My favorite watch ever, also known as the Casio Royale, a truly fantastic time keeping device you should own
If you donât get the first title of this blog post, I donât blame you, if you do, youâre probably smiling at the seemingly random yet fitting reference to a James Bond film in a wristwatch review. đ
You see, the Casio AE-1200WH is a modern classic from Casio first released in 2012, with a pretty similar look to the watch that James Bond wears in the film Octopussy, from 1983. From there, the fanbase decided to name it the Casio Royale, like another Bond movie you probably actually know: Casino Royale.
The Seiko G757 featured in Octopussy
So, this watch is named after a movie it doesnât appear on, but its similar to the one that shows up in a different Bond movie, and I titled this post after a totally different Bond movie that has nothing to do with anything, except for one thingâŚ
I own, not just one, but two Casio Royales!
And the title says twice!âainât that clever? đ¤
It is no secret that I am a bit of a fan of Casio watches, ever since that one time I accidentally started a trend (although the one who named it would be R.L. Dane, as the #CasioCult), Iâve been buying them from time to time. I only own like 6, but other people have more than a dozen of them! Iâm totally fineâŚ
However, from the moment I got the Royale, nothing has managed to dethrone it from my wristâfor any significant period of time at least. Only the G-Shock GA-2100âalso known as the CasiOakâhas managed to come closeâand itâs also the first watch I bought twice, for different reasonsâbut it still is 3 times as expensive!
Two and a half years later, my Casio Royale is still going strong, so, as I said, I bought another one!
My two Casio Royales side by side!
You see, my friend Dusan recently (and finally) got a Casio AE-1200 for himself, and I noticed it was a color variant I had never seen before. It had a dark gray casing with black accents, and it used a black nylon strap. After looking it up online, the exact model was the Casio AE-1200WHUB-8AV, and I couldnât help myself and ordered it immediately, for the fair price of $45 USD and free shipping!
The previous model I still own is the silver one with a black resin strapâalthough I replaced it recentlyâthe AE-1200WH-1CV. After almost three years of use, I have to say, I am still super happy with it. Everything still works perfectly fine. It does have more than a few scratches on the case and the acrylic crystalâsome say itâs actually mineral glass, but Iâm not sureânothing substantial to be honest, so I canât complain.
The more common models of the watch can be found for as low as $20 bucks nowadays, so if I were to absolutely ruin it by letting it drown in a pool filled with blades, I wouldnât mind that much, although I would be sad just because itâs kind of precious to me.
When it comes to features, this simply has everything, in one of the most unique-looking form factors ever, it packs: World time, 10 year battery, great visibility, 100M of water resistance, up to 5 quick-access timezones, up to 5 alarms, timer, stopwatch, hourly beep, backlight, auto-calendar, DST support, what else do you need?
Just look at it! itâs absolutely gorgeous, there is no other watch like it. Although Casio has recently made pretty similar form factors, such as the LF-20W or the DW-291H, the Royale has become an instant classic that will be difficult to top for some time.
Not only is it great out of the box, and has a lot of official variants from Casio. They are incredibly popular in the modding scene. You can find great stainless steel casing with saphire glass, lots of different color options and straps, and other things that can be done to it. Be it actual modders who CNCâd and sell their designs, or cheap cases from AliExpress, or people on online marketplaces selling pre-modded builds, plenty of options are available.
I am more of a âset it and forget itâ kinda guy, but when the strap broke on my older piece, getting a replacement was super simple. Of course, this brings to light the one weakness of this watchâand most Casios, to be honestâthe resin strap. It canât be denied how flimsy and weak it is. At this point, itâs just something I expect to happen, but if you donât like that stuff, maybe just get the version with a nylon strap or a stainless steel bracelet.
My dark gray model with a nylon strap, gorgeous!
For the price, nothing beats it, every other watch has one or two missing features, or a higher price, this just works, and it does it all very well. As long as you donât mind a scratch or two, and a strap replacement.
