A day on the wrist - First Impression Review of the Casio Royale

Thanks to the mind-bending power of Instagram and convenience of same day delivery from Amazon, here I sit with my latest impulse buy, the Casio AE1200. So, what do I think of this low-cost tool watch? Was it still on my wrist at the end of the day?

It's got some character, I'll give it that! Maybe not pretty per se, but certainly something pops about that dial. It's a great piece of industrial design with form and function dancing together in step.  I've seen this watch a few times in images online and typically scrolled by without much attention until recently. Perhaps people are taking better photos of it, or maybe the inexpensive retro appeal caught me in the right moment. At <$50CAD I figured why not, let's see how this piece that looks like it came out of a Roger Moore era Bond pic (turns out that association is not by accident!) feels on the wrist.

First thing I noticed in person that I didn't catch in the photos was that the actual LCD numbers in the time display are slightly italicized. Clearly a deliberate decision and one I love, giving the boxy dial a racier flair, an element of speed if you will. What am I timing? Should I hurry? Perhaps if the success of the mission hangs in the balance... The map with LCD indication of geographic time zone is a brilliant touch as well and gives you the sense this piece could have sat on the wrist of a cold war era spy or two. The clock at the upper left seems superfluous but fun. I wish it functioned with the stopwatch, for example, or displayed a second time-zone (perhaps it does and I haven't read far enough into the manual yet!). The only real shame on the dial so far is that top right horizontal bar which seems to sit empty unless you have an alarm set.

The case sits nicely on the wrist, wearing a bit bigger than I thought seeing it in photos. The let-down is the bracelet, but more on that in a moment. It was fairly intuitive to set the time-zone, time, and date (don't forget to set the year!). I'm not sure why the "search" button doesn't cycle all the time zones rather than just jump to a select few. That feature may well be adjustable so I'll spend some time with the manual to find out. Anyway, back to that bracelet...

I watched a few videos on how to size this bracelet and still failed, or rather, got part way. The flat sliding link pins are brutal to take out (I broke a spring bar tool on my first attempt) and ultimately I could not loosen the one closest to the clasp on the far side, meaning I wasn't able to get enough links out to size down to my 6.5" wrist. I tried to compensate with the micro adjust  (almost shot my eye out with a spring bar in the process) but wound up with a bit of an awkward fit with one side longer than the other and levering the end of the clasp away from the wrist. One video I saw recommended using pliers, I didn't have any handy but will give it a shot. For the price point Casio clearly had to pinch pennies somewhere, but I'd probably have paid double for a decent bracelet and a bit more than that for a steel case rather than the painted plastic which may or may not last as long as the 10 year battery life for the movement within.

18mm Lug width likely means finding straps is a little harder, especially if I want one to flare to 24mm then taper the way the OEM one does. I may go for a NATO (comment your suggestions!) though I think the steel aesthetic suits it.

While the dial has a lot going on, it's a subtle watch on the wrist, unlike say even a smallish g-shock which still tends to wear more boldly. Call it a touch more covert than it's beefier cousins. I doubt any non-watch aficionado would notice it. I on the other hand keep staring at it as I do all new watches and I suspect this will find it's way into the regular rotation once I get the bracelet/strap sorted. I've even found myself looking up the black-case version with resin strap as a companion to this piece. 

As the daylight fades I test the illumination and find it surprisingly bright, readable and colorful. Another hint perhaps that the designer(s) want you to have a bit of fun with this utilitarian little piece of equipment. I'm quite happy to take them up on that suggestion.

Thanks for reading!