Casio MTD-1080

The Casio MTD-1080 is one of those remarkable, budget heroes that only come along every so often. I have had my eye on one for about a year or so but only last week sprung into action to buy one when I read that the model has now been discontinued. Casio have a bad habit of discontinuing popular designs so it's advisable to pounce on any desirable model before it's too late.

At £49 (on sale) this watch represents exceptional value and the quality of it is comparable to timepieces that are ten times the value or more. The design is a contemporary take on the traditional diving watch and at a glance, looks immediately familiar. The 43mm steel case is reassuringly weighty and brushed on the top with a high polish on the sides. The standard lugs offer the opportunity to replace the strap with a variety of third party options. This particular model is fitted with a plastic diver strap which is very comfortable and feels like a quality piece. Casio straps often feel cheap and nasty but this one is a pleasant surprise. The uni-directional bezel is made of a hard plastic and rotates crisply and securely on the ratchet. Probably the most unique element of the design is the unusual bevelling on the bezel which creates a hexagonal geometry and creates a subtle, modern variation on a classic theme.

Shown above are the two other colour variations of the same model.

The watch is waterproof to 10 bar or 100m so is not a genuine diver but should serve well for most other water sports. The crown does not screw down and only presses into place after time adjustment. Powering the watch is a deadly accurate quartz movement which drives arrow-headed minute and hour hands and a centre second hand. The hour graduations are a combination of luminous, circle and batten markers with minute and sub-minute graduations printed onto the face. Day and date apertures are at 3 o'clock and the watch features light illumination by way of two, blue LED lights which are activated by the push button at 2 o'clock. This is an unusual feature for an analogue watch but a very welcomed one.

For those who like watches based on the classic diver template, this piece comes highly recommended. With day, date, water resistance, luminous markers and a night light, this watch is close to perfect and will look good with a wetsuit or dress suit. As these are now discontinued models, it's unfortunately a seller's market and some examples are as much as double the normal retail price on Ebay at the time of writing. Something to look forward to will be Casio's replacement for this watch which will hopefully fill a similar price range in the market and offer a similar level of high quality.

Casio Tough Solar AQ-S810W

If you've found the Casio G Shocks just a bit too pricey for a sports watch, then this budget hero Tough Solar presents a great alternative. At around £30 from internet retailers, this watch represents very good value and although being right near the bottom of the cost scale, is currently one of Casio's best looking watches. 

Look closely and you'll notice that the entire face of the watch is a solar panel which powers a rechargeable battery. With only a few days of charging, the watch will run for months. For economy of power, the minute hand only advances every 20 seconds and if the watch is left in the dark for a few days, the hands return to 12 o'clock and the watch enters a sleep mode to preserve power. As soon as it detects movement or light, the hands whirr right back to the correct time. Timekeeping is excellent with this model and it will lose or gain only one or two seconds per month. All the usual functions that Casio users will be used to are present with stopwatch, timer, world time, 5 alarms as well as a power indicator all on board. 

The evidence of the Tough Solar's budget nature is that the watch feels much lighter than a G Shock and the case plastics feel a little brittle. A tap on the crystal with a fingernail reveals that's it's made of plastic and not glass or sapphire. The strap also feels a lot less rubbery than those on the G Shocks and there is a plastic buckle instead of a steel one. The strap issue is easily resolved with the fitting of something more substantial, and just that small upgrade would change the feel of the watch a fair bit. Water resistance is rated at 10 bar or 100m rather than the 200m of the more pricey models. The stopwatch is also a little frustrating in that it only records up to one hour and the digital readout is a little small to read when running or swimming, making the watch suitable for outdoor lifestyles rather than for serious sports timing. 

All that said, this is a really special go-anywhere timepiece and there are very few sports watches that compare to it in this price range. You won't need to change the rechargeable battery for about 15 years and like most Casios, there's a good chance this watch will outlive its owner.