The story · Since 1974
The story of the Casio Collection
The F-91W cost about $20 when it appeared in 1989 and still sells for a little more than $10, unchanged, on the wrists of a future US president and, in leaked US files, suspected bomb makers.
- 1974 to 1987 A calculator maker tells time Casio entered watches in November 1974 with the Casiotron QW02, whose calendar adjusted itself for months of different lengths.
- 1988 Eight digits on the wrist The CA-53W replaced the CA-50 with an eight-digit calculator, a 1/100 second stopwatch and dual time in a 24 g resin case.
- 1989 Moriai's first design In June 1989 Casio launched the F-91W, the first design Ryusuke Moriai drew for the company.
- 1990s to 2011 The watch on a watchlist In the mid-1990s militants in Pakistan and the Philippines used the F-91W as a bomb timer.
- Mid-1990s Steel for the same idea The A168 arrived some years after the F-91W, in the mid-1990s, dressing the same lightweight, low-cost formula in a steel-covered case with an electroluminescent backlight.
- 2008 to 2013 A chemistry teacher's calculator Breaking Bad dressed Walter White in a CA-53W, a modest 1980s calculator watch that suited a broke schoolteacher.
- 2020 to 2025 Back to the future, again In 2020 Casio finally gave the CA-53W five colour variants with inverted displays.
~90 million
rough estimate of F-91W units shipped over 30 years (Casio publishes no figures)
Worn by
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Chapters
- 1974 to 1987
A calculator maker tells time
Casio entered watches in November 1974 with the Casiotron QW02, whose calendar adjusted itself for months of different lengths. Through the late 1970s and 1980s it piled calculators, games and phone books onto the wrist.
- 1988
Eight digits on the wrist
The CA-53W replaced the CA-50 with an eight-digit calculator, a 1/100 second stopwatch and dual time in a 24 g resin case. For decades it existed in a single black version.
- 1989
Moriai's first design
In June 1989 Casio launched the F-91W, the first design Ryusuke Moriai drew for the company. It packed an alarm, auto calendar and split-time stopwatch into a case about a third of an inch thick, with a battery rated for seven years.
- 1990s to 2011
The watch on a watchlist
In the mid-1990s militants in Pakistan and the Philippines used the F-91W as a bomb timer. Leaked Guantanamo assessments published in 2011 mentioned the watch nearly 150 times, and design critic Stephen Bayley still called it a modest masterpiece.
- Mid-1990s
Steel for the same idea
The A168 arrived some years after the F-91W, in the mid-1990s, dressing the same lightweight, low-cost formula in a steel-covered case with an electroluminescent backlight.
- 2008 to 2013
A chemistry teacher's calculator
Breaking Bad dressed Walter White in a CA-53W, a modest 1980s calculator watch that suited a broke schoolteacher. When the character turned 51 on screen, it gave way to a TAG Heuer Monaco.
- 2020 to 2025
Back to the future, again
In 2020 Casio finally gave the CA-53W five colour variants with inverted displays. For the 40th anniversary of Back to the Future in 2025 it released the CA-500WEBF with an OUTATIME display and a flux capacitor on the caseback, sold at EUR 119.
Worn by
As Marty McFly he wears the CA-53W calculator watch in Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Part III (1990); in the first film he wore its predecessor, the CA-50.
As Walter White in Breaking Bad he wears a CA-53W, the cheap calculator watch that marks the character before his transformation.
Moments
2025. The Back to the Future CA-500WEBF went on pre-order on 21 October 2025, packed in a box shaped like a VHS cassette.
2011. A detainee file at Guantanamo listed the F-91W on Muhammad al-Rimi's wrist as one of two suspicious indicators, alongside $100 bills.
2011. Footnotes in the leaked files said Pakistani officials had found more than 600 of the watches in a Karachi safe house.
One detainee, Abdullah Kamel Al Kandari, pointed out that four chaplains at Guantanamo wore the same watch.
Generations and strap changes
- 2026Future Classic collection
Casio grouped six of its most popular design classics, from the 1982 LA680 to the 2025 AQ-240, into one collection.
- 2024ABL-100WE
Casio added a smart digital watch with Bluetooth to its retro line.
- 2019A700
The A700 revived an 80s design in a 6 mm case, in gold and silver.
- 2001A168WA-1
A unisex silver digital with stopwatch, alarm and automatic calendar.
- 1990A159W
Casio cites the A159WGEA-1 among vintage models that became all-time classics, and says the typical case shape became the brand's characteristic feature.
- 1989F-91W
The F-91W launched in Japan in 1989 and its design has stayed largely unchanged since, with an 8.5 mm profile and 21 g weight.
Casio says the resin band is attached with pins rather than standard spring bars.
- 1984AQ-230
Casio presented its first wristwatch combining digital and analog display; its successor, the AQ-230, is still popular today.
- 1974Casiotron
Casio presents the Casiotron as the world's first LCD wristwatch, with a fully automatic calendar.