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I’m Diving into the World of Wristwatches (Start of a New Hobby?)

Intro

I never used to pay attention to wristwatches. The ones I had in the past just needed to tell time, look decent enough, fit comfortably, and not break the bank. But then I came across these people who were deeply obsessed with watches — customizing them, treating them like personal treasures, and even maintaining watch logs. That’s when things began to shift for me… just a little.

Current Cults

I guess it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I’m already part of several cults, the most obvious ones being ThinkPads, Linux, and Emacs. But when I saw people overly excited about their wristwatches, and sharing about them with others the way we do share our ThinkPads, it got me intrigued. My only working watch, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is awesome, but to me, that is more of a smartphone companion than a watch. And so I went exploring as to what was out there, what people look for in a wristwatch, and what I would want in one. I found this world of wristwatches to be huge and alienating, especially since I did not know where to start, and these exercises of exploration didn’t get me anywhere, at least during the earlier stages.

That Moment of Wonder

One day, I found myself at a pool — a rare occasion for me — and wanted to check the time. But I didn’t have a watch on me, and neither did anyone else nearby. I asked the lifeguard, and after a minute of trying to explain to him what I was looking for, I was pointed to the only clock in the massive indoor waterpark, and I had to walk for a minute or two to reach a readable distance. At that moment, I wished I had a watch that I could wear even in the water. And that’s when it all truly began.

Problem Statement

I restarted with the following initial search criteria:

  1. I wanted the best possible water resistance so that I would not need to worry about using it near or in water.
  2. I wanted an automatic watch so that I didn’t need to worry about replacing batteries or charging it. I’ve not had good luck opening watch cases, and taking them to a watch store just to change a battery would be embarrassing. More so while how deep I can go with computers has been a little too much lately.
  3. I wanted an atomic watch so that it would re-calibrate itself without manual adjustments ever so often.
  4. And when I learned there was something like solar charging, I thought I might as well add it to my criteria.
  5. Finally, being able to view time for multiple time zones just in case I would travel across states or countries, would have been great too.

Reality

Now these in itself are too wishful, especially given that I did not have a huge budget to start with. Having said that, there were a few things that I didn’t care about, and one of them included Bluetooth connectivity with a smartphone, which I learned was a thing even for non-smart watches.

I learned a lot of new terminologies and various types of wristwatches that existed, which were way more than just analog and digital. Some of them are: diver’s watch, field watch, dress watch, GMT or pilot’s watch, and more… I also learned that it was nearly impossible to have all of my five desired features in a single watch, as those are often covered by a watch specifically designed for that use. For example, a diver’s watch may offer the best water resistance out there, but not the multi-band reception for time sync. An automatic watch would winds itself and would never need a battery, but would not offer most other features, and likewise.

The Process

I realized looking for a watch with most if not all the features I wanted was tedious, especially on a budget. Getting a water-resistant watch was relatively easy, but automatic (or mechanical) watches were expensive. Once you add features like solar charging and atomic time updates, the prices go up quickly, and GMT watches lack many if not all of those features even at a price that someone like me who’s not into watches would consider unreasonable.

And then, I started to notice the versatility of Casio watches.

Landed on Casio

I went through several models, and the more I looked the more it confused me. It was like a world too deep for an outsider to be comfortable, yet somehow natural to the cultists.

To me, all Casio digital watches looked pretty much the same. However, the enthusiasts on those Reddit posts were being pretty nerdy about the minute details between models they owned, the ones they wanted to own, the ones they liked, and the ones they didn’t. Doesn’t that remind you of something I’m totally into? Of course, this was a cult parallel to that of ThinkPads!

A Few Specific Models

I wasn't very particular about a specific series or type, as I was lost in the variety.

  • I started to appreciate the G-Shock GA2100, along with its four or more variants including the GAB, GM, GBM, GMB, etc. and hundreds of color variations.
  • I also really loved the Wave Ceptor WVA-M650 as it was beautiful, combined digital and analog in a less flashy way than the GA2100, and appeared to be a great all-rounder at the price point.
  • I also fell in love with the WV-59 as it was unique, utilitarian, easier to use, and was nothing like anything I had seen before.

I almost pulled the trigger on each one of these over three successive days, liking the next watch way more than the previous. Looking at how different these three were from each other, I was clearly confused, and then I got pulled again into G-Shocks.

Got Pulled Towards G-Shock

I could never appreciate G-Shocks before and only found their designs loud, and bulky, somewhat like those lifted pickup trucks that often appear out of place on paved roads. But this time when I looked closer, I found that what G-Shock was to Casio, was pretty similar to what ThinkPad was to Lenovo. Or maybe that’s a little too extreme of an example, but I hope you get what I mean.

I could draw several parallels between ThinkPads and G-Shocks, and the following is some of what I learned:

  1. There are series that have different models, some even older than 30 years, and are still being sold.
  2. There are variants of a particular watch, and that often turns a DW watch with basic functionality into a GW watch with solar charging, multi-band radio reception, and much more.
  3. Color options for certain models are way too many to count.
  4. There is a huge aftermarket of parts and mods that one could buy to further customize and subjectively improve their watch beyond Casio’s original design.

Old Watches in 2025

One fun fact I learned about these watches, is that they have an automatic calendar baked into the module. This tells you the day of the week for a particular date but as there isn't a way to update that database, the older units could not go beyond 2029, which I’m sure must have been a far far future back when these were manufactured. The newly manufactured ones can go upto 2099, but if you get a hold of an older unit, there still are ways you get around that limitation.

Conclusion

The ThinkPad community taught me to be resourceful with older models, be grateful for basic features, and how to truly own your computer. I find the Casio and G-Shock communities to be very similar.

The way we can go on and on about a machine that was long discontinued, these people are geeky down to details like whether the countdown timer on their decades-old digital watch allows auto-repeat.

I no longer think all G-Shocks are the same. Am I about to join a cult I did not even know existed? Stay tuned, and we’ll find that out together!