Hi,
It's not a G so the thread is slightly off-topic really but it's one hell of a watch considering the price - the AE-1000W-1AVEF (this version is not on the Casio USA homepage however). I picked it up from the post office yesterday and I'm still pretty excited about what you get for an MSRP of 25€ (in europe - I guess in the US it's even cheaper).
So here comes a little unboxing and a review:
nice pattern on the cardboardbox:-d:
![Image]()
after removing blister-foil and protectice crystal cover:
![Image]()
Nice nerdy vintage 80s design:
![Image]()
It's bigger than I thought from the pictures - the digits are 6mm high - bigger than most Gs - similar to the G-3010. The display is crisp and clear. The mini-dial takes a little getting used to but is also easy enough to read. The mini-map is a very cool feature and adds to the vintage look.
Still set to the time-zone of Tokyo - as you can see on the map.
![Image]()
I prefer the all-black version over the others - it makes the watch look nice and stealthy and in fact it doesn't look cheap I think. The slightly domed acrylic crystal adds to the look:
![Image]()
The overall quality is good enough - especially considering the price:
- resin case
- steel back (marked 'Made in China')
- soft resin strap
- black plastic buckle
- wears very comfy on my wrist
- the buttons are nice and easy to press and so far I haven't managed to press the 'search/start/stop'-button by accident
Let's come to the features which combine some elements not found in many other Casios:
- pressing 'search' in the time-keeping screen switches between home-time and 3 additional time-zones that can be set freely and of course be adjusted to DST on/off - you can swap those time zones with the home-time by pressing adjust+light
Tokyo time - time 4:
![Image]()
- world-time: 48 cities and 31 time-zones which you can also swap with your home-time by pressing adj+light at the same time
![Image]()
UTC doesn't get marked on the mini-map - only the 'normal' time-zones
- 5 Alarms setable as one-time or daily alarms
there is a little twist here - when you press adjust and the digits start blinking the alarm-type is always set to one-time alarm - at first I thought this was stupid but after a day of use I noticed that I use the one-time alarm far more often than I need a daily alarm - so when the alarm sounds I press any button to stop it and that's it. No need to go to the alarm menu and turn off the alarm so it doesn't sound the next day when you don't need it - pretty good idea. Of course when you set it for daily alarm the alarm simply stays that way till you switch it off, but once you change the alarm time you'd have to change the alarm type to 'daily' again. There's no snooze alarm but you can't have everything I guess :-d. The alarms are pretty loud (louder than most G-Shocks) and sound for 10 sec.
![Image]()
- 24 hr timer setable to the second and also shows 1/10 sec - not really necessary but nice because it gives you an instant optical feedback if you have started the timer correctly - useful when the watch is muted:
![Image]()
- then there's a 24 hr stopwatch - not much to say about it - Casio standard with the possibilty to take split time readings and two finishes:
![Image]()
What I like very much about that watch is the analogue LCD mini-dial (it even shows the seconds) that basically makes it an ana-digi without the normal disadvantages of an ana-digi: no hands obscuring the display and no moving parts - which means greater shock resistance and more room inside the case for a big battery - after all it's marketed as a 10-year-battery model (CR2025).
Something which adds much to the vintage appeal of the watch is the LED backlight that lights the whole display in a nice amber color and works even better than I thought (have to take a picture of that) - much better than the vintage mini-lightbulbs in fact. The upper left display indicates the 'mute', 'alm' and 'sig' markers btw - in case somebody was wondering why it's empty :-d. After one day the watch runs still in sync with my GW-2500B wich makes me think it will run much better than the specs say (+/-30sec/month).
wristshot:
![Image]()
when you're used to wearing G-Shocks it's pretty slim:
![Image]()
conclusion:
- a very nice vintage looking watch with crisp display and a great feature set at an unbeatable price
The only downside for some might be the acrylic crystal 'cause it's not really protected by the bezel and scratches easily - however you can buff out those scratches easily too with some cell-phone display polish. And it might be possible for people who wear the watch in front of the wristbone to accidentally switch time-zones by pressing 'search' - hasn't happened to me however so far.
For the price I think this is a strong buy for everybody with a love for that extra nerdy 80s vintage look and for those that want excellent features for little money :-!:-!:-!.
edit:
pic with the lights on (looks much better in reality but I never figured out how to do good night shots so far :-d:think
:
![Image]()
You get an idea at least - when pushing the light button at night it's perfectly legible across the whole dial - even the little analogue LCD mini-dial. The color looks different too - more of an amber color without that strange green tint I got in the pic.
Greetings, Sedi
It's not a G so the thread is slightly off-topic really but it's one hell of a watch considering the price - the AE-1000W-1AVEF (this version is not on the Casio USA homepage however). I picked it up from the post office yesterday and I'm still pretty excited about what you get for an MSRP of 25€ (in europe - I guess in the US it's even cheaper).
So here comes a little unboxing and a review:
nice pattern on the cardboardbox:-d:
after removing blister-foil and protectice crystal cover:
Nice nerdy vintage 80s design:
It's bigger than I thought from the pictures - the digits are 6mm high - bigger than most Gs - similar to the G-3010. The display is crisp and clear. The mini-dial takes a little getting used to but is also easy enough to read. The mini-map is a very cool feature and adds to the vintage look.
Still set to the time-zone of Tokyo - as you can see on the map.
I prefer the all-black version over the others - it makes the watch look nice and stealthy and in fact it doesn't look cheap I think. The slightly domed acrylic crystal adds to the look:
The overall quality is good enough - especially considering the price:
- resin case
- steel back (marked 'Made in China')
- soft resin strap
- black plastic buckle
- wears very comfy on my wrist
- the buttons are nice and easy to press and so far I haven't managed to press the 'search/start/stop'-button by accident
Let's come to the features which combine some elements not found in many other Casios:
- pressing 'search' in the time-keeping screen switches between home-time and 3 additional time-zones that can be set freely and of course be adjusted to DST on/off - you can swap those time zones with the home-time by pressing adjust+light
Tokyo time - time 4:
- world-time: 48 cities and 31 time-zones which you can also swap with your home-time by pressing adj+light at the same time
UTC doesn't get marked on the mini-map - only the 'normal' time-zones
- 5 Alarms setable as one-time or daily alarms
there is a little twist here - when you press adjust and the digits start blinking the alarm-type is always set to one-time alarm - at first I thought this was stupid but after a day of use I noticed that I use the one-time alarm far more often than I need a daily alarm - so when the alarm sounds I press any button to stop it and that's it. No need to go to the alarm menu and turn off the alarm so it doesn't sound the next day when you don't need it - pretty good idea. Of course when you set it for daily alarm the alarm simply stays that way till you switch it off, but once you change the alarm time you'd have to change the alarm type to 'daily' again. There's no snooze alarm but you can't have everything I guess :-d. The alarms are pretty loud (louder than most G-Shocks) and sound for 10 sec.
- 24 hr timer setable to the second and also shows 1/10 sec - not really necessary but nice because it gives you an instant optical feedback if you have started the timer correctly - useful when the watch is muted:
- then there's a 24 hr stopwatch - not much to say about it - Casio standard with the possibilty to take split time readings and two finishes:
What I like very much about that watch is the analogue LCD mini-dial (it even shows the seconds) that basically makes it an ana-digi without the normal disadvantages of an ana-digi: no hands obscuring the display and no moving parts - which means greater shock resistance and more room inside the case for a big battery - after all it's marketed as a 10-year-battery model (CR2025).
Something which adds much to the vintage appeal of the watch is the LED backlight that lights the whole display in a nice amber color and works even better than I thought (have to take a picture of that) - much better than the vintage mini-lightbulbs in fact. The upper left display indicates the 'mute', 'alm' and 'sig' markers btw - in case somebody was wondering why it's empty :-d. After one day the watch runs still in sync with my GW-2500B wich makes me think it will run much better than the specs say (+/-30sec/month).
wristshot:
when you're used to wearing G-Shocks it's pretty slim:
conclusion:
- a very nice vintage looking watch with crisp display and a great feature set at an unbeatable price
The only downside for some might be the acrylic crystal 'cause it's not really protected by the bezel and scratches easily - however you can buff out those scratches easily too with some cell-phone display polish. And it might be possible for people who wear the watch in front of the wristbone to accidentally switch time-zones by pressing 'search' - hasn't happened to me however so far.
For the price I think this is a strong buy for everybody with a love for that extra nerdy 80s vintage look and for those that want excellent features for little money :-!:-!:-!.
edit:
pic with the lights on (looks much better in reality but I never figured out how to do good night shots so far :-d:think
:
You get an idea at least - when pushing the light button at night it's perfectly legible across the whole dial - even the little analogue LCD mini-dial. The color looks different too - more of an amber color without that strange green tint I got in the pic.
Greetings, Sedi
