Comments on: Terrorist watch now available in chartreuse, magenta, ginger and more

By: Keith Tyler

Keith Tyler — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 01:43:00 +0000

The Casio Waveceptors keep horrible time, on their own. Why bother with accuracy, they must figure, when it will re-set its clock via WWV overnight?

Except when it doesn’t.

By: Kimmo

Kimmo — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 14:29:00 +0000

Huh, that Ambassador is so nasty it’s almost kinda cool.

By: Kimmo

Kimmo — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 14:26:00 +0000

Like this monstrosity?

By: Kimmo

Kimmo — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 14:20:00 +0000

Well, it’s certainly an icon, no doubt… particularly since the terrist connection.

But there’s nothing intrinsically interesting about it in the same way an icon like say, the VW Beetle is, beyond how long it’s remained unchanged, AFAIK. IIRC, we had plenty of cheap digital watches with identical functions before ’91, too.

It doesn’t have an escapement-powered movement that hums like an Accutron, it’s not super-slim like a Skin, or possess the merest fraction of the style or cachet of your Laco or the Panerai.

For mine, Casio’s caculator and Data Bank models are way cooler.

Although I can certainly see how the F91W would be a no-brainer inclusion in any serious watch collection.

By: pjcamp

pjcamp — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 03:23:00 +0000

I had no idea I was a 13 year old terrorist.

Well, ok, maybe my teacher was aware of that.

By: penguinchris

penguinchris — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 21:51:00 +0000

In case anyone’s wondering… brightly colored watches on men get a lot of comments/compliments from women. I wore the purple one shown below most of last summer in California and the ladies loved it though it does look a little silly to me now (I bought it for $10… it appears to still be running accurately! I have a backup too since it was so inexpensive).

The second one is my “terrorist style” watch, the Ambassador, bought at a flea market. It sort of worked at the time but the buttons to adjust the time didn’t. I just think it looks cool – it’s got a colonial Hong Kong (where it’s from) cheap electronics vibe.

I like the idea of the Casio but I don’t really like the style. It’s retro but not great design aesthetically. It’s similar to the kinds of watches I wore in middle school. I guess my main issue with it is all the lettering on the face. The hallmark of the watches I wore as a kid were all the features – which aren’t particularly impressive, let’s be honest – written all over the watch. Not at all elegant. I also prefer analog to digital watches for this reason.

The current cool cheap watch is the Timex Weekender with nylon straps. You can get nylon straps in lots of different bright colors. Unfortunately in order to get the color combination you want (watch face and strap) you might have to purchase multiple watches because they don’t sell everything separately or in all combinations. You can get the watch at Target though for $35, and they sell separate nylon bands but not in all the colors which is annoying (I’d have to buy multiple watches to get the bands I’d want).

By: cubby96

cubby96 — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 20:01:00 +0000

Amazon was sold out in chartreuse and light blue so I Google searched for a somewhat reputable seller and found one selling through NewEgg. NewEgg won’t authorize a shipment to a PO Box, and won’t allow a non-confirmed address through PayPal. I wanted to be the cool kid with a terrorist watch in a bright color like Rob, but if it’s this hard, forget it. I guess I get to keep my $18.99 to spend on something else.

By: Ian Wood

Ian Wood — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 19:59:00 +0000

REVENANT WATCH

By: surreality

surreality — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 19:01:00 +0000

Judging by the comments section re: that guy who implanted magnets into his arm so he could put his i-whatever there, you’re right.

By: TheMadLibrarian

TheMadLibrarian — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 18:12:00 +0000

DH likes the old-school digital Casios that have the built in calculator and Indiglo. What can we say, our nerd, let us show it to U.

By: howaboutthisdangit

howaboutthisdangit — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 17:11:00 +0000

I worry that my F-105, an F91W sibling which bears a striking resemblance, probably put me on some double-secret watchlist long ago and even now the Man (or several Mans) are following me everywhere. The last thing I want is to make the watch even more obvious.

Although… this may be an interesting experiment for the airport. I wonder if TSA screeners are on the lookout for the F91W.

By: howaboutthisdangit

howaboutthisdangit — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 17:03:00 +0000

Good luck fishing that phone out of your pocket when your hands are full, or dirty, or on the charger.

By: GregS

GregS — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:40:00 +0000

I had one of those Casio F91W watches, long before terrorists made them so fashionable. Bought it back in the ’90s. I remember being surprised to see that Osama bin Laden had the same watch as I did. That watch was indestructible. I wore out two or three watch bands on it, and eventually all the buttons quit working, but the strapless, buttonless remnant still kept going. And last time I looked, a few months ago, the damned thing was still running, keeping accurate time.

By: Daneel

Daneel — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:12:00 +0000

I love watches. My day-to-day one is a Laco Flieger B. I really want to get a Panerai, when I can justify the cost it. I don’t care if I don’t really ‘need’ a watch, a well made one is a beautiful thing.

However, I also own a Casio F91W. It’s an iconic watch. I think you’d be surprised how popular they are with people who like watches.

By: Ambiguity

Ambiguity — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:09:00 +0000

If I hadn’t spent a stint trying my hand at fine-art painting, I absolutely would have through it to be a green, owing to the verdant connection!

By: Ambiguity

Ambiguity — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:08:00 +0000

That’s a reasonable conceptual model. More elegant than mine.

By: bkad

bkad — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:07:00 +0000

Agreed that watch wearing is WAY down these days, and probably gone as a style item outside of certain circles. I wear one because that’s my preference (faster to check than a phone and easier to check surreptitiously, not banned from my workplace/theaters/etc., much more reliable (my phone is likely to be in the wrong room or have dead battery). I used to have a strong opinions on this issue but now I don’t care what other people do. Also, I know my situation (all consumer electronics banned from workplace, where I most need to know the time to the nearest few minutes) is unusual.

By: bkad

bkad — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:01:00 +0000

I completely missed this news story before now. I wear a casio digital watch too. I got it for hiking/backpacking/swimming/doing-anything, because they are so durable, but like it enough I wear it everywhere except at work (where a digital watch would be like wearing white socks with brown shoes).

By: Kimmo

Kimmo — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:59:00 +0000

I believe the term is ‘well-nigh’.

By: bkad

bkad — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:58:00 +0000

“Vermilion” is also confusing. It really sounds like it should be green, based on English words like ‘verdant’, and of course the Spanish/French/etc. words for green. But it isn’t Ver- as in green, but Vermi- as in “worms and bugs”. Which are crushed to make red dye.

By: Kimmo

Kimmo — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:54:00 +0000

Interesting that something so straightforward as a quartz-timed circuit can be so totally arsed up… I guess such crap is made to be sold, not used.

Makes perfect sense if you’re using someone else’s brand name…

By: bkad

bkad — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:54:00 +0000

Casio makes some really nice ‘high end’ digital watches, in the $50-$200 depending on how much you pay for style vs technology, which include solar recharging, atomic clock broadcast synchronization, water proofing, etc… the ones that are ‘style’ items with the segment of urban culture which likes such things can sell for hundreds of dollars if purchased legitimately, so there’s an even bigger market for makes of those models.

By: Kimmo

Kimmo — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:48:00 +0000

Odds are even a replacement band will double the price of the watch.

Triple, if you don’t fit it yourself…

By: Kimmo

Kimmo — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:41:00 +0000

You reckon many of those people who like watches are going to be all that turned on by a 20+yo yawnfest ‘spiced up’ with some different-coloured plastic? Oh, and I see from a comment below, the band’s painted. PMSL.

If I can be bothered wearing one, I’ll take something cool, thanks – like an Accutron or at least a Swatch Skin or something.

By: dross1260

dross1260 — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:09:00 +0000

Orange Classic will go great with turntable of terrorist

By: Aaron Gilliland

Aaron Gilliland — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:00:00 +0000

And then… Cradle of Filth… on cassette.

By: ffabian

ffabian — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:37:00 +0000

Yes

By: OtherMichael

OtherMichael — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:30:00 +0000

”I became slightly more Amish”
….
below-the-chin beard? suspenders? nifty hat?

(larger image @ http://www.pbase.com/alan_burt/image/101211867/original )

By: OtherMichael

OtherMichael — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:28:00 +0000

The beer-drinking is just an act.

Once they’re alone in a boat, out come the absinthe spoons.

By: Graham Freeman

Graham Freeman — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:08:00 +0000

You’d look rather silly having a phone tied to your wrist.