Here's a couple of stock images from Google to kick things off (I'll explain below)
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"Value is a Relative Thing." I should put that in my signature. Value means a good return on your investment. Value means you get a lot of what you want for an acceptable amount of what you want to keep (most often, your money!)
This Casio MTP-1314D-7AV represents very, very good value to me.
I enjoy my affordable watches. I can enjoy my pile of relatively low cost watches a lot more than I would enjoy wearing something that set me back a big chunk of a paycheck.
I also enjoy playing "strap roulette." Few of the watches in my collection are on the bands that they arrived on. I'll move a band from one watch to the other, and I have a large selection of spares and colors. To that end, I've become a huge fan of NATO straps because of the variety and how easily they swap out.
That said, my most recent search for a watch included the following criteria:
Digging around, I found this Casio as readily available for just under $30, and it hit all the other marks. I have several other Casios in the collection and have always been pleasantly surprised by their "value" (see note above) so I jumped.
I am extremely pleased with this purchase!
The first thing I did was to remove the stock bracelet and start fitting NATOs on it. This presented a Problem of sorts - they *all* worked! I couldn't decide which one I liked best!
Here's a rundowns of features as observed:
The PROS
The CONS
That's the run-down, folks. For me, the versatility and the Pros far outweight those cons, defining a great value and a welcome addition to both the collection and the rotation.
Now for some pics; these are on a variety of NATOs to illustrate the versatility of the neutral colors and the overall style.
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Thanks for reading ~
"Value is a Relative Thing." I should put that in my signature. Value means a good return on your investment. Value means you get a lot of what you want for an acceptable amount of what you want to keep (most often, your money!)
This Casio MTP-1314D-7AV represents very, very good value to me.
I enjoy my affordable watches. I can enjoy my pile of relatively low cost watches a lot more than I would enjoy wearing something that set me back a big chunk of a paycheck.
I also enjoy playing "strap roulette." Few of the watches in my collection are on the bands that they arrived on. I'll move a band from one watch to the other, and I have a large selection of spares and colors. To that end, I've become a huge fan of NATO straps because of the variety and how easily they swap out.
That said, my most recent search for a watch included the following criteria:
- Quartz. I'm a no-bones-about-it quartz guy.
- Date
- Arabic Numerals
- White Dial
- Neutral accent colors that will allow it to go with a wide variety of straps
- At least 42mm case size (I'm a fat guy LOL)
- 22mm strap width (I have the widest selection of spares in that size)
- No regard for the stock strap; shopping for the Watch Head above all
- Cost < $50
Digging around, I found this Casio as readily available for just under $30, and it hit all the other marks. I have several other Casios in the collection and have always been pleasantly surprised by their "value" (see note above) so I jumped.
I am extremely pleased with this purchase!
The first thing I did was to remove the stock bracelet and start fitting NATOs on it. This presented a Problem of sorts - they *all* worked! I couldn't decide which one I liked best!
Here's a rundowns of features as observed:
- Brushed and fixed stainless bezel
- Case is otherwise polished
- Textured white dial
- Much lighter weight than some of the other wrist armor in the collection, and easily wears under the cuff of a sleeved shirt (wouldn't call it "thin", but it dang sure ain't "thick" either)
- Snap-in case back, stamped as "Stainless Case Back." This usually means that the case itself is some other base metal, but it is not marked and I can't find any info to support this.
- Flat mineral crystal, edges protrude *just* above the surrounding bezel
- Applied stainless markers at 1,2,4,5,7,8,10, and 11
- Painted chapter index and Arabic numerals at 3-6-9-12, all in (what appears to be) a matte charcoal gray (not black.)
- No lume on the fixed portion of the dail
- Stainless hands (all three) with no accent colors; average lume on the tips of the hour and minute hands
- Date window at 3
The PROS
- All monochromatic colors. Very "neutral".
- Dial texture is just right. Not too much, not too unusual. Conservative without being plain.
- Quick-set date (pretty much a standard feature with watches these days, but worth a mention)
- The polished case and brushed bezel has a nice look
- The 22mm NATOs fit it perfectly. Super comfortable on the wrist.
- Even though the watch cost me less than $30, it is dead silent (no Timex Tick,) and the second hand hits the marks 60 times per minute. It's dead on. Now that's a pleasant and noteworthy surprise on a watch in this price range!
- PRICE. It's hard to find a watch that is worth buying for less than $30** (at least for me) - let alone a really good watch that looks "grown up." (**At the time of me writing this, there are multiple vendors selling this watch in the referenced price range. Just search around on the web if interested.)
The CONS
- Snap in Case Back. We get spoiled with the screw-in types and the improved water resistance. This watch is tagged as 50m resistant
- No lume on the dial. This is a major issue for some; it doesn't really bother me. I'm rarely fumbling to tell time in the pitch dark, and the lume on the hands let me get the job done when inspecting.
- The stock bracelet. It's all folded links and there is no push button on the clasp. Has a clanky, cheap feel to it. But hey. It's the stock shoes on an otherwise cheap watch
- The Arabic 3 is truncated to accomodate the date window. At least it looks that way because of the width of the font used. All Casio had to do was make the font narrower at the 12, 9, and 6 positions, and it wouldn't appear this way. No big deal, just sayin.
That's the run-down, folks. For me, the versatility and the Pros far outweight those cons, defining a great value and a welcome addition to both the collection and the rotation.
Now for some pics; these are on a variety of NATOs to illustrate the versatility of the neutral colors and the overall style.
Thanks for reading ~
