The one that gets overlooked.

3 months ago I started hunting charity shops and online auctions for ‘a watch’ to add to my modest collection.

I came across a site that was selling items from an import business that had gone into liquidation, that’s when I stumbled across this Casio.

I knew very little about this line of watches so did some research, from the 3 poor quality photo’s I looked into it (more on that in a minute) and not knowing if it worked, if it had a box or anything with it. I placed a cautious bid.

This is a Casio PRW50-Y and is from their Pro-Trek line for climbers/hikers and the like. Its a JDM only model watch (although I believe a very similar model was available in North America). Great! I’ll take a punt and see what I think to it, assuming it works of course.

I won the auction for an unbelievably respectable 2 digit number and was waiting delivery.

3 weeks went by anxiously awaiting what would be in the parcel, eventually it did turn up and inside was what seemed to be a nicer than usual Casio box, with books (albeit in Japanese) a completely unused watch and a tag with $629 blazoned upon it! Had I found a real bargain?

I haphazardly translated what I could to get the watch going which turned into hours of my time of setting world time, home time, calibrating an altimeter, barometer, thermometer, compass and other fiddles. But at last, it worked.

Why am I writing this you ask?

Answer being; I never would have aimed for this watch, I would have overlooked it if it had been for sale in a window, advertised in a book, sat on a shelf or in a pop up on a website. Yet as I write this, I choose to wear it most days, some of my other pieces haven’t seen my wrist since this turned up. The specs and functions are far beyond what a daily watch needs. However, it wears a good size, its easy to read, exceptional quality, unnoticeably comfortable, feels robust enough that I can do anything and it will continue to do what it’s meant to do and quite frankly; I love it.

It is not overlooked anymore.