Casio Watch History

Mr. Kashio Tadao, a self made man, began his entrepreneurial career at the bottom getting his hands dirty by gaining experience in a variety of jobs, making pots, pans, and bicycle generator lamps, and soon earned a reputation for himself and received subcontracts to process parts. In 1946, Mr. Tadao set up his own business called Kashio, after his first name, that thanks to his entrepreneurial genius would grown to the Casio Computer Co. Ltd. of today, that has made complicated electronical products available to the working man.

November 1974: Release of the Casiotron electronic wristwatch
After the success of the Casio Mini Calculator, Casio was secure in its position at the top of the electronic calculator industry. In order to strengthen its earnings base, the company decided to diversify its business by producing timepieces. At first glance, electronic calculators and timepieces seem to be completely different product categories, but at that time, timepieces were undergoing a technological revolution from mechanical to quartz movement mechanisms. A type of quartz timepiece, digital chronometers consist of a counter that measures pulses from a crystal oscillator, in other words, a simple adding machine that shows a running calculation of each second. This was a product that would allow Casio to maximize the LSI technology it had developed for electronic calculators. Considering this, it was only natural for Casio to branch out into the business of timepieces. However, the Japanese clock and watch industry in the mid-70s was closely integrated from the production to sales levels, making it very difficult for new manufacturers to enter the market. Casio made intensive efforts to overcome this barrier, and in October 1974 it released a computerized watch, the CASIOTRON. This watch not only showed the hours, minutes, and seconds, but also had a unique function that could automatically determine the number of days in a month and whether or not the current year was a leap year.

Main functions of the Casiotron watch
Functions:(Hours, minutes, 10 seconds, seconds, AM/PM, month, date, day of the week) Completely automatic calendar a revolutionary feature.
Display: FE liquid crystal digital display
Main components (movement): Crystal oscillator, C MOS-LSI
Price in Japan 1974: ¥58,000 - ¥65,000, about 200-225 $ at 290¥ per dollar which was the average exchange rate of 1974. Remember in the 70's and 80's these were the watches that brought Omega, Rolex and other swiss giants to their knees.





April 1983: Release of the first shock resistant watch, G-SHOCK (DW-5000C)

In 1983, Casio released a new watch that overturned the thinking of the watch and clock industry. Amidst the trend towards thinner lighter watches, the novel rugged design of the G-SHOCK was based on the unique concept of a watch that could be dropped from the top of a building and still not break. When it was first introduced, the G-SHOCK was only popular in certain markets, such as the US, due to its unique appearance. However ten years later, fashion trends had changed, and after consumers took a fresh look at its functions and design, it became an instant hit worldwide. G-SHOCK established the new category of the shock resistant watch, and has become Casio's signature watch.

January 1984: Release of a databank wristwatch to store telephone numbers
After entering the business of timepieces in 1974, Casio released watches with various advanced features, including a calculator function (C-80 released in 1980), and a dictionary function (T-1500 Walking Dictionary released in 1982). The company wanted to see the wristwatch evolve from a simple device for telling time to an information device on the wrist. As part of this progress, the Databank Telememo 10 (CD-40) released in 1984 had a databank function that could save and recall 10 groups of 16 letters or numerals, thereby eliminating the need to carry a personal phone-number organizer. This watch further advanced the concept of an information device on the wrist, and became a major hit product, selling a record total of six million units in the five years after its release. After that, Casio put out a whole series of databank watches, featuring Japanese kana display, timetable, autodial, and other functions.

March 1985: Super-thin digital watch, PELA, released
Based on the novel idea of making the watch and plastic wristband all one piece, the PELA FS-10 was realized through the development of revolutionary new hybrid molding technology applying plastic molding and microelectronics expertise. Only 3.9 millimeters thick and 12 grams, the super-thin lightweight PELA won immediate popularity, and became the watch industry’s first million-selling model.

February 1989: Release of the BM-100WJ digital watch with weather prediction sensors
Generally speaking, when the atmospheric air pressure increases the weather improves, and when it decreases the weather deteriorates. The BM-100WJ was a digital watch with a weather-prediction function based on this principle. The watch had an internal semiconductor barometer sensor that measured the air pressure every three hours, and showed the data on a bar graph display. When the bar on the right hand side went up, it meant the weather would improve, and when it went down, the weather would get worse. This air pressure data could also be used to tell the wearer his or her approximate altitude or underwater depth. These revolutionary new functions made the BM-100WJ a major hit product. Casio went on to create a whole line of sensor watches with various functions.

December 1994: Release of the Baby-G shock resistant watch for women

The G-SHOCK shock-resistant wristwatch first released in 1983 had now gained popularity overseas. This trend was re-imported into Japan, and the G-SHOCK became a major hit, with ongoing supply shortages. Being pushed by the popularity of the G-SHOCK, other watch companies came out with their own digital watches in the solid and tough-looking style, redefining a product that until then had been driven only by functionality. With the trend towards the tough shock-resistant look, women also began to wear these large watches.In 1994, Casio came out with a new line of G-SHOCK watches just for women called the Baby-G series. The first item of the series, the DW-520, not only had G-SHOCK’s shock resistance, but was also a cute lady’s size digital watch featuring pop colors and surfing design motifs that were popular with teen girls at the time. The subsequent Baby-G’s were developed with different functions and themes, and to this day, more and more women enjoy wearing various Baby-G styles.

June 1995: Release of the FKT-100L radio-controlled watch
Radio-controlled timepieces always show the correct time by receiving long-wave radio frequencies transmitting standard time information. In 1995, Casio developed and delivered its first radio-controlled timepiece, the FKT-100L combination watch, to the German market. In June of the following year, Casio released the DQD-10 clock model in Japan.
In 1996, when the DQD-10 was released, the standard radio signals being transmitted in Japan were test broadcasts. However, the product gained the spotlight as a clock that never needed to be reset. Then, on June 10, 1999, official broadcasting started and Casio began full-scale development of various radio-controlled timepiece models. In October 2001, another standard radio transmitter began broadcasting. Time signals could then be received with reliability anywhere in Japan, and radio-controlled timepieces were widely adopted.
In 1999 in the U.S., standard radio signal outputs were improved and transmission was extended throughout the country. Starting in July 2001, Casio began marketing radio-controlled timepieces in the U.S., as well.

June 1999: Release of the SATELLITE NAVI, the world’s first GPS watch

The actual product was released in June of the same year under the nickname of SATELLITE NAVI, as the top model of the outdoor watch series, PROTREK. The watch was acclaimed for its advanced feature allowing the wearer to easily determine directions and distances in relation to his or her location or destination, which is especially useful for outdoor activities such as mountain climbing and fishing, where lightweight compact devices are needed.
The actual product was released in June of the same year under the nickname of SATELLITE NAVI, as the top model of the outdoor watch series, PROTREK. The watch was acclaimed for its advanced feature allowing the wearer to easily determine directions and distances in relation to his or her location or destination, which is especially useful for outdoor activities such as mountain climbing and fishing, where lightweight compact devices are needed.

June 2000: Release of the WQV-1 Wrist Camera, a wristwatch digital camera
The Wrist Camera was the world’s first wristwatch digital camera. Measuring 52 x 40 x 16 millimeters, and with a weight of 32 grams, it is a super small and lightweight device that can be easily worn on the wrist. It enables the wearer to always be ready for any photo opportunity, and to check the resulting pictures on the display. The image data can also be transmitted to other Wrist Cameras or a PC. Based on the concept of information devices for the wrist that go beyond telling time, the product displays a culmination of Casio’s technology development.

November 2001: Release of the WVA-300 solar powered radio-controlled watch

Released in 2001, the WVA-300 succeeded in becoming the worldÍs first radio-controlled watch that never needed to be reset, and was powered by a solar cell. The watch shattered the common sense of the industry, which had believed it was not possible to build an advanced-function watch using solar cells. This ultimate watch never stops and never needs to be reset, and features low power consumption and miniaturization enabled by technological developments such as an energy-saving CPU based on a SOI (silicon on insulator) format, and a super-miniature detection IC.

April 2002: Release of "The G," the ultimate G-SHOCK watch

The G-SHOCK was born out of the idea of challenging the notion that a wristwatch has to be a fragile item. While inheriting superior shock resistance and a design that conveys toughness, the ultimate G-SHOCK, "The G," features a "Tough Solar" power system that eliminates the need to replace batteries. "The G" has made it possible to keep accurate time almost indefinitely due to its radio-controlled system, which receives standard time radio signals to maintain time accuracy. "The G" introduces "never break, never stop, never wrong" timekeeping. The ultimate performance of this series has received great acclaim since its release.

(Pictures and facts are courtesy of Casio Computer Co. Ltd.) For full History of Casio Computer Co. Ltd. feel free to visit Casio's homepage.