The numerous bollockings will also!

Growing up in the 80s and 90s, movies were a big part of our lives and Mum used to watch them with us. We used to get her to go to the local video shop and pick up movies we could watch as a family. Films like The Godfather, Predator, Total Recall and Scarface. The latter she loved the most.

She also enjoyed the last film we watched together, a few months before she passed: Django Unchained.

1995 was the first time we went to the cinema together. A trip to Manchester’s Belle Vue to see Heat. De Niro and Pacino on screen together.

Heat is up there as one of the finest films I’ve ever seen. The memory of watching it with her is still vivid, in a very happy way.

I recently looked into some of the watches that featured in the film, none of which I particularly fancied for myself.

Then today I came across an Instagram post showing the Swatch Gent RAP GR117, worn by Wes Studi’s character, Detective Sammy Casals.

Until I saw that post, I’d never noticed it.

Panther dial. Bandana strap. Possibly the coolest Swatch I’ve ever seen.

So what did I do? Immediately went on eBay and bought one!

The dopamine devil kicked in. Again.

I managed to find an apparently unworn example from 1993, complete with its original box and papers. Made an offer on the watch... sold.

Seeing the Instagram post, buying the watch, and writing this article has all happened in the last hour.

It’s certainly not my traditional taste, but for me it’s a cool timepiece that now has a connection to a very happy memory of watching a film we both loved.

We saw Casino together the week after. She found Joe Pesci hilarious.

Born out of the Covid era, Studio Underd0g, with its quirky and fun design language, is a true independent British success story.

Most of you reading this post will no doubt already know about the brand, so I won’t bore you with all of the backstory that is frequently written and spoken about elsewhere. YouTube has a host of content that can quickly bring you up to speed. Instead, I’ll focus on what drew me to the watch and my connection with it.

The Manchester Watch Show

Last November, I attended the Manchester Watch Show. There were five brands in particular that I was keen to see: Christopher Ward, who were unfortunately a no-show; Beaucroft; Minim Watches, which are still very much on my list; Formex; and Studio Underd0g.

It was at the Studio Underd0g stand where I met a great chap called Magnus Swann, one of the brand’s designers. At that time, their watches were hard to get hold of because of the limited production runs. Magnus was giving visitors a code they could use to obtain one of the watches online for a very limited time.

I went in with my mind on the Series 01 Watermelon. However, the array of choices in front of me left me feeling like Charlie Bucket visiting Willy Wonka’s factory.

At first, I tried on the Series 01 watches and loved how they looked, although they did look a little large on my teeny-weeny wrist. The Watermelon, resembling a fruit I could happily overdose on, was bright, vibrant and fun.

Then my eyes turned to the Series 02 field watches. I found myself being drawn to it more and more. At 37mm, with a Sellita movement and a choice of colours, it was leading me towards decision paralysis.

I absolutely loved the layered lume dial and the way the indices looked as though they were floating. I had seen some reviews criticising the two screws on the dial, but for me, they added to the charm.

Of the choices in front of me, I was torn between the Full Moon and the Pink Lem0nade, the latter pictured below. I mentioned my dilemma to Magnus, who grinned and advised me to “buy them both”.

I replied that the resulting exchange with my wife would surely place me in the doghouse. Quite aptly, Studio Underd0g has since opened the Doghouse in Maidenhead.

I walked away from the stand, deciding to sleep on it and place my order online over the coming days.

That didn’t happen, as I ended up picking up an Omologato Can-Am for my son as a surprise present, which the ungrateful sod still hasn’t taken out of the box, and backing a Kickstarter campaign for the McQuaide C1, which will be covered in a future article.

Needing a treat for myself

Fast forward to February this year.

We’ve all been there. You don’t really need to buy the thing, but you’re craving that dopamine hit and coming up with a dozen excuses as to why you “need” it.

My wife was overseas for a month because of a family emergency. I was home with the kids, whilst trying to keep on top of work after my role had just changed.

Normally, at home, I have one job my wife trusts me with: the ironing. However, the situation forced me to do all the other things she seems to manage so effortlessly.

I started feeling sorry for myself. Instead of being a good husband and searching for a gift to give her when she returned home, I was all over the internet looking for the thing that would make me feel happy.

Very selfish, I know.

Studio Underd0g started occupying my head again. Coincidentally, I received an email from them saying that, as a thank-you for being on their waiting list, I had a seven-day window to buy myself a watch.

Should I get one?

I really should.

My birthday was at the end of the month. I should get myself a present.

Cue about five days of deliberation. I’d narrowed my choices down to four:

1. The Watermel0n

2. The Go0fy Panda

3. The Pink Lem0nade

4. The Full Mo0n

All were great and all were fun. The deciding factor was which one would be the most versatile for my lifestyle.

I went for the Full Moon, which arrived a week later.

Was it worth it?

The watch has become an integral part of my rotation and goes with almost anything, whether casual or for work. When I recently went to Copenhagen for a client conference, this piece accompanied me.

The purchase was a lot of money for me and was made with a high degree of impulsivity. Overall, I’m happy I got it. Whenever I look at it, I smile.

The Watermel0n is still playing on my mind, though.

Just need another excuse.

Regards,

Waz

It belonged to my father, who passed away in 1982 when my brother and I were very young.

I have very few memories of my father, but a few stand out.

Seeing him watch football on a Sunday, on his day off.

Going with him to pick up his last car, a Ford Granada Ghia. I remember him packing that car with way more extended family members than was ideal for a day trip to Blackpool. My seat was the front armrest.

Watching Jaws one night together. I must have been about four years old, but I vividly remember it. Every time it’s on TV, I picture that scene.

His Oris Junior, always on his wrist.

Sadly, I don’t have any of my dad’s possessions other than this watch. Back in 2013, my wife had it fixed up and arranged for an engraving to be added to the back. When my mother died the following year, I gave it to my younger brother.

Last year, he gave it back to me. I was so excited to be reacquainted with it. I sent it to Oris for a crystal replacement and a service, and it returned to me a few months later.

The cost of the service was several times more than the financial value of the watch, but its value to me was priceless. The watch went into my rotation. I started wearing it carefully while working at my desk. For me, that watch represented a man who worked hard for his family, something I have tried to emulate myself.

A few months ago, I noticed it was not keeping time well at all, so I sent it back to Oris under guarantee. I have recently been told that the watch is no longer repairable because many of its parts are now obsolete.

In fairness to Oris, they have been great. They have promised to refund all my costs, and I am going to collect the watch in the next week or so.

Of course, I am gutted that it will never run properly again. I had hoped it would remain part of my rotation for years to come, quietly ticking away on my wrist as it once did on his.

There is something melancholy about the fact that I was never destined to spend much time with him, and now his watch.

The watch may no longer tell the time, but it will always be the most important timepiece I own. It will be kept safe and pass it down as an heirloom.

Love you, Dad.

There are countless videos on YouTube and Instagram promoting the idea that a collection should conform to distinct categories. You need a sports watch, a diver, an integrated bracelet watch, a dress watch and, of course, the obligatory GADA watch.

Look at my collection as a whole, though, and it is currently split something like this:

• Casio and G-Shock: 7

• Vintage Seiko dress and sports watches: 4

• Luxury chronograph: 1

• Luxury dress watch: 1

• Microbrand dress and field watches: 3

• Integrated bracelet sports watch: 1

• Quite a few random eBay finds

Hardly a perfectly balanced collection by traditional standards.

In terms of wrist time, my Casio and G-Shock watches are the clear winners. They fit my lifestyle perfectly. I have a desk job, but outside work I’m very active, particularly over the last two years, when I had to make significant changes for my health.

They are the watches I can put on without thinking. They come with me when I’m running, lifting weights or pretending to be Muhammad Ali during a punchbag session.

When I’m not doing any of those things, I find myself reaching more regularly for my Speedmaster, Datejust and microbrand watches.

The PRX gets less wrist time these days. That is probably because I’m sick of taking links out of the bracelet as my wrist has reduced significantly in size over this period. There may eventually come a point where there are no links left to remove.

One thing is certain. I’m not “done”.

Rather than trying to build a perfectly rounded collection, I find myself leaning more heavily towards three particular areas.

Dress

I have become much more confident in my own clothes recently, after a very, very long time.

As a result, I’m paying more attention to how the watch on my wrist works with what I’m wearing and where I’m going. I like the idea of choosing a watch that complements the outfit and the occasion, rather than simply putting on the same piece every day.

Field and tool watches

These seem to align with the person I’m becoming.

I’m more active, I want to spend as much time outdoors as possible and I’m increasingly attracted to watches that feel practical, dependable and ready to be used.

Fun

This is just as important.

I want watches that make me smile and reflect the side of me that enjoys having a laugh. I saw a note from featuring some Mr Jones Watches today, and it was partly what made me think about writing this piece.

The most important consideration, though, is simply acquiring the watches that I want. Watches that appeal to me, suit my lifestyle and reflect my personality.

With that in mind, here are a few that I have been thinking about recently. None of these fills a compulsory gap. They simply represent the directions in which my tastes are moving.

CWC G10 or Fatboy 80 Re-issue

I really like the look of the CWC G10. It is discreet, has a genuine military feel and comes with a reliable quartz movement on a good NATO strap. It is the sort of watch that can be worn without any fuss.

I have spent an enormous amount of time on eBay looking at military issued G10 watches from the 1990s, particularly those with tritium lume.

Here is the problem. Given the prices these watches are now selling for, you could buy a brand new, non issued version for around £100 more than a typical eBay example.

The military issued watches certainly have that connection and history, but their condition varies enormously. Many have chips, scratches and other signs of wear.

It is tempting to imagine that those marks came from Call of Duty style action somewhere in the Gulf. In reality, the owner might simply have caught the watch on a patio door frame while walking into the garden.

I think I would rather buy a new one and build my own story with it than pay for an imaginary one.

Then there is the Fatboy. My mind is increasingly moving towards this version. It has a more vintage appearance and a chunkier presence on the wrist. It still retains that military simplicity, but there is something a little more distinctive about it.

Studio Underd0g Watermel0n

Some might argue that it is overpriced for a watch using a Sea Gull movement. Perhaps it is. Honestly, though, the Watermel0n is loud, playful and completely unapologetic. It simply exudes fun.

Studio Underd0g also appears to be producing more watches than ever, so it no longer feels quite as difficult to obtain one. At some point, a trigger may be pulled.

It would not fill a missing category in my collection, but that is rather the point of this entire piece.

Going nuts on G-Shock

You could build an entire collection around G-Shock alone. I absolutely do not need another one. That does not stop my head being turned by the special editions that seem to appear every few months.

The Japanese domestic market models are another rabbit hole entirely. There are colours, collaborations and designs that we rarely see through the usual UK retailers.

Do I need another G-Shock?

No.

Will that necessarily stop me?

Also no.

A rectangular dress watch

I seem to be increasingly drawn towards tank-style watches.

I recently tried on a titanium Cartier Santos, but it was far too big for my wrist.

Since then, I have found myself gravitating towards a smaller Tank. After all, if it was good enough for Muhammad Ali…

That said, I’m not wedded to the idea of Cartier. There are other options that I need to explore further and which may be considerably more sensible from a price perspective.

The Longines DolceVita is an obvious example. The echo/neutra Rivanera is another interesting alternative. Perhaps the final choice will be a Cartier. Perhaps it will not.

The important thing is finding the right watch for me, rather than simply buying the name people expect to see in that particular category.

Conclusion

I don’t believe there is an ideal template for a watch collection. Tastes and lifestyles evolve. The person building the collection changes too.

A collection does not need to include one watch from every recognised category. It does not need to satisfy a checklist created by YouTube or Instagram. It certainly does not need to make sense to everyone else.

For me, the aim is to choose watches that match my lifestyle, my personality and, most importantly, my smile. Even when they are a little bit wacky.

I would love to hear how other people approach their collections. Do you try to keep things balanced, or do you simply follow whatever catches your eye?

Let’s see where the wrist action takes us. Rude pun not intended.

Our friendship began back in 2007 when we worked together for the same company. Our paths diverted and converged a few times from a work perspective and as of today, we’ve been working in the same company and team for five years. Over a span of 19 years, I consider him more than a colleague and friend. We call each other “brother”.

Back in 1999, he was contracting in Ireland and decided he wanted to buy his first “big boy watch”. He was always attracted towards Omega and viewed the brand as the BMW of watches. Upmarket, but not in a pretentious way. He felt it was good value for money, with high-class engineering. I also know he’s a James Bond fan, and Omega’s association with 007 began with the release of GoldenEye in 1995.

The OG Omega

Although not the “Bond watch”, he ended up picking up this beautiful piece, an Omega Seamaster 200m OmegaMatic. It uses a hybrid movement combining quartz precision with a rotor-driven charging system. It was a timeless and exceptionally accurate first “big boy watch”.

The watch remained on his wrist pretty much continuously for 21 years (except for a service in 2009). There are many milestones tied to that watch; professional achievements and growth, special holidays and more importantly the births of all his five daughters (unlike me, he still has a full head of hair).

As someone who has many watches in his collection now, there is 100% something regarding that “one watch” which you never take off.

A New Omega

In 2022, he inherited some money from his great aunt. She had no children of her own and was very close to him throughout his life. She paid for all the flooring in his house when he moved because he couldn’t afford it at the time. He wanted something to remember her constantly, and decided to “upgrade” his watch. Like me, he never dived, but fell in love with a dive watch - leading him to pick up this Omega Seamaster 300m, which I’ve seen him happily wear ever since.

Airport Security

Earlier this year, we attended a corporate event in Madrid for a few days. I had my Speedy with me for that trip, along with an Orange Casio F-91W which I wore with my tuxedo at the awards night. He came along with his Seamaster 300m, the love of his wrist.

Travelling home from Madrid to Manchester (via Heathrow) was where this happy trip turned rather sad. I am always super cautious at airport security with whichever watch I wear, carefully placing it into a case and bag as I have a cynical outlook on life. My mate on the other hand, always the happy optimist, placed it on the tray as he went through security.

As the pilot announced we were about to land in Heathrow, the realisation dawned on him. He never picked up his watch from the tray….it was still in Madrid (or possibly on somebody else’s wrist!). Much later, he described feeling like his “rectum chewed a hole in his underpants”.

I didn’t find out until we were making our connection at Heathrow. My heart sank for him. The feeling of losing something both valuable and meaningful really got to me. To be fair on him, he was composed and wasn’t panicking (at least outwardly).

When I got home, my wife asked me how the trip went and I responded with he “lost his Omega”. I was genuinely gutted about it. It felt like I’d lost something precious of my own.

The following Monday, I asked if he was all right and he responded “trying not to think about it. I’ve emailed the airport but have heard nothing back. It’s just a watch at the end of the day, I’m lucky for the life I have and my kids - and that puts things into perspective”.

Honestly, I didn’t fully believe him.

The Juan and Only

Back at work, he had a brainwave. He reached out to a Madrid based colleague, Juan, to see if he could go to the airport and enquire about the watch. Later that evening, he received the following picture from Juan (alongside our company mascot):

Speaking to him shortly after, he was elated and obviously relieved. The piece that meant so much was safe.

Friends Reunited

A couple of weeks ago, he was finally reunited with the Seamaster when we met Juan at an industry conference in Denmark. In the meantime, he had enjoyed re-bonding with his OmegaMatic again, a watch filled with memories and still soldiering on (accurately) 17 years after its last service. I did give him a spare watch donut case, so he could transport it back from Denmark safely. There would be no repeat performance at airport security.

Some people will say it is only a watch. In the grand scheme of things, perhaps it is. But this one brought in memory of somebody special. It had become part of his daily life, and it now carried another story: Madrid airport, a reunion in Denmark and a colleague who went out of his way to bring it home.

The love of his wrist was safely back where it belonged.

Dependable, rugged, and ready for almost anything you throw at them.

The Red Ben 10

I bought my first G-Shock back in 2013 from Amazon, a G-7900A.

Back then, I was at the start of an 18-month fitness love affair, which ended badly as we drifted apart and I kept getting headaches. This watch shouldn’t have worked for me, but I was drawn to it. The big bright red case stood out and somehow matchedj the energy and confidence I had at the time.

World Time, Moon/Tide indicator, none of which had any real business being in my life at the time.

I did get some comments from friends and family.

“Are you 8?”

“Why are you wearing a Ben 10 watch?”

I didn’t care much for that. This weird watch resonated with me at the time, and that was fine with me.

For two years, this monster didn’t leave my wrist. Gym, socialising, I even wore it with a suit. I know.

But ultimately, my head was turned by the Apple Watch in 2015, resulting in the G-Shock being consigned to a drawer. Moving house a year later, I believe it got thrown out.

Something I regret somewhat.

Bamford x G-Shock 5600

YouTube and Instagram convinced me that I needed a square G-Shock.

Then one afternoon I came across a pretty cool pre-launch campaign for this watch. From everything I could tell, it looked so cool and so unique. The black steel finish, blue accents and dark screen gave it a real stealthy look.

There has been plenty of talk lately about a certain watch collaboration. I’m not normally one to follow hype, but this design really appealed to me. I knew if I got it, it would be used.

I heard about the previous Bamford/Casio collaboration, the 6900, which coincidentally I’m now looking online for, and that the launch had shut down Carnaby Street.

For this watch, the dopamine devil really wanted me to go for it. But I live nowhere near London, where they had taken over a newsagent to create a pop-up store to launch the piece. I honestly didn’t think I’d stand a chance of getting one.

But on launch day, I found it on the Bamford website and bought one with ease.

The watch arrived a couple of days later and is now a regular in my rotation. Not a gym watch, but one I’m happy to wear depending on the outfit.

My brother loved it and decided to get one for himself. That brings a smile to my face, as we haven’t had the same “thing” in decades. I gave him the Bark & Jack blue NATO strap I bought with it, as the colour didn’t quite go with my strong Manchester United support.

The only niggle with this watch is the name Bamford all over the strap. Not a huge deal. People have asked what Bamford means, and I just tell them it’s my ancestral name.

Sorry George.

The Gym Squares

A couple of years ago, I bought a GBD-200 on a whim at a shopping mall.

This became my default gym watch for a while, during another attempt at making fitness stick. This time, thankfully, the relationship is still going.

I liked the stealthy nature of it, and the MIP negative display is outstanding. The “fitness” and connectivity aspects of this watch were pretty crap though. I had no use case for them, as I was already all in on the Whoop.

I ended up selling this on eBay this year to make way for the GW-BX5600.

Honestly, for me, this is the perfect G-Shock. It can literally be worn with anything. The MIP display, Tough Solar and World Time features are great.

In February, my wife had to go overseas to be with her sick father and was gone for a month. This watch didn’t leave my wrist for the duration. I kept her timezone on the display, a small digital reminder that part of me was somewhere else.

This is a very regular wear for me, and is used primarily when I’m doing hours of cardio each week.

The 6900

I stumbled across this pretty cool 6900 on eBay for £40.

Mint condition.

This chunky beast gets me in the mood when I’m in the gym hammering out the weights. It’s big, it’s tough, and it does the job.

Since then, I’ve found myself disappearing down the 6900 rabbit hole, looking at different variants and special editions online. There are loads out there, especially the Japanese market specials.

I can feel a small collection starting to form.

The devil will have its way.

None of these watches are elegant. None of them are subtle. Some of them are probably ridiculous. But that is part of the charm.

G-Shocks don’t ask to be admired. They just turn up, take the knocks, and somehow end up attached to memories anyway.

For me, that is very Casio.

And very hard not to love.

Going to the cinema did not require a financial planning meeting, and we were raised firmly in the action era. Arnie, Stallone, Bond, explosions, one-liners, impossible stunts and heroes who somehow survived everything.

Manchester’s Belle Vue Showcase was a hive of buzz whenever a new blockbuster came out. It was there, in 1996, that I went with friends to see Mission: Impossible. Tom Cruise was at his peak and the film was brilliant.

Last year, as I was getting more into watch content, I came across a great video by TGV about the Casio DW-290 and its appearance on the wrist of Ethan Hunt in that movie. The stills confirmed it. There it was. A strange, chunky, very 90s Casio on the wrist of peak Tom Cruise. I say peak Tom Cruise, although I never really got into that vampire interview one.

It looked pretty cool. Or perhaps more accurately, Mr Cruise made it look pretty cool.

That sent me down the usual rabbit hole. More videos. More photos. More forum posts. More people making the case for a watch that, on paper, should not have been remotely desirable.

I also came across the Robert Mueller connection. The former FBI Director was often associated with a no-nonsense digital Casio, worn on the inside of his wrist. Some have identified it as a DW-290, although others are a little more cautious and say it could have been another similar Casio digital. Either way, the image worked. Serious man, serious job, deeply unserious looking watch.

I cannot quite pinpoint why, but I decided I needed one. Needed sounds ridiculous, I know. But that is how it felt.

The DW-290 had become harder to find. I searched eBay, but most of the examples I found were either tired, overpriced, or both. Then I found a listing on Amazon. It was sold out, so I set up an alert to be notified if any came back into stock.

A few months later, the alert came through.

I ordered it from Amazon US, which I think remains the only thing I have ever bought directly from the States. It arrived, I put it on, and for the rest of last year it became my default gym watch.

Now let’s be honest. It is butt ugly, but with some proper charm.

The odd case shape, the blue text, the electro-luminescent backlight, which is pretty sick, and the general feeling that it was designed by someone who had absolutely no interest in making something elegant.

Functionally, though, it is an absolutely cracking watch. It has 200m water resistance, a useful digital layout, stopwatch, timer, alarm, backlight and all the practical Casio goodness you could want. It feels like a G-Shock that wandered into the wrong meeting and somehow got approved anyway.

These days, it remains in my gym rotation.

That feels right for it. It is not delicate. It is not precious. I do not have to think about it. Whether I am lifting, running, hitting the punchbag, or generally trying to convince myself I am still 25, the DW-290 just gets on with it.

There is something very satisfying about that. Some watches ask you to admire them. This one asks you to use it.

I still wear it from time to time outside the gym too, usually with the Mission: Impossible theme playing in my head on repeat.

It is not refined. It is not beautiful. It is not trying to be either.

It is an unofficial G-Shock at half the price, with Ethan Hunt energy and just enough weirdness to make it interesting.

If you want to get hold of one, try what I did. Set an alert, be patient, and wait for the mission briefing. Luckily, nothing will self destruct in a few seconds.

I will leave the link to the TGV video here.

Released in 1989, the Casio F-91W is considered by many to be everything you actually need in a wristwatch. I’m inclined to agree. Long battery life, accurate digital quartz, alarm, stopwatch, it pretty much covers the essentials. The design is timeless too, and still looks cool by today’s standards. Remarkably, it has barely changed at all.

Apple Watch aside, this is arguably the best selling watch of all time. Even now, you can pick this little legend up on Amazon for around £15.

I bought one a few years ago on a whim while browsing Amazon. At the time, my wrist was much bigger and it looked way too small on me, so I passed it on to my youngest daughter when she was 11.

I have three kids. The older two are young adults now, but my youngest is the one who, over the last few years, has spent a lot of time with me when I’m relaxing, usually watching watch content on YouTube while she quietly does her own thing, usually on her iPad. What I’ve noticed through little conversations is that she has picked up a surprising amount of watch talk along the way, even terms like “lug to lug”. In the back of my mind, I’d love for her to get into watches over time so that it becomes something we can share as the years go on.

She’s 13 now, and the F-91W has barely left her wrist. She wears it everywhere, school, days out, lounging at home. You can tell she has a real attachment to it. Pink is her favourite colour, so I bought her a Swatch last year. She said she liked it, but I’ve never actually seen her wear it. This Casio is the one she keeps coming back to.

She has access to other watches in my collection, but she is seriously attached to this one. She recently got into Stranger Things and was buzzing when she spotted one of the characters wearing an F-91W. It made me smile, because it is exactly the sort of thing I find myself doing when I watch TV or films, or even when I meet people in real life. My eyes always end up drifting to the wrist to see what’s being worn.

At work, our company colour is bright orange. Earlier this year I picked up a few orange Casios for myself and two close colleagues to wear at an annual event. On awards night, I could easily have gone for the Rolex or the Omega, but instead I wore this with my tuxedo.

That says a lot.

The F-91W is simple as hell, does the job, and still looks cool. Its simplicity, usefulness and appeal at around £15 is a reminder that you do not need to spend thousands to form a connection with a watch. Sometimes you just need something honest on the wrist. Sometimes that is more than enough.

For me, Casio sits firmly in that last category.

It is easy to talk about watches in terms of heritage, mechanics and prestige. I enjoy all of that as much as anyone. But Casio has always offered something different. Something more direct. More honest, perhaps. These are watches that do not ask much of you, yet somehow give a lot back.

They are practical, light-hearted, reliable and, in many cases, quietly iconic. Whether it is a simple everyday digital or a chunkier G-Shock that can take some serious punishment, Casio has a way of making watches that just fit into real life.

That is a big part of the appeal for me. My Casios have never felt like a separate lane from the rest of my collection. They have grown alongside it. While I have come to appreciate mechanical watches more deeply over time, Casio has remained a constant. Not as a fallback, not as a novelty, and certainly not as something lesser, but as a genuine part of what I enjoy about watches in the first place.

There is also something refreshingly unpretentious about the brand. Casio can be clever without being smug, nostalgic without feeling stuck in the past, and fun without becoming disposable. Some models are stripped back to the bare essentials. Others lean fully into colour, shape and character. But the thread running through all of them is the same: they are made to be worn, used and enjoyed.

That is what this series is about.

Over the next few posts, I want to spend some time with the Casios in my collection and the experiences attached to them. Some are humble classics. Some are more playful. One is seriously ugly, but I like it. Some have earned their place through sheer usefulness, others through charm alone. None of them are here by accident. I will also cover some of the ones I hope to own in future.

This is not a history of the brand, and it is not an attempt to rank the greatest Casios ever made. It is simply my own account of why these watches still matter to me and why, even alongside everything else I own or may own in future, they will always have a place in my collection.

• an everyday beater/tool watch

• a dress watch

• a diver

For the most part, I’ve built a collection that spans a spectrum of budgets, brands, and genres.

One thing I don’t have? A dive watch.

Why? Because I don’t dive. In fact, I’m a pretty rubbish swimmer. I can get from one end of a pool to the other, but you couldn’t name the technique. It’s less “freestyle”, more “controlled survival”.

Do I need one? Absolutely not.

That said… if I ever go there, it won’t be about function. It’ll be about aesthetics and connection.

I’ve tried on a few options recently, partly curiosity, partly planning ahead for the big 5-0 next year.

Tudor Black Bay 41 (Monochrome)

This one really spoke to me.

Clean, monochrome, simple, it just works. And crucially, it’s super legible for these ageing eyes.

My only niggle is the size. It looks fine in photos, but as my wrist continues to shrink with the weight loss and fitness journey, I’m not sure it’s a long term fit.

Tudor Black Bay 58

Now we’re getting closer.

Size wise, this feels right. The red bezel is spot on. The red dial is beautiful, but for me, just a touch too loud.

Would I consider this with a black dial in this size? Very tempting. Also, this would have to be on a steel bracelet. No debate.

Tudor Black Bay 54

Proportion wise, this is the one.

Slim, balanced, and just sits right. Proper vintage vibes, nodding back to early Submariners. This is firmly on the shortlist.

If it came in a full monochrome variant? It would probably already be in the watch box.

Rolex Submariner

The dive watch.

This one, my brother in law’s “bluesy”, is a statement piece. I love it aesthetically.

But here’s the contradiction, why all that bling for what’s supposed to be a tool watch. Then again… the answer is obvious. It’s a flex. He picked it up in the early 2000s for a few grand. Today? A very different story.

As much as I admire it, I can’t see myself parting with that level of cash.

And that whole “Tudor is the poor man’s Rolex” thing? Complete nonsense.

Breitling Super Ocean Heritage

I wandered into a boutique recently and had a great experience, no pressure, no judgement, just good vibes.

These wear incredibly well, better than the proportions suggest.

But here’s the issue, it doesn’t feel like it has its own lane in my collection. It overlaps. And again… there’s that subtle “flex” energy.

Omega Seamaster 300 and the Planet Ocean

These are objectively excellent.

The rubber strap works brilliantly. But I just can’t get past the helium escape valve. I’ll never use it, and visually, it does nothing for me.

The Planet Ocean fixes that, but brings its own issues, thickness and price. That orange pop though? Very cool.

Abinger Nimrod

At the more attainable end, this is a brilliant watch.

Great presence, wears well, and gets a lot of love. That red dial is excellent, more restrained than the BB58.

But the name… Nimrod.

I just can’t get past it.

Conclusion so far….

I don’t need a dive watch. Not even slightly. The only thing I’m really diving into… is the idea of owning one.

The dopamine devil is there, quietly doing its thing.

And if I cave? It’ll be the Tudor Black Bay 54.

Unless, of course, someone wants to gift me a Submariner.

We lived very close to my eldest uncle during those formative years. He was a hardworking entrepreneur, an immigrant who built a successful business to support his family. The kind of story that rarely gets recognised in today’s increasingly right leaning environment.

He was good to his sister, and he was great with us. Remarkably, he never seemed to lose his cool with my brother and I, even when we were misbehaving.

One of my earliest memories is noticing what was shining on his wrist.

A Seiko Pogue. An automatic chronograph with a bright yellow dial and Pepsi bezel.

The watch is famous for being worn by US NASA astronaut William Pogue, and is widely regarded as the first automatic chronograph worn in space. He chose his personal watch rather than the official Omega Speedmaster.

I admired that watch long before I knew anything about watches.

Sadly, my uncle passed away in 2013. His eldest son now wears the watch in his rotation.

I’ve often thought about buying a modern day version. It’s a remarkable piece. But if I’m honest, it feels like a tribute that isn’t mine to claim.

The Pogue is worn by my cousin. More importantly, it belongs to my uncle.

It carries his story. And it’s being worn exactly as it should be, with meaning.

Always in our prayers, uncle.

Some years ago, I downloaded a gambling app and started making small bets on football matches. As expected, I lost more than I won. There was a palpable buzz from that rare win.

It started to get out of hand when I found myself betting on matches in Vietnam, and baseball games in the US at 3am. Luckily, I caught it early. I deleted the app and never went back.

In 1989, I convinced my mum to buy me a Commodore 64, promising I’d “do all my homework on it”. I didn’t. It was all about the games. Some of the happiest memories of my childhood. Waiting for The Last Ninja II to load, with its 8-bit music was an absolute joy.

Three years ago, I saw one on eBay and decided to bid. I told myself the nostalgia would be worth it. It wasn’t about the computer, it became about winning. The final frantic minute of oneupmanship led to an over the top purchase price. I was embarrassed and kept a very low profile at home.

When it arrived, the feeling I expected, setting it up and waiting 10 minutes for The Last Ninja II to load, was flat. I tried Double Dragon too, with the same sad effect. I ended up selling it at a loss.

Getting deeper into watches, I’ve found myself regularly browsing Chrono24 and eBay. I’ve picked up a number of Seiko, Casio and Timex pieces, and I’m on the hunt for a vintage Zenith that once featured on the About Effing Time podcast.

For the most part, I’ve stayed sensible. But that same trait surfaced again recently. The need to win.

I placed a laughably high bid on a G-Shock 6900, the Hodinkee / Ed Sheeran collaboration. I won. Instant regret. Thankfully, the seller agreed to cancel the order. I was lucky that time.

I know that devil is still there, waiting for the next auction.

I can’t be the only one.

Then came the weird period.

Wearing a Whoop on one wrist, and an Apple Watch on the other, tracking everything across two platforms. It made no sense.

For years, the Apple Watch had been the dominant watch on my wrist. Latterly, the Ultra.

In April 2024, I added a Whoop, worn on my non-watch wrist ever since. Over time, it became clear it provided far more powerful and actionable data than the Apple Watch ever had.

I was all in on the Whoop, and increasingly disenchanted with the idea of a smartwatch. My enthusiasm had already started to wane during the pandemic (remember those ghastly daily death tolls?) and it slowly chipped away.

I was no longer viewing the watch as a timepiece, but as an extension of my phone, with no let-up.

Whilst we’re here, I should say I disabled news notifications on my phone a long time ago. It was only the day after I found out that the Queen had died.

At this stage, I had two watches in my collection: my beloved Speedmaster (which I was babying), and a vintage two-tone Datejust (more on that another time). The Datejust at 36mm is a beautiful watch, but with my huge arms at the time, it looked way too small.

By December 2024, I’d had enough. I passed the smartwatch on to my teenage son and decided I wanted to get back into wearing “proper” watches.

I started wearing the Speedmaster more regularly, but felt I needed a daily I could wear all the time and not spend tonnes of money in the process. The thing was, I had no clue where to start.

Enter, the YouTube rabbit hole…

A few simple searches quickly turned into daily consumption of watch content from all sorts of sources. The likes of Teddy Baldassarre, and the duo behind podcast, were (and still are) great sources of information on the watch world. I found myself engrossed.

In terms of “daily watches”, certain names kept coming up: the Seiko 5 diver, the Alpinist, Certina DS, and the Tissot PRX Powermatic 80. The latter had me intrigued. It was clearly popular.

For those unfamiliar, the PRX is a “sports” watch with an integrated bracelet, drawing inspiration from Tissot’s 1978 line of Quartz Seastar watches. From the images alone, it looked damn good—versatile, sharp, and that waffle dial really stood out. It had Royal Oak vibes for me, but at a far more attainable price point.

I found myself going to bed regularly thinking about this watch in particular. For weeks, I was checking reviews on it almost daily.

I took on board both the positive and the not-so-positive takes, the latter saying things like:

• “The PRX succeeds on design, but not necessarily on personality.”

• “The most talked about overhyped watch”

• “There are plastic components…”

• “There’s no servicing the PRX…it’s easier for Tissot to just replace the movement..”

None of it really landed. I had an itch that needed scratching. I needed to see it in person.

Looking at the range on display at Ernest Jones in Manchester’s Trafford Centre, my eye kept gravitating towards the emerald dial. It was stunning.

Trying it on, it just felt right. After going home and sleeping on it for over a week, I returned to the dealer and pulled the trigger. It became my go-to piece through most of 2025.

Call it hype if you want. I don’t see it that way. I like to think of myself as my own man. I don’t blindly follow trends, and I’m not always swayed by negative opinions. If I like something, that’s all that matters.

My weight was dropping during 2025 (since September 2024, I’ve lost approximately 44kg). With that, I found myself regularly removing links from my bracelet. For a period, I swapped it onto a leather strap which, to be fair, made the dial pop nicely (it’s now back on the bracelet again).

Although the 40mm diameter now wears pretty large on my wrist (they’ve since released some nice 38mm models), this watch is still active in my rotation.

More than that, it’s been the catalyst along with watch content; in my deep dive into the world of watches over the last year or so.

My taste is ever evolving. My era with Smartwatches is over. I have no interest in closing my rings.

Leading up to the annual event I was working away in Hereford. Sat in my hotel room I thought “I better get her something”. I logged onto Moonpig, threw together a card with a few decent photos of us, and added a jar of sweets for good measure.

When I reached home, she had received the thoughtful gift and asked “why did you send me Happy Birthday sweets?”. The words “oh bollocks” reverberated in my mind.

That Saturday, we had the whole extended family around our house, enjoying a nice summers evening in the garden. Great BBQ. Great company. Proper summer stuff. Midway through destroying lamb chops like Fred Flintstone, my wife appears with a huge box.

I opened the box in front of everyone - half excited, half mortified - and there it was. An Omega Speedmaster Professional (hesalite). My first proper luxury watch.

People talk about the Moon landing, Apollo 13, the history. That’s not what it means to me. To me, it’s a reminder of my first “proper” watch - and of the woman who gave it to me.

I barely wore it for years. Babied it. Defaulted to the Apple Watch instead (it took me until the end of 2024 to snap out of that).

These days I wear it the way she gave it to me. With a smile.

Here’s a picture of it on a NATO (back on bracelet now).

Being a child of the 80s, I remember that initial buzz I felt when being handed my first digital Casio watch. Assuming it was waterproof, primary school aged me filled up a bathtub and submerged the piece to test the resistance. That initial buzz quickly descended to disappointment and quite the tantrum.

I recall receiving a Casio calculator watch from my uncle who sold electronics at Manchester’s former Moss Side market. That watch, gold in colour made me feel special. Being absolutely useless at maths at school, I naively thought my struggles would be a thing of the past. Writing this, I am reminded of a nice kid from secondary school days (some years later), Andrew. Andrew was a great kid - super clever at maths and sciences. His handwriting was a bit like an ECG chart, so perhaps he’s writing prescriptions these days. Andrew had the later generation of calculator watch at the time which in my eyes was the coolest thing ever as it had a databank and could read your pulse - decades before smartwatches.

For my 16th, my uncle gave me a gold Seiko Kinetic watch. Although I really liked it I didn’t look after it and regrettably have no idea where it ended up.

Late 90’s, an older brother got me this Zeitner. I know nothing of this brand but the name “Commando” resonated strongly (Arnie fan here, I have my eye on that Seiko…).

My watch journey has changed somewhat since then. In the last couple of years, I’ve taken things a little bit more seriously to the point where it’s become a hobby I read and view content about all of the time. This blog isn’t about reviews, it’s about the stories and personal connection that I have with my collection as it evolves.

Although many have not heard of it, the Zeitner Commando represents an early marker in time - a reminder of where this all began, long before it became a hobby.

I suspect many of us have an early marker in time. What is yours?