Casio F-91W: A watch also worn by an American president

Tags: Review | Casio | Classic | Retro

8.4.2021 | 6 MIN | 2x comment

Casio is not just G-Shocks. There is another legend that people will remember when hearing the name of this Japanese company - Casio F-91W. Yes, even small, plastic digital watch with a price of a quality wine bottle can become legendary. This watch equivalent of the Nokia 3310 has been in production for an incredible 30 years, and even today, in the age of smartwatches, Casio still spits around 3 million pieces a year! That's a decent number, don't you think? They are popular all over the world among working people, athletes, politicians and, unfortunately, also terrorists.

While we are currently enjoying the newly acquired freedom, nylon clothes and New Kids on the Block hits, Casio launches a new digital watch model. This time, however, it does not have a calculator and you would also search in vain for an alarm clock with a Christmas carol melody. Casio F-91W has a different task than to impress with technical finesse. For the price of a few hundred CZK, it also offers the opportunity to buy a watch for people in developing countries, for whom even such a thing is still a luxury.

Definition of available watches

"Ninety-ones" soon became a hit not only in the poor corners of the globe. They were cheap, yet high quality, practical and they could handle a lot. They offered the accuracy of a quartz watch, a programmed calendar, an alarm clock, a stopwatch (even with a split time) and also Micro-light lighting. In the original design it had a yellow color and the intensity of a tired firefly. In the currently sold version, the small light bulb was replaced by a green diode, but the light output remained roughly at the same level. So it's just a light that has "changed" on this model in those three decades.

The small light bulb was replaced by a LED diode, but the intensity of the tired firefly remained

If it was any other watch, I would tear Casio to bits for that dim light in this next section of the article. But you know what? It simply belongs to these retro hits and at the same time it evokes a certain nostalgia. At least for those born a little earlier. So perhaps you will agree with me that with regard to the price, there is really nothing to complain about in terms of functions.

However, F-91W has other trumps up its sleeve... Seven years! No, now I am not talking about the length of the warranty of an unnamed Korean carmaker, but about the endurance of the lithium battery. And that's the data from the manufacturer. The experience of long-term owners usually speaks of endurance of ten years and more! In contrast to today's smartwatches, which last barely ten days, it is like an information from another planet.

The same goes for its weight. I can't even think of another watch that only weights 21 grams. This "weight" is due to the smaller dimensions of the case (38 x 35 x 8.5 millimeters) and the fact that Casio was not affraid to use plastic. Besides the case and the thin strap, plastic was also used for the "glass", if we can even call it a glass.

Plastic, plastic, plastic. Casio F-91W became a symbol of availabilty

From what was mentioned earlier, you might think the watch is really fragile, but that is not true at all. Thanks to its low price, it became a favorite subject of more or less drastic attempts, trying to find their limits. On the Internet, we can find a lot of videos where people drive them over with a car, pound them with a hammer, and even though they are only water resistent, people do not hesitate to dive with them. And behold, F-91W survives most of these torture procedures! So it is not only for the shape of the case, for which they earned the nickname "miniature G-Shocks".

Thanks to its low price, it became a favorite subject of more or less drastic attempts, trying to find their limits. And behold, F-91W survives most of these torture procedures!

Unfortunately, the history of F-91W has also its dark side. Great widespread in the world, low price and high reliability are probably the main reasons for this watch being among terrorists as well.

Deadly digital watch

The year is 1995, and in one Manila neighborhood, two men are mixing a dangerous mixture of chemicals. However, the explosion and the subsequent fire soon interruptes their activities and they both leave the place in a hurry. Ine of them decides to return for a laptop that remained in the hastily abandoned apartment. Unfortunately for him, the police also arrived at the same time. The fire did not destroy the place yet and the police discover a few suspicious objects on the table. Next to a simple electrical circuit, there were a few wires, a nine-volt battery, and a Casio F-91W watch.

Casio F-91W was to serve as a detonator for the Philippine attack on the pope

As the investigation showed, the couple were preparing an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II, who was soon to visit the Philippines. The cheap plastic digital watch was to serve as a time trigger for explosive devices. It is hard to say today if they were inspired by Ramzi Yousef, who a year earlier tried to blow up a Philippine Airlines plane with a similar device.A bomb smuggled aboard flight 434 then killed one passenger and seriously injured ten others, but fortunately the plane managed to land safely... What was used as a detonator? Casio F-91W.

Distinguishing mark of terrorists?

Being associated with terrorists is certainly not a thing any company would like. But as the well-known marketing precept says - negative advertising is still an advertising. And this negative advertisement was taken care of after the year 2001 by the most famous terrorist of all, Osama bin Laden, the head of Al-Qaeda. F-91W, sometimes accompanied by a small compass, appeared on his wrist with a great regularity. Low price and retro style were probably not the reasons why he bought them though ...

A negative advertisement of Casio was made by the most famous terrorist, Osama bin Laden

The fact, bin Laden is wearing this type of watch, did not escape the attention of watch enthusiasts and American investigators, who discovered that the thirty-two radicals stationed at Guantanamo also had F-91W, while another twenty of them wore F-91W's sibling Casio A159W. Coincidence? Not according to US authorities. The official repot literally states?: "The investigation showed that Casio watches were given to students of Al-Qaeda training camps who were trained in the construction of timed explosive devices. Approximately one third of those detained with this watch had demonstrable experience with explosives or were in direct contact with persons who had the knowledge needed to manufacture such devices."

Radicals in Guataman wore Casio F-91W, or its sibling Casio A159W

Cheap Casio digital watch thus received the official sticker of al-Qaeda-related watches. paradox is that the F-91W was also worn by young Barack Obama, during whose presidency bin Laden was captured and killed by the Americans. If Barack bought the watch himself, or got them as a gift, is up to your imagination ...

Yes, Barack Obama also wore cheap F-91Ws in his youth.

"The reason is always there"

Being marked as a terrorist watch is probably not going to dissapear for F-91W. On the contrary, we now have an opportunity to buy a watch with a story at an affordable price. Retro is still in, so why not get this cheap joy. The watch can serve well when remodeling an apartement or as a memory of youth. As my acquaintance remarked, "There is always a reason to buy such a watch." And I have no choice but to agree with him.

UPDATE - March 2020

Casio releases 4 new color variants marked as F-91WS with a transparent strap. Three of them are now available in the Czech Republic - white, blue and gray. It's still the same classic, just in fun refresh.