Casio A168W-1 Review & Complete Guide
If you are looking for a funky digital watch with a vintage look and appeal, the Casio A168W-1 may be the best choice out there.
The watch has a retro look to it that is reminiscent of the 80s and 90s digital era but still succeeds in showing that design from the 80s and 90s can still remain relevant today. In Casio’s own words: ”A tried and true style that always remains in fashion. With its daily alarm, hourly time signal, and auto calendar, you’ll never need to worry about missing an appointment again.”
The watch is truly a classic and perfect retro timepiece that is packed with useful functions and available at an extremely attractive price. It offers a great deal of nostalgia in its design, and with that said, it is attractive even to the most devoted watch nerds. It is also the perfect watch for people who enjoy the classic old watches from Casio but want modern technology and reliability.
In this article, we are going to review this watch and look closer at what it is that makes it so immensely popular.
Casio A168W-1 Case
Due to its slimmed case design, it sits extremely comfortably and discreetly on the wrist. Thanks to its lightweight, you will not even notice it is there for the most part. The catch is that the A168W-1 has a diameter of 32mm which may be too small for larger wrists. The watch has a rectangular shape and a thickness of 7mm. With that said, it is perfect for people with smaller wrists (including women).
Sitting on top of the case is a mineral glass. This is relatively tough but can acquire scratches if subject to hard surfaces and objects.
The watch has a water resistance of 30m/3BAR which is not great, but bear in mind this is an affordable digital watch not meant for diving. It can handle splashes from water and rain but it is not suitable for swimming, showing or diving with.
Casio A168W-1 Dial
The watch doesn’t have a dial but is instead completely digital and only has an LCD digital display on which the time and other information are displayed.
The LCD screen is easy to read and has a built-in electroluminescent backlight which enables easier reading in low.-lit conditions.
The majority of the screen does not consist of the LCD screen, but rather a black background with printing. The printings indicate the different functions of the pushers positioned on the side of the watch, which include:
- Light
- Mode
- Start/stop
The printing helps the wearer instantly know which pushers do what for easy operation and setting of the various functions.
Casio A168W-1 Movement
The watch is equipped with a Japanese quartz movement. Being a quartz watch, it is extremely reliable and also very accurate. The movement has a specified accuracy of +- 30 seconds per month. This is of course, substantially better than what affordable mechanical watches offer.
It is easy and affordable to replace the battery shall you need to, and it won’t need much maintenance to continue working for many years to come.
The functions that the movement offers include:
- Time
- 1/100 second stopwatch
- Alarm function
- Date display
- Backlight
- Measuring capacity: 23’59.99″
- Elapsed time, split time
- Hourly time signal
- Auto-Calendar
- 12/24-hour formats
Casio A168W-1 Bracelet
The Casio A168W-1 is presented on a metal bracelet with a clasp that clips over the other end. This bracelet design is nice as it also allows for easy adjustment of the size. The bracelet is also rather thin which means it sits very slim and comfortable on the wrist. The bracelet has a width of 18mm. The bracelet is very light and thanks to its design, despite the fact that it is a cheap bracelet, it doesn’t feel low quality.
The bracelet is integrated into the case and flows seamlessly with the shape and design of the watch.
Specifications
- Thickness: 7mm
- Bracelet width: 18mm
- Diameter: 32mm
- Water-resistance: 30m/3 BAR
- Crystal: Mineral glass
- Movement: Japanese quartz movement
Conclusion
The Casio A168W-1 is a fun, reliable, and retro-inspired timepiece that will bring nostalgia back to the digital era. It is packed with useful functions that can truly come in handy and it is worn extremely comfortably on the wrist. Chances are, you will even forget that you are wearing it.
The watch is extremely durable and reliable. This one can take a beating and still function just as you need it to.
And at a price of about 20 USD, this watch really is a no-brainer. With that said, the least of your concerns will be to scratch it. Bear in mind that the price of this watch is less than the price of many leather and NATO straps.
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