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Min. ReadCasio reintroduces its first digital watch to the world of today, by adding advanced technology features like solar charging and Bluetooth connectivity.
While Casio was already a well-established producer of computers, calculators, and other early electronic consumer goods, 1974 was a pivotal year in the Japanese brand's storied history – and one that would forever change its positioning in the consumer goods space, and the watch industry at large. This monumental shift in the Casio legacy began with one wrist-sized technological innovation in the form of its first digital wristwatch – the original Casiotron – which would introduce its new automatic calendar functionality to the landscape of electronic watches that was just beginning. Now 50 years later, Casio returns to the source, and revives its preeminent digital watch with all the style of the heritage model and equipped with the tech capabilities of today in a limited span of 4,000 units.
The power of the original Casiotron QW02 model, aside from its advanced calendar capabilities, was representative of the larger switch to quartz-powered movements writ large – as well as the brand's keen foresight in riding the quartz wave as it was cresting. The QW02 utilized the technology Casio originally designed for its calculators to rid its wearer of the hassle of resetting calendar settings at the top of each month and adjusting for shorter months. The initial success of the Casiotron would encourage the brand to dive further into its watchmaking endeavors.
The ultimate intention of this reissue is to pay proper honor to the legacy of the original Casiotron in its look, feel, and functionality. However, in the initial stages of bringing this idea to life, the brand encountered a slight hiccup – the original design sketches of its first digital watch had been lost to time. To combat this, the Casio development team utilized 3D scanning technology to render the QW02 digitally, analyzing it to its most minute details to get the whole thing just right.
All of this effort and attention to detail has resulted in the creation of the limited edition Casiotron TRN-50. You will find the unique texture of the fluted bezel that has been a quintessential feature of the line since the jump happily present, surrounding the vivid dark blue dial that envelopes the LCD digital display. Aside from maintaining the aesthetic of its heritage predecessor and just looking damn good, the blue element of the dial plays its own part in bringing the Casiotron to the technological landscape of today. The TRN-50 now boasts Tough Solar Charging capabilities that Casio uses across many of its contemporary timepieces, and the blue tones effectively work to ensure solar transparency so that the module within can successfully harness the power of sunlight.
Crafted in stainless steel and complete with a matching bracelet, the case diameter has been created in the same 39.1mm sizing as the original, but the profile of this watch has been slimmed down by 0.3mm. This effectively makes the new Casiotron feel even more streamlined and easy to wear without straying from the integrity of the original design. As sophisticated on the inside as on the outside, the new Casiotron advances quite a few steps past its initial perpetual calendar functionality and is equipped with Bluetooth and Radio Multiband 6 connectivity for easy setting of all timekeeping, alarm, stopwatch, and calendar functions.
As a part of this limited edition, a flip of the watch reveals the specially designed case back denoting the celebratory 50th-anniversary theme.
