVA-M630 Wave Ceptor and the Casio GW-M5610U. These watches synchronizes daily with the WWVB transmitter at Fort Collins, Colorado which is approximately 1,800km from my location. Since they don't need a manual sync, the 0 in the table above represents whether each was accurate to the second with the information at time.is. These two watches also features a superior quartz movement to the other Casios listed above, being rated at ± 15 seconds per month. In future the sync feature will be disabled so I can test the accuracy of their movements.

Watch Lifespan

The first digital watch I remember owning was this bad boy, a marvel which had a musical themed output. I gave it to my friend Kris as a gift. I wonder if he still has it? I remember a rainy day sometime in late 1989, observing my father constructing a camp, hammering down tent pegs, with a friend. I asked him "What's the new watch you're wearing? Where is your other one?" He stopped hammering, showed it to me and said "That's me knockin' watch!" His friend grinned. The watch in question was either a Casio W-59 or the newly released F-91W (I was six, so it's a long time ago). I now understood what a beater watch was. What I still fail to understand, is why anyone would want a watch you couldn't wear while camping. Anyway! I owned my own F-91W before long. Both of these watches are long gone. In 1998 I bought myself the classic calculator watch (Casio CA-53W) and avoided being mugged when the lads who potentially wanted my watch scoffed upon seeing it. The joys of England. That watch is also lost to the midst of time. In early 2003 I purchased my first Casio W-86 to begin my first factory assignment. It served as you would expect: without flaw. How long for? Well, in late 2017 it was still able to beep me awake to catch a flight to the UK. It died sometime in 2019. 16 years! I should state that it spent a large amount of time between 2012 and 2017 sat in a drawer. My final anecdote for the W-86 consists of an unoriginal and inaccurate remark made by a customer at Canadian Tire in 2009: "that watch looks like you should be in the '80s" (or words to that effect).

Last updated: November 8th, 2023.