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Casio Duro Analog Watch – MDV106-1AV 200M
Editor’s Conclusion
Casio, a legendary watchmaker, demonstrates their watch-maker genius in creating a modern watch styled on expensive brands, but at an inexpensive price. This everyday men’s Casio watch looks impressive with its stylish and sleek design while providing incredible value for money. A good diving watch can cost anywhere from $100 to $1000, so this one’s already in the lead at such an affordable competitive price.
With good water resistance (up to 660 feet), a stylish black dial with a date window, good luminosity, and an anti-reverse bezel, the Casio MDV106-1AV 200M Duro analog watch provides much more than its reasonable price warrants.
You know you can trust the durability of these men’s watches when manufactured by a brand that has been making Quartz watches since 1974. Casio watches last for years, if not decades. If you’re a novice watch enthusiast who’s unsure where to start with diving watches, or just looking for a decent diving watch at a sensible price, then carry on reading.
With good water resistance (up to 660 feet), a stylish black dial with a date window, good luminosity, and an anti-reverse bezel, the Casio MDV106-1AV 200M Duro analog watch provides much more than its reasonable price warrants.
You know you can trust the durability of these men’s watches when manufactured by a brand that has been making Quartz watches since 1974. Casio watches last for years, if not decades. If you’re a novice watch enthusiast who’s unsure where to start with diving watches, or just looking for a decent diving watch at a sensible price, then carry on reading.
Casio Duro Analog Watch – MDV106-1AV 200M Review Facts
Editor's Pros & Cons
Pros
Inexpensive
Sleek design
Good water resistance
Impressive value for money
Good water resistance
Durable and long-lasting
Cons
The strap looks a bit cheap
The date display is slightly small
Not suitable for deep diving as indicated
Key Features
Diving Capacity
One of the best things about this Casio Duro watch is its water resistance rating. It’s perfectly suited for swimming, fishing, Jacuzzis, and relatively shallow dives, but probably not for deep diving. The 200m diving rating could be misleading if you’re not an experienced diving watch enthusiast. To be fair to Casio, they are not misleading their customers as this has more to do with how diving watches are measured.
There are a variety of water resistance/dive ratings that can be confusing when choosing a watch. For example, a watch marked 30 meters water-resistant could not be expected to even withstand extended water submersion in a swimming pool, never mind continuing to function at 30 meters underwater. That’s because the test to measure how well a watch is sealed against the ingress of water is conducted only once using static pressure on a sample of newly manufactured watches.
The first requirement for a true diving watch is being able to keep the movement from taking on water, and you might find watches with a better diving rating, but not at this price. This Casio watch was probably rated as this depth because it sports a screw-down crown.
Materials & Design
Casio demonstrates their experience and forethought in predicting their customers’ needs when considering the materials and features of this diving watch. This Casio quartz (battery-operated) watch sports a classic looking black dial and stainless-steel case, with the cool Marlin Fish logo and anti-reverse bezel allowing the sea-inspired design to shine through.
The dial is not overly complicated and continues its simple and classic design with a visible, 3-hand analog and date display, making for an easy read. No squinting needed here. However, these small hands and the lack of numbers can make reading the time somewhat challenging when the luminosity fades, but the lack of numbers is in keeping with the simple and quick to read design. It also has a double squared-off delta at 12:00, which is characteristic of a diver’s watch.
The three hands and hour markers offer ample luminosity; however, the rest of the bezel might be lacking enough luminosity needed for anyone looking for a fully loaded diver. The watch has a sharp unidirectional bezel that, as you might expect, unidirectionally rotates.
The watch’s black resin band looks stylish and in keeping with the diver/sea theme; however, on closes inspection, it does look more like cheap plastic. This doesn’t seem to bother most reviewers as the strap is easily swapped out. You could buy a more expensive strap or change it to suit the look you’re going for, making the watch quite versatile. This isn’t a big issue as Casio has made a watch with good features at a reasonable price - meaning the strap seems inconsequential compared to the value you’re getting for the price.
With a screw-back case of stainless steel and a screw-down, the crown guard is just large enough to offer some well-needed protection. This feature is more prevalent inexpensive watches, so it’s nice to see in such a budget watch.
Comfort
Despite the band looking and feeling a bit on the cheap side, this doesn’t affect its comfort level. The Casio Duro watch is big but not too big that it would be out of place on smaller wrists, not appearing as overpowering or overbearing as other big diver watches. Whereas the rubber strap may not look fancy, it’s built to last and is ideal for getting wet as a diver’s watch.
If the strap isn’t for you, many prefer to swap it for a NATO strap. Please remember that while most websites list the lug width at 20mm, many other reviewers suggest it to be closer to 22mm. Be sure to buy the right replacement size if you’re thinking of buying a NATO.
Durability
This Casio watch is solid, heavy, accurate, and can take a good beating, making it perfect for manual work. The timekeeping is also excellent, with only minuscule time loss over weeks and months. Watches are always the first thing to get bashed, scraped or broken, especially on a manual job.
Having been designed by a watchmaker that’s renowned for making long-lasting watches on a budget, you know you’re buying a sturdy, hardy watch that should last years. At this budget price, you could most definitely afford to buy this watch with the sole purpose of it being a watch to be beaten up on the job. Even if you do manage to break it, it can be easily rebought at 1/20 of the price of a Seiko, or 1/100 of the price of a Rolex.
One of the best things about this Casio Duro watch is its water resistance rating. It’s perfectly suited for swimming, fishing, Jacuzzis, and relatively shallow dives, but probably not for deep diving. The 200m diving rating could be misleading if you’re not an experienced diving watch enthusiast. To be fair to Casio, they are not misleading their customers as this has more to do with how diving watches are measured.
There are a variety of water resistance/dive ratings that can be confusing when choosing a watch. For example, a watch marked 30 meters water-resistant could not be expected to even withstand extended water submersion in a swimming pool, never mind continuing to function at 30 meters underwater. That’s because the test to measure how well a watch is sealed against the ingress of water is conducted only once using static pressure on a sample of newly manufactured watches.
The first requirement for a true diving watch is being able to keep the movement from taking on water, and you might find watches with a better diving rating, but not at this price. This Casio watch was probably rated as this depth because it sports a screw-down crown.
Materials & Design
Casio demonstrates their experience and forethought in predicting their customers’ needs when considering the materials and features of this diving watch. This Casio quartz (battery-operated) watch sports a classic looking black dial and stainless-steel case, with the cool Marlin Fish logo and anti-reverse bezel allowing the sea-inspired design to shine through.
The dial is not overly complicated and continues its simple and classic design with a visible, 3-hand analog and date display, making for an easy read. No squinting needed here. However, these small hands and the lack of numbers can make reading the time somewhat challenging when the luminosity fades, but the lack of numbers is in keeping with the simple and quick to read design. It also has a double squared-off delta at 12:00, which is characteristic of a diver’s watch.
The three hands and hour markers offer ample luminosity; however, the rest of the bezel might be lacking enough luminosity needed for anyone looking for a fully loaded diver. The watch has a sharp unidirectional bezel that, as you might expect, unidirectionally rotates.
The watch’s black resin band looks stylish and in keeping with the diver/sea theme; however, on closes inspection, it does look more like cheap plastic. This doesn’t seem to bother most reviewers as the strap is easily swapped out. You could buy a more expensive strap or change it to suit the look you’re going for, making the watch quite versatile. This isn’t a big issue as Casio has made a watch with good features at a reasonable price - meaning the strap seems inconsequential compared to the value you’re getting for the price.
With a screw-back case of stainless steel and a screw-down, the crown guard is just large enough to offer some well-needed protection. This feature is more prevalent inexpensive watches, so it’s nice to see in such a budget watch.
Comfort
Despite the band looking and feeling a bit on the cheap side, this doesn’t affect its comfort level. The Casio Duro watch is big but not too big that it would be out of place on smaller wrists, not appearing as overpowering or overbearing as other big diver watches. Whereas the rubber strap may not look fancy, it’s built to last and is ideal for getting wet as a diver’s watch.
If the strap isn’t for you, many prefer to swap it for a NATO strap. Please remember that while most websites list the lug width at 20mm, many other reviewers suggest it to be closer to 22mm. Be sure to buy the right replacement size if you’re thinking of buying a NATO.
Durability
This Casio watch is solid, heavy, accurate, and can take a good beating, making it perfect for manual work. The timekeeping is also excellent, with only minuscule time loss over weeks and months. Watches are always the first thing to get bashed, scraped or broken, especially on a manual job.
Having been designed by a watchmaker that’s renowned for making long-lasting watches on a budget, you know you’re buying a sturdy, hardy watch that should last years. At this budget price, you could most definitely afford to buy this watch with the sole purpose of it being a watch to be beaten up on the job. Even if you do manage to break it, it can be easily rebought at 1/20 of the price of a Seiko, or 1/100 of the price of a Rolex.
Comparison to Similar Watches
There are certainly other good diving watches you could consider before making your purchase. Casio themselves have a wide, varied selection of other monumental watches. Some good choices come from the databank series of calculator watches are the F-91W and G-Shock line-up.
Whereas the luminosity of this watch is good, lasting around 4 hours when exposed to the intensity of full sunlight or a very bright lamp, the hands are brighter than the markers. The Citizen Promaster ISO diver watch is similar in its luminosity, but the hands are broader and different colors, meaning they are more visible than this watch, even after 4 hours in darkness.
Another great product we reviewed is the Orient Mako III Automatic Watch, so make sure to check it out as well.
Whereas the luminosity of this watch is good, lasting around 4 hours when exposed to the intensity of full sunlight or a very bright lamp, the hands are brighter than the markers. The Citizen Promaster ISO diver watch is similar in its luminosity, but the hands are broader and different colors, meaning they are more visible than this watch, even after 4 hours in darkness.
Another great product we reviewed is the Orient Mako III Automatic Watch, so make sure to check it out as well.
Verdict
When buying any watch, especially a diving watch, it’s super important to think about what you want from it, and what type of diving it will be used for. If you’re after an everyday watch that’s perfect for underwater activities like swimming, or just so you can wear it in the shower, then you won’t find a better value for money watch.
Casio has created a water-resistant, accurate, dependable yet stylish watch at a budget price. However, if you’re looking for something with a high diving rating for regular, and prolonged deep-sea dives, then the Casio Duro might not be the watch for you.
Casio has created a water-resistant, accurate, dependable yet stylish watch at a budget price. However, if you’re looking for something with a high diving rating for regular, and prolonged deep-sea dives, then the Casio Duro might not be the watch for you.
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