Customer Reviews

Casio Men's WVM120J-1 Solar Atomic Resin Strap Watch

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Some time ago I have sworn that I will only use solar-powered watches that synchronize time with atomic clocks. Initially only quite expensive and 'stylish' models were available, but wearing a timepiece worth several hundred bucks while doing work around the house makes you constantly worried that you scratch precious thing.
This watch is under $100 and has all the benefits of its more expensive 'brothers':
- Solar powered quite efficiently - with normal daily exposure to light I'm always at the 'max charge' level (of course living in sunny Nevada helps here).
- Time synchronization with the 5 radio transmitters all over the world (USA, England, Germany, Japan*2). I frequently travel to visit family in Europe, so USA and England/Germany transmitter sync is important to me. Many watches in the US only sync with USA transmitter or USA and Japan; the latest models just started supporting new China transmitters; this one is the perfect balance for me.
- Time signal reception is excellent in Nevada, bot inside the buildings and outside. From my previous experiences it should mean good reception throughout the West Coast and (maybe!) some problems inside solid-construction buildings in New England and Florida.
- Unlike some cheap models of watches and clocks, this one reads Daylight Savings Time data straight from the radio signal, so it 'springs ahead' and 'falls back' at the correct dates. Some older clocks have hard-coded DST transition dates and are confused after the recent DST changes in the USA.
- I love 'Auto EL' feature: the watch turns on Electro-Luminescent backlight for two seconds when it is dark and the wearer positions hand appropriately. Perfect for the movies, night flights and similar situations.
- I usually prefer metal bands, but resin band in this model is surprisingly good quality and wears OK.
- Button operation seems to be reliable so far.
- The glass is scratch resistant and placed recessed in the metal panel - so far I managed to keep it clear, which is unusual for me.

Amazon had the best price for this item, better than Fry's and Casio website. The watch arrived on time and in good shape.

(REVISED REVIEW) Bought this watch from Amazon 3/31/10. It is easy to read and the atomic auto set feature works fine. Originally I had only one minor problem with the alarm volume. My older ears can't hear the alarm unless it is right next to my ear. I asked Casio if there were solar atomic watches with a louder alarm, and they said that the watch alarm volumes were all the same.

One week ago (July 5, 2010) the watch kept resetting the time and date to 12:00, Jan 1. I could not keep the correct time on the watch either by manual setting or by the atomic setting. I called Casio and they said the battery needed to be replaced. The warranty does not cover the battery or the resin band. So if I shipped the watch to Casio, they would replace the battery for $10 plus $7.95 return shipping. Shipping and battery replacement is over 50% of the purchase price after 3 months of service! The battery is a CTL 1616 and checking the internet, it appears that Casio has had problems with this battery in the past. Solar power is great, but if the battery is the weak link in watch lifetime, this watch may not live up to Casio's description.

I was looking for a watch that I can rely on in both business and outdoor use. With solar power and atomic timekeeping, I can trust that it will always have power and always be exactly on time. What more could you want in a watch? Well, a countdown timer for cooking and exercise needs, a tough glass dial window, a stainless steel bezel and a resin band that won't muck up from hand washing.

In terms of style I was looking for a watch that was clean and functionally elegant (with the functions I need). I looked at analog watches, digital watches, mechanical and kinetic. It came down to very expensive kinetic chronographs, the analog/digital mix watches or this. For the price, I'd rather have a watch that does digital well, than the mixed bag of the analog digital watches. Looks good, easy to read.

In terms of power I removed it from the box, kept the Auto EL (automatic backlight) feature on and haven't thought twice about keeping my cuffs up or keeping it in the sun and it's still going strong. I've had it for a month now and it's at medium power. I'll give it a short stint in the sun to bring it back to full power and not give it another though.

Atomic timekeeping works flawlessly inside with no aiming necessary on the east coast and here in Colorado.

Again - what more could you want in a watch?

If you buy a watch for its functionality and not as a status symbol or piece of jewelery, this atomic watch is the way to go. I have had 3 atomic watches so far and they keep getting better all the time. Just spend a little time with the instructions (your choice of 100 languages :-), just kidding). And you'll have completely accurate time keeping on your wrist. The Rolex people should be ashamed they can't be this accurate for $5,000 let alone under $50!

I've thoroughly enjoyed wearing this watch. Though it's a little thicker and bulkier than its predecessor, the added atomic timekeeping makes it well worth the added size. It's easy to read, and the automatic light (tilt your wrist to look at your watch and it lights up automatically) is a phenomenal feature. The strap is durable and has a metal clasp, and the watch face is slightly recessed below the rim of its bezel, which seems to protect it from most bumps and scratches. Out of a vast array of watches, atomic timekeeping and the automatic light make this Casio stand out from the crowd.

I almost forgot to mention - the solar panels on the watch face mean you'll never have to change the battery. As long as the watch is exposed to a decent level of sunlight (or florescent light), it'll keep a charge. There's a little battery indicator on the watch face, but it's nothing to worry about; just wear it and it'll charge. At night, if you take the watch off, it's got a power-saving feature where if it doesn't detect motion (I have no idea how it does this, but it seems like magic) for a set period of time, the watch face shuts off to save power. When you put it on in the morning or if you keep it on your wrist, it'll turn on and stay on. It's rather neat.

UPDATE 12/6/10: I've been wearing this watch every day since I purchased it. Since I started wearing it while sleeping (since August), the battery has slowly drained down to the point at which it's always flashing "LOW." I've been trying to charge it, however this would require more sun than is available at my latitude. I still love the watch, but it's annoying to not see the date due to the low-power warning.

I had seen people review this model watch, solar powered/atomic clock setting at the lowest price point, and was amazed by the claims that it was difficult to set. If you are satisfied to have it display the time in your time zone it is fairly easy to do. But the difficulty is in the setting of the 12/24 hour time and DST On/Off/Auto, in that it does not respond much of the time to a press of the appropriate button. If you are persistent you will succeed, but if you are easily frustrated find some one to help you.

It is truly simple for simple settings, so do not fear this watch, and if you are in range of an atomic clock over most of the world it will do the job simply and reliably after adjustment.

Another small point: this watch has a fairly long buckling band on it, and it fits my 8.5 inch wrist rather well, with room to spare, about 9" max, i'd guess, and no hassle with adding segments to a stainless steel bracelet. (the band is an industrial plastic of a type similar to the Remington plastic rifle stocks they are currently making. Not beautiful, but strong enough.)

So on the basis of fit, it gets a five, my wrist has an indentation from a former watch that had two additional links inserted, on the basis of ease of use, it gets 3 out of 5, with the caveat that it can indeed be difficult to set, to the owner's satisfaction. For strenght and appearance it is a 4/5 now and may rise higher over time, since it is solar/light powered, it needs no batteries, you do need to replace the seals in the watch every 2 or 3 years to keep it water proof to a mfger 330 ft rating. All in all a true bargain. If it lasts 2 years it is still a 4 out of 5, if it lasts longer it will go up accordingly...

I've had this watch for about 5 weeks now........I read a lot of reviews before buying it. Some positive, some negative, I decided to give it a try. On the upside, it's really cool having a solar watch with U.S. Atomic Clock updating. Mine updates every night that I hang it on the window blind of a north facing window (I'm in Arizona-the U.S. atomic time transmitter is in Colorado). If I leave it on the dresser, it doesn't update. In reality, you probably only need to update it about once a month, unless you are so OCD that you must be accurate all the time. It is possible to force an update at any time, but the signal only receives well between midnight and sunup due to atmospheric changes. I'm not in the sun much, except on Saturdays when I go for a 3 hour bike ride, and the watch has maintained a "full" charge ever since I got it. I use the light maybe twice a week, and never use the alarms....using those frequently will run the battery down more quickly, according to the booklet. Someone commented that the instructions were impossible. I found them easy to understand, but this IS a more complicated digital watch with a ton of functions, so there is more to learn especially if you use a lot of the functions. I only bothered to learn the ones that I use, so it was fairly easy. Once you learn a couple of the functions, the rest are more or less intuitive, as the rest of them follow the same logic. If you're not into techno gadgets, and have never owned anything that requires a little studying before use, then this is probably not the watch for you. The comment that someone made that the instructions were a poor Japanese translation is just not accurate. The grammar and spelling are perfect English, and the instructions are clearly written. This is DEFINITELY NOT a dress watch. I have small wrists, and it is not what you'd call klunky on me, but it is a little on the big side. It also looks like an ordinary digital watch, so most people think it is from Wal-Mart, but once you show them its two special features, people think it's really cool. As I said it is on the big side, but the biggest downside to me is the tiny tiny lettering on much of display. The time is displayed in fairly large numbers, and the day and date are just a little smaller than that......those are both easy to read, and those are the ones you look at most often. But everything else is almost microscopic. You must have really bright light and have your strongest readers to make out the other lettering on the display. The solar cell(s) are on the bottom and top of the face in the non-display portions of the watch. It's apparent that they had to make the display as small as possible in order to make the cells as big as possible, unlike more expensive watches like the Citizen Eco-Drive in which the entire face is a solar cell. For forty bucks, it's a great conversation piece, and a fun gadget, as well as a really accurate timepiece. It also has a rugged feel to it, like it could be banged around without damaging it. And it does have a quality look and feel to it. What more could you ask for the price?

I like the watch in general. It certainly has all the features I want (and more), but I don't like the fact that the size of the time and date have been reduced to allow for a series of tiny -- almost unreadable, even with my bifocals -- functions. I want the main screen of a watch to clearly give me the time and date. I cannot access those functions from the main screen. I still have to go to other screens, so I don't understand why they clutter and take up space on the main screen. Nevertheless, it functions as advertised and has a number of features I like. A quick look at the manual guides you through the process of setting time zone, 12/24-hour mode, etc.

... wherever I go: Luminy, Postdam, Kyoto, Hsinchu, Tucson, or Zurich, it works dutifully, keeping time with utmost accuracy by synchronizing with atomic clocks via radio transmitters, whose signals can be easily picked up in most of the urban areas of Eurasia and North America, most certainly more. Think about it: your watch is as accurate as those clocks in the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab! Never will you miss another Swiss train because your watch is late for 2 seconds! Never mind changing the time for the daylight saving time, either. It's all in the synchronization.(*)

In addition to all standard features of a digital watch, it is water resistant up to 100 meters (330 feet). Especially useful is the auto electro-luminescent backlit: the watch turns on backlight for 2 seconds when it is dark and the watch is positioned at a certain angle. (It can be easily programed on or off.) But best of all, it is solar powered. Never will the battery die on you during a long trip!(**) -- At least, not until the solar battery dies. -- Plus no more wasted batteries to recycle. Go green!

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(*) There is (at least) one other Casio watch which is shock resistant, while still having both features (solar-powered, radio-synchronized). It would be a better choice if you do a lot of outdoor activities. However, it does not seem to be available at this site.

(**) I used to wear a "jewelry-grade" watch, a gift from my parents. It was quite a hassle every time the battery died. That watch is still in perfect condition but was put into retirement when it last ran out of battery during a trip in Switzerland! -- This reviewer prefers to be the master rather than the servant of his watch.

The Casio WVM120J-1 is probably the best pure value in digital watches -- and I've owned dozens of digital watches. How Casio can produce a quality SOLAR-ATOMIC watch with 100 meter WR, mineral crystal lens, and every function you can possibly use (except for ABC watches) is simply beyond me. The watch is "unisex" in size and should be considered by both genders -- as well as older children who will not subject it to severe abuse. The band is simple and light, but appears to be substantial enough to last for many years. I didn't need another watch (as my wife will attest) but at this price, I couldn't resist. It's simple on the outside and complex on the inside. It's so light you simply don't know you're wearing it. The button functions have a solid feel and provide an audible feedback tone. The window with the various displays is smallish, but very acceptable. This watch is not pretentious. I would prefer if ALL of the expose stainless steel had the satin finish of the bezel, but the highly polished elements are acceptable. It is elegant in its simplicity and functionality. It's a MUST BUY!