Building a Beater Collection Pt 5
After three strikes (see Parts 3 & 4) I was not, in fact, out.
The next candidate for my beater collection was the Casio Duro. I chose this lovely blue, which looks so much better in person than in the stock photos. The blue burst dial is especially lovely.
The stock strap was especially not. I have it on a Barton silicone, which is good but kind of meh - not quite enough visual interest IMO. But lots of cheap 22mm straps abound.
The 44mm diameter sits just fine on my large wrist and the watch is very comfortable. It keeps very good time and feels much higher quality than the price would suggest. But I guess I don't need to explain Duros to people here. 😎
In fact, after owning this for a while and learning more about the market, there is an argument to be made that ANY dive watch that costs more than the Duro is, in fact, a fashion watch.
Rather than talk about Duros more, it's at this point in my watch research dive that I'd like to shout out the following three YouTube channels for consistently giving good, seemingly unbribed, advice:
Jody at Just One More Watch, TGV at The Urban Gentry (even if he does sound like a Guy Ritchie South London gangster), and Russell aka the Mad Watch Collector, who led me to this forum.
The watches to come in the next installments are heavily influenced by those guys. And I regret nothing.
Stay tuned.
Previous:
https://www.watchcrunch.com/MrPsionic/posts/building-a-beater-collection-pt-4-28844
Next:
https://www.watchcrunch.com/MrPsionic/posts/building-a-beater-collection-pt-6-29018
I'm a musician and in the guitar amp biz. I do gear reviews on my own YT channel but I'm not here for that - this is my side hobby. That said, I know how the sausages are made both in production/manuf...
I've owned an MDV-106 for several years (original black dial & bezel) and though it's a 44mm diameter watch, it actually fits my skinny 6+ inch wrist (the shorter lug-to-lug helps in this regard). Hated the rubber strap that came with it, so swapped to an actual Casio bracelet ... which is OK, but not especially well made. All the same, I love my Duro.
Your blue one looks awesome! 👍👍
Love my black Duro. Unbeatable. Trying to resist the blue one. Feeling weak…
I have a black Duro that I've enjoyed for about three years. It's a great watch for travel and activities where there's a good chance I'm going to get rained on or wet in general. There's a blue Duro in the closeout display case at my local Walmart that's sitting at $37. If it goes down to $11 like others on here have said they've seen Duros at other Walmarts, I may break my one in/one out rule and get it. If I luck into that kind of deal I'm not sure if I'll keep it for myself or gift it, but it's that good of a watch that would consider a second one for my collection.
Love this series--really looking forward to future installments. I don't have a Duro yet, for unfathomable reasons, but it really does seem inevitable.
The Duro is king! The upgrades are also well worth it. Put low dome sapphire and a bracelet on mine. Looks and performs like a much more expensive watch:
Extra parts were only about $60, so still well under $200 at MSRP for a stellar watch. If you can get it discounted it's a no-brainer.
I have a black Duro that I've enjoyed for about three years. It's a great watch for travel and activities where there's a good chance I'm going to get rained on or wet in general. There's a blue Duro in the closeout display case at my local Walmart that's sitting at $37. If it goes down to $11 like others on here have said they've seen Duros at other Walmarts, I may break my one in/one out rule and get it. If I luck into that kind of deal I'm not sure if I'll keep it for myself or gift it, but it's that good of a watch that would consider a second one for my collection.
If it’s discontinued you’ll kick yourself for missing that $37.
I own two. I spent $45 on the black one, and only $11 for the Pepsi. They barely cost more than the bracelet and vinyl strap they sit on. Why anyone would bother spending more on a watch that they intend to submerge in water is completely beyond me.
If you're not buying a Rolex, you literally get nothing out of spending somewhere in between. No stranger is going to be impressed by anything besides a Rolex, most of us have zero in-person watch-loving friends, and the Casio Duro is one of the most accurate watches in the world. Spending more money will not get you a better watch.
Black on Nato. The Marlin logo will no longer appear in the future. Timex has the rights to it. They also have a watch called the Marlin.
The Marlin is awesome I own three of the things, which clearly qualifies me to say that the Starbucks one is easily the best one.
Duro is great! I have the original strap on my Pro Diver, which fits that watch because it's a smaller watch, so I have my Casio on this mesh strap, needs a chunkier version of this.
It's a great watch and arguably the greatest value diver ever made..
Can't beat the value this watch offers for the money.
I love my Duro. They're great. I would say, however, that you should brush up on what a fashion watch is after that, "ANY dive watch that costs more than the Duro is, in fact, a fashion watch..." line. I get that you're excited and happy and want to hammer home how you feel about the Duro, but that's not really the line to do it with. Just stop and consider all the watches (and owners) you're slating there.
I love my Duro. They're great. I would say, however, that you should brush up on what a fashion watch is after that, "ANY dive watch that costs more than the Duro is, in fact, a fashion watch..." line. I get that you're excited and happy and want to hammer home how you feel about the Duro, but that's not really the line to do it with. Just stop and consider all the watches (and owners) you're slating there.
You should read the entire sentence.
You should read the entire sentence.
The whole sentence? I'll reproduce the whole paragraph. Here you go:
"In fact, after owning this for a while and learning more about the market, there is an argument to be made that ANY dive watch that costs more than the Duro is, in fact, a fashion watch."
Again, just stop and consider all the watches (and owners) you're slating there.
Good luck.
“There is an argument to be made” = vicious attack. Got it.
PS I’d be “slating” myself.
I've tried my Duro on a few different straps, and by far my favorite is a generic elastic paratrooper strap. Would recommend!
Love them Duro’s
I've got a black and a blue one. I love them. And they look great on a Nato.