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Authored By Raghudevi
Casio MSY700 - Review
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Casio MSY700 - Review
Another Ana-digi ? Well... yes and why not ?
Just got it about a week back and I should say that I am not disappointed. Japan movement. Cased in China.
First the size of the watch - 48mm across with the crowns included and 40mm without the crowns. Thickness is at 12mm and the feel is quite hefty. Screwed in SS caseback and the dial says 200m water resist. Some assurance that for a person like me who can't even swim, let alone dive.
The crystal is simple glass or that is what I think, as the specifications are silent on this. Anyway I never scratch my crystals - so this must be OK.
The time adjust crown is screw down type and is executed well. The pushers appear like that they are also screw in type - but they are not. They only look so ! But neverthless they are debounced well - meaning you have to push in for a second or so for the relevant push to register. So that you don't have "jumping menus". Fully fucntional uni-directional bezel adds to the look and is of the 60 notch type. The edge of the bezel is smooth but with a chamfered notch at every 2.5 minute - slightly difficult if you ask me. Nothing like serrations on the edge. But then in a watch that has full functional stop watch who on earth is going to use the bezel ?
The digital display is split into two parts - the top one is used for the digital time and also for the number of days left function. ( More about this later ) The bottom one is for setting alarm time, target date for count down or count up , stopwatch and day-date in normal calender mode. The display is the reverse LCD type and is slightly yellow shade against a black background. Good contrast in lighted environs but a bit dull when lighting is inadequate. NO backlighting provided to conserve power.
The dial is black with elegant hands in SS. The hour markers in white and SS combo look neat and nice. I think they have the tried to put some lume ( which is the white stuff ) on the hand and the markers. But the lume is nothing to write home about - lasts for about half an hour after exposure to the tropical sun. Othewise a simple uncluttered dial with two red arcs connecting the full sized markers. The second hand is tipped red - I would have preffered white though. Red against black is not good contrast. One good addition is the 13 to 24 marking on the hour markers. Done on a slope and appears cool. All three hands have "tails" which is something I love. The second hand has the lovliest tail of the lot.
The best thing to happen - in my watch the second hand aligns with the markers all round. Great - I must have been lucky for this to happen.
The analog and digital times are not synchronized - so you have a choice to set either of them to a second zone. The caliber is 3797 and if you have set one Casio digital then setting this, is no different.
The watch has one alarm that can wake up none. It then has a days-to-go-count function. Once you program a target date you get to see the numbers of days to go if it is ahead and no of days past if it is past. Not sure for whom or when this function will come in handy. the other function is a stopwatch with the usual split / lap timings. You also have a choice to switch on a hourly chime. Quite mild and unobtrusive unlike in some Casios. Once you get used to it - you can hear it well.
The original bracelet is SS but not solid. Looks neat with two runs of polished links amidst matt finished borders. Best is it is not a hair puller - atleast it has not pulled at me.
Accuracy - well I synchronized it with the NIST server about a week back and as on date it is on the dot. I know for a Casio this is too small a time frame to show error.
Was shipped in a cardboard carton. And with a good manual booklet.
Now for the price - paid USD 58 - including shipping within Singapore. While I cannot say that the looks are in the class of the Orient CVZ00001 Ana-digi ( USD155+Shipping), function wise there is no let down. And both don't have backlight. If Wayne's watch world had the Black CVZ, then I would have gone for it. In the interim period this should keep me happy. ( Actually the E-Bay Canada has a CVZ black for USD100 , but they don't ship to India )
Final Verdict : Good functionality, aesthetics and heft for a price that does not burn a hole in the pocket. If only they had a good lume, then I have nothing against this Casio Ana-Digi.
RaghuDevi
