At last! I have finally written the third and likely final chapter in my Casio AE1200 series. In Part the First, I introduced this digital gem that far exceeded my expectations for one so cheap. In Part the Second, I set about disassembling them, removing unwanted words, and fitting some outstanding Vario straps. In Part the Third, I will tell you how Kranio Designs takes this humble beater to the next level with a stainless steel case.

Casio AE1200 Part 3: Kranio Designs Case - The Time Bum Casio AE1200 Part 3: Kranio Designs Case - The Time Bum

The first thing I noticed was how light the Casio is. I think the battery may well be the heaviest part of this watch. For those of us accustomed to wearing automatics and big divers, it can be a little disconcerting, particularly since it doesn’t look small. It is nearly 42mm wide, excluding the four buttons (41.8mm to be precise), and that is pretty darn big for a square watch, but short lugs bring its overall length to just 45mm, which is a tidy fit on my 6.75″ wrist. A 12.6mm case height doesn’t hurt either. In the end, you have a compact watch that still has enough room to display a ton of information. I'll include a pic below so that you'll know what I am talking about. Given below is a pic of GD-100-1BDR on my wrist.(Really loved that watch but couldn't get it since it was too big for me) Both are very good watches, especially for the money. They will both serve you well. As far as rough use, that should not be an issue, the WR rating is sufficient on both. The crystal is acrylic which means scratches can be polished out easily with PolyWatch (or in a pinch, toothpaste). The watches are small and light enough to not get in the way. Goodbye offending letters! Hello … shiny patches? It seems the overlay has a barely noticeable texture that gives it a matte appearance and rubbing the hell out of it with a solvent smooths it out. The display frame comes right out too. Too many words? Then erase them with the same tools and technique you used on the case. Some folks have cut away the crossbars that separate the displays, but I don’t think that’s a great look.I did find the presence of multiple timers in 1300 to be a plus point since we wouldn't have to go to the settings and change the timer interval each time.(coz with multiple presets, we could just set the intervals that we mostly use for the common activities and just select the desired one when needed) although the dual stopwatch wasn't gonna be of any extra benefit to me personally, I guess. If both had 5 alarms, I would have gone for 1300.

AE1300WH-8AV | Illuminator Black and Grey Digital Watch - CASIO

When I cast a close eye on the case, I was both surprised and disappointed. I was pleased to see how the guards around the buttons are so clearly defined, but that plastic mold parting line around the mid-case is pretty awful. I also had to question the wisdom of those faux fasteners at the corners. I know the Bond Seiko had them too, but those Roger Moore movies had all kinds of stupid shit in them. You need to be reasonable about such things. None of the edges are terribly crisp, but where that might bug me on a metal watch, I didn’t think twice about them on this plastic unit.

Model Comparison

Is the Kranio better than the original for these changes? I’d say so. I’ll admit that I miss the subtle shape of the Casio case’s button nacelles, but the deletion of the text, dimples, and molding lines more than makes up for it. A Casio purist might disagree, but a purist wouldn’t swap cases, would they? Loving my watch so far! It is more comfortable than I expected. I got this as my casual/beach/travel watch when I don't feel like wearing my nicer watches. I am very pleased so far. The online instructions are easy to read and the watch is fairly easy to manipulate thus far. This would be my beater/beach watch and double as a travel watch as it's cheap and has world time functions. The stopwatch lets you measure elapsed time. The upper display and lower display can be used for official timing of an event or game.

AE-1300 — All about Casio Watches - CasioFan Magazine

I did the same on my B640W initially with the mobile phone screen protector (see photo). The problem with these films is that they are not meant for continuous exposure to water. After all, you don't dip your phone into the water, do you? ;-) So every time I washed my hands, the watch would be exposed to water. After a few times, the film would simply fall off. So eventually I abandoned the idea, and just let it scratch. I think at least for some Casio watches, the formulation for the acrylic crystal is pretty scratch resistant. So far both my B640W and DB36's crystals are holding up pretty well. I have an ae1200. It is not suitable for rough use. The crystal is exposed and slightly protruding. Soon it will be full of scratches. Kranio has also given us two massive practical improvements. The first is drilled lugs – always a plus and particularly so on a watch with lugs as short and tight as this one. The other is the crystal. Gone is Casio’s plastic window, replaced by proper sapphire. I know some of you are already noting the hypocrisy of my praising sapphire when I have spent years lauding the appeal of acrylic. This is true. I love a big, old-school plastic dome on an analog watch. This isn’t that kind of watch, and it seems absurd to switch a resin case for steel and leave a cheap and nasty flat plastic window in it. What can say? I am a complex individual full of contradictions. Next up was nail polish remover. According to the accounts I read, it works great, you just have to be a little careful. Considering myself to be a careful fellow, I borrowed a bottle from my wife and dabbed a Q-Tip for round two. Sadly, I had forgotten that acetone, the key ingredient, is the natural enemy of all manner of coatings and plastics. It took the letters off like nothing, but one more rub and the case paint came too. Then it started eating the case. Shit.Sorry for the delay in replying. I was busy for a few days so hadn't logged in. I bought AE-1200WH and I love it. In the Timekeeping Mode, hold down A until the seconds start to flash, which indicates the setting screen. So if you recall, in Casio AE1200, Part 1: The Review, I discovered this tidy little digital gem and rapidly acquired a small collection of them. In part the second, I will tell you how I set about improving/ruining them a bit, and fitting proper replacement straps. The AE1200 watches are exceeding clever, super cheap, and all my digital-bashing aside, rather nice looking too. But there is one more thing. You can easily modify them, even going so far as to give them steel cases. As you can see in the first photo, I’ve already started down that road…