Casio

Casio Men's GW1210A-9AV G-Shock Atomic Solar Watch

• Quartz movement
• Stainless-steel case; Blue dial; Date function
• Water-resistant to 660 feet (200 M)

Product Description

The Casio Story

With the launch of its first watch in November 1974, Casio entered the wristwatch market at a time when the watch industry had just discovered digital technology. As a company with cutting-edge electronic technology developed for pocket calculators, Casio entered this field confident that it could develop timepieces that would lead the market.

In developing its own wristwatches Casio began with the basic question, ""What is a wristwatch?"" Rather than simply making a digital version of the conventional mechanical watch, we thought that the ideal wristwatch should be something that shows all facets of time in a consistent way. Based on this, Casio was able to create a watch that displayed the precise time including the second, minute, hour, day, and month — not to mention a.m. or p.m., and the day of the week. It was the first watch in the world with a digital automatic calendar function that eliminated the need to reset the calendar due the variation in month length. Rather than using a conventional watch face and hands, a digital liquid crystal display was adopted to better show all the information. This culminated in the 1974 launch of the CASIOTRON, the world’s first digital watch with automatic calendar. The CASIOTRON won acclaim as a groundbreaking product that represented a complete departure from the conventional wristwatch.

Casio transformed the concept of the watch — from a mere timepiece to an information device for the wrist — and undertook product planning based on this innovative idea. We developed not only time functions such as global time zone watches, but also other radical new functions using Casio’s own digital technology, including calculator and dictionary functions, as well as a phonebook feature based on memory technology, and even a thermometer function using a built-in sensor. The memory-function watches became our DATA BANK product series, while the sensor watches developed into two unique Casio product lines of today: the Pathfinder series displaying altitude, atmospheric pressure, and compass readings.

In 1983, Casio launched the shock-resistant G-SHOCK watch. This product shattered the notion that a watch is a fragile piece of jewelry that needs to be handled with care, and was the result of Casio engineers taking on the challenge of creating the world’s toughest watch. Using a triple-protection design for the parts, module, and case, the G-SHOCK offered a radical new type of watch that was unaffected by strong impacts or shaking. Its practicality was immediately recognized, and its unique look, which embodied its functionality, became wildly popular, resulting in explosive sales in the early 1990s. The G-SHOCK soon adopted various new sensors, solar-powered radio-controlled technology (described below), and new materials for even better durability. By always employing the latest technology, and continuing to transcend conventional thinking about the watch, the G-SHOCK brand has become Casio’s flagship timepiece product.

Today, Casio is focusing its efforts on solar-powered radio-controlled watches: the built-in solar battery eliminates the nuisance of replacing batteries, and the radio-controlled function means users never have to reset the time. In particular, the radio-controlled function represents a revolution in time-keeping technology similar to the impact created when mechanical watches gave way to quartz technology. Through the further development of high radio-wave sensitivity, miniaturization, and improved energy efficiency, Casio continues to produce a whole range of radio-controlled models.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000HX7ABW
• Item model number: GW1210A-9AV
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #83,166 in Watches (See Top 100 in Watches)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Women, too!, June 22, 2007

By 

A. Haag (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Casio Men's GW1210A-9AV G-Shock Atomic Solar Watch (Watch)

I was looking for an atomic watch, and found this with the added bonus of being solar. So I bought it as a Mother's Day present to myself. I have a small frame, so I was pretty concerned that that it would look like a brick on my wrist, but it's great-looking! It performs well, is easy to use, and I get all sorts of compliments on it. While I'm aware that it's on my wrist, it's not too bulky or heavy (though I don't wear it with formal dresses). No cell phone can take the place of a watch, and I love this one. What a great Mother's Day gift!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Watch for Geeks; Highly Recommend, October 12, 2008

By 

DragonsAreForever (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Casio Men's GW1210A-9AV G-Shock Atomic Solar Watch (Watch)

Great Aspects:

This is about as close as you can get to a "set it and forget it" watch. I've owned this watch for over a year now, and I *heart* this watch. I wear it daily. [I'm afraid I'm also "one of those people" who gets annoyed when people use their cell phones as timepieces, but...]

Set-up is pretty easy. Open the box, set the date and time zone, let it sync up with the US atomic clock (via shortwave radio), and make sure it gets some light occasionally. It doesn't take much light to keep this thing powered; I have had my battery level on "high" ever since the second day I've owned this and artificial (particularly strong flourescent) light should do the trick if you're not one to get that much sun (I certainly don't). The coolest thing is that if you change time zones or manually adjust the time, the watch will automatically move the minute and hour hands to reflect the change.

For those who like features, this watch comes with multiple alarms, stopwatch, and timer. A digital seconds counter is on the left side of the faceplate. If you frequently travel between two time zones, there's a second clock built into the digital clock (if you want the hands to reflect a change, you do need to change the time zone for the main clock). There's an auto-light feature where the watch will activate its bright blue nightlight if it senses sharp motion (when you move your arm) and if its dark out. I choose not to turn auto-light on and just press the light button when I need to. The minute and hour hands are luminous without the nightlight feature.

The watch has an auto shut-off feature if it senses no motion for an extended period in time in order to conserve energy. The minute and hour hands will still move but everything else will turn off. To get the watch to wake up, you can either shake it or press any button.

The calendar, that accounts for leap years, runs out at some point, but that's decades in the future. It keeps track of the numeric date and the day of the week.

This is a big and sturdy watch and it's sure to garner you a compliment every now and then. I haven't tested the deep water resistance but it seems very waterproof and the stainless steel is high grade. My watch has survived me dropping it and accidentally smacking it into tables, door frames, and walls; it has come through without a scratch (literally).

Downside:

Obviously, this is not a cheap watch, but, then again, it's not cheaply-constructed either. While the casing is done in Thailand, the movement is Japanese. I've personally found my Casio watches to be more reliable than Timex or Armitron watches.

This watch was constructed before our Congress, in their infinite wisdom, changed the dates for Daylight Savings Time. So, while DST is built into this watch, it is no longer accurate and you will have to manually turn on/off DST twice a year to keep the correct time in the right time zone.

The atomic clock-synching feature is arguably the coolest thing about this watch. It is... however, it may take you a few days to figure out a location in your home where it can pick up the radio waves (from CO) midnight daily (in your time zone). There's a signal-strength indicator that reports when an update is in progress as well as how strong of a signal it is receiving. I've gotten the synching to work in MD, DC, VA, NC, and TN (and have never tried anywhere else at this point). I would try placing it near a window or at least point it towards a window (with no obstructions in the way). Weather sometimes seems to affect its ability; I'm successful about 90% of the time.

Not that missing one daily update (or even a couple weeks) is tragic. The watch keeps very good time even without updates and should only gain/lose a few seconds a month without any updates. Also, consumers should note that the watch cannot update if it is outside North America or is in the far eastern or northern parts of Canada (it is possible to turn off the synching feature so you're not wasting battery power).

It's worth saying that if you want to use the fancy features of this watch, it will take some practice and you might inadvertently mess something else up. The owner's manual helps, but really, it's best to learn by trial and error.

Amazon.com lists this watch's faceplate as having a blue color; I think it looks more like a medium purple. For males who feel this will threaten their masculinity, I'm pretty sure it won't (I'm male); it still looks like a "men's watch" (this isn't lavender purple or anything), If you're still insecure, you probably need to reevaluate why you're so beholden to gender norms. For women, I think this watch could look pretty good on them although it might look a bit clunky depending on your outfit.

If you've got smaller wrists, you are going to need to take out a couple of the metal bands (either through your own watch kit or by a jeweler; I did it myself with a kit).

If you like really big digital numbers on your watch, this watch is not for you. The hands are easily readable but it can take a little effort to read the digital output.

Summary:

If you are just looking for something relatively stylish that keeps decent track of time, you can get a far cheaper watch (a $50 to $70 Casio watch should do the trick nicely). If that inner geek inside of you is infatuated with the idea of having a solar-powered watch (no visiting the jeweler's every couple of years for a new battery and potential damage to your watch) and atomic clock-synching, then this watch fits the bill. This is also a great watch for those who prefer high-grade stainless steel over resin or leather watchbands.

I've owned something like seven watches in my life so far. This was, by far, the most expensive watch I've ever acquired. In this case, the money was worth it, though; it's been my favorite watch.
Highly Recommend.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OH BOY just what I wanted, September 9, 2007

By 

Lee Spector (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Casio Men's GW1210A-9AV G-Shock Atomic Solar Watch (Watch)

I did a lot of research. While I like the Casio G-Shock, I do not like the resin cases. These cases WEAR OUT AND LOOK RATTY. SIMILARLY THE RUBBER/PLASTIC STRAPS EVENTUALLY BREAK. I WANTED ALL s/s. I DONT WANT TO FIDDLE WITH BATTERIES OR KEEP THE TIME ACCURATE. i JUST WANT IT TO WORK FOREVER. This watch is it. It looks nice it does what it says it will do. The neatest feature, after the SOlAR POWER AND NIGHTLY ATOMIC CLOCK SYNCE IS THE " auto light ". When it is dark, tilt your arm and the light comes on. How cool is that!!!