With a big hat tip to nostalgia, digital watches (and Casio in particular) have been having something of a resurgence in the last few years. Once, these quartz-regulated pieces were the highest-tech timepieces you could strap to your wrist, but thanks to the steady march of technological progress, they’re now incredibly cheap, antiquated pieces of timekeeping ephemera. Still, their (very) low cost to entry and overwhelmingly charming ’80s-ness make them appealing purchases today, which is probably why Casio is debuting a trio of “new” digital watches in its Classics line.
The watches in question are based on the A168W, a “water-resistant” stainless steel timepiece boasting a quartz movement (accurate to within 30 seconds a month) and a few basic functions: an alarm, a stopwatch, a calendar and a backlight. That’s pretty much it. The changes made are primarily aesthetic: the space surrounding the screen has been simplified, with most of the branding and text removed from the standard watch, replaced by one of three metallic finishes: black, silver or teal.
Still, it’s a simple, modernizing touch that breathes a little new life into the aging design while paying respect to the wild era of digital watch design and innovation from which it came. All three versions of the A168W will retail for $50, a premium over the standard version, but still incredibly attainable.
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