#Casio automatic watches license
#Casio automatic watches professional

Or you could say the Duro’s the “sensible man’s Submariner” – a watch where you don’t have to worry about a catastrophic shock (either physical or service cost) or “losing it” during an assignation.Ī classic? Depends on the new logo, but the smart money says yes. You could say the Casio MDV-106 Duro is a “poor man’s Submariner” – a watch with most of the looks, all of the ruggedness and none of the cachet of a high-end automatic tool watch. Salute! The gold Duro got a black Ritche canvas strap with red stitching and a gold buckle ($18.99). I added a red, white, and blue Barton NATO strap to my blue Duro for a patriotic theme ($12.50). For my black Duro, I went with a black (outside) crimson (inside) Barton Elite silicone strap ($20.00). It’s easy to customize with any variety of straps or bands. The other two average below +0.20 seconds per day. That translates to +3.6 seconds per month, which is far better than the manufacturer’s claim of +/- 20 seconds per month. My black Duro watch has averaged +0.12 seconds per day (using the Atomic Clock & Watch Accuracy Tool app). It significantly adds both comfort and perceived watch value. I can’t recommend shelling out an additional $20 for a Barton Elite soft silicone strap highly enough (no commission on link). īeyond doubt: the Casio MDV-106 Duro rubber strap is horrific in both form and function – a rubber hair shirt if you will. Whether the Duro will continue to out-ratchet the Rolex ten years from now is an open question.

But the longer you wear the Casio, the less you care.īut if you do care, note that the Duro’s uni-directional 120-click bezel is a pleasure it turns more precisely than my recently refurbished Rolex Yachtmaster’s bezel (which is not unidirectional). The closer you get, the better they look. There’s a reason why Rolex and other high-end divers cost more than 200 times more than this Casio. As the pics above indicate, the Casio Duro’s bezel lines-up perfectly and the second-hand alignment is amazingly consistent in all three of my examples.Īs you can see, neither the Duro’s rotating bezel nor its screw-down crown are sharp-edged.

#Casio automatic watches professional

RF’s recent review of the Waldan Watch Heritage Professional highlighted a defect bedeviling a lot of low-end quartz watches these days: the second hand missed the indices. While we’re on the subject, the Duro’s lume is better than you’d expect for a $50 watch – assuming you didn’t expect any and don’t expect much. Casio Duro fans are buying up the last of the Marlin-adorned Duros.

#Casio automatic watches license

Casio’s dropping the logo (on dial and caseback) the license for the logo is expiring. The well-framed date window and perfectly-sized and placed text keep the Duro’s design”classic.”Īs for the marlin logo, what’s more “dive watch” than a leaping big game fish? Other than any undersea creature in existence. Evocative? Derivative? No matter how you slice it, the 44mm watch is a minimalist monster in the legibility department. That said, the Casio MDV-106 Duro dial is highly “ reminiscent” of the Rolex Submariner and Yachtmaster. But they’ll recognize a solid beater when they see one. Sure, aficionados won’t mistake it for a Tudor or Rolex. Smooth in all the right places and strong where it needs to be. At 3.25 ounces (92 grams), it’s reassuringly hefty. I’m not sure if that makes me collector, but it doesn’t ding my cash flow.Īt the risk of returning to my opening metaphor, the Duro reveals its quality from the moment you pick it up. It currently comes in three colorways: black, blue and gold.

The MDV-106 Duro has presence, but wears small. The kicker? Fifty bucks! In fact, I bought the watch in the middle on sale at Amazon for $44.Īt 44mm, it’s no shrinking violet. But then so is any G-SHOCK and dozens of dive watches – many of which look pretty much the same.

I know: it’s a bog standard dive watch: water resistant to 200m, unidirectional ratcheting bezel and a screw-down caseback. But I believe the Casio MDV-106 Duro is a classic. Very few stick around around long enough to become regulars “classics.” The Casio MDV-106 Duro’s decade of production pales in comparison to the longevity of the 102-year-old Cartier Tank and those who speak haute horologiewill turn up their metaphorical nose at the Japanese three-hander. Watch models come and go like customers at the Moonlite BunnyRanch.