Should You Buy the Cheapest Watch Ever, the Casio A159WAD-1D?

Yes, in a word. I think you should add the Casio A159WAD-1D to your collection. Why? Well, that's not just because the price is low at $70; Walmart, Amazon, and other stores are selling it for about $35, which is even less. The Casio A159WAD-1D came out in 2018. It is a version of the A159 line from the company's "Casio Retro" line of watches that look like they are from the past. Hey, if you care about how collections are put together and the history of luxury watches, why not give this A159 the same love? Now let's look at how this "little watch that could" works and why I've been wearing it all the time lately.

As our watch-collecting habits and goals grow, many, but not all, watch lovers tend to choose mysterious brands and pieces. At some point, a quick look at a watch will tell you more than it used to. You'll be able to quickly and accurately judge how complicated the watch's case, bracelet, dial, hands, and movement are. At this point, we might want to know more about the inspiration and process behind a particular reference, collection, or brand.

The watch itself comes next, and this is where the fun begins. Let's start by making sure we're looking at the right thing. The Casio A159WAD-1D is 36.8 mm by 33.2 mm, 9.7 mm thick, and only weighs 45 g. (1.58 oz). When you pick it up, the supposedly five-piece link bracelet rattles loudly, and not just at the loose ends around the open clasp. It also rattles between the lugs. Because the end links are made with a lot of room for error, the whole bracelet wobbles as it moves down the spring bar. Even though the device rattles cheaply and a single link from a Rolex Oyster bracelet seems more durable and valuable than the whole thing, you still don't feel like it will break or fall off your wrist any time soon. It just looks like a 20–30-year-old Rolex that has been worn for that long. The benefit? This loose bracelet, like a lot of others, is very comfortable to wear because it bends more easily around the wrist. Your results may be different than mine, but I didn't pull my hair out when I wore it, which surprised me because I thought I would. When wearing the watch, it might happen briefly, but never all at once.

The square LCD screen is clear and easy to read, and it has a classic look. It seems pretty clear (even if, in some photographs, it might appear to have less contrast between the active and inactive parts of the display). This is by far the easiest-to-read watch I own, coming in first place in this very important race. The funny "LED" light hidden on the left side of the display at night is a sharp reminder of the $35 price tag: its weak green light barely reaches the hour display, and some light leakage gets it over to the minute's collection. But if you're on a dark stairway or at dusk, you'll probably miss some tasty Super-Lum Inova or, more specifically, Timex Indigo. When it is so dark that the display can't be read without the light, the whole time can still be seen.

Still, there are a lot of good things about the Casio A159WAD-1D. Again, I can't say enough about how easy it is to read during the day, which is one of the most important qualities of a good watch at any price. It takes a lot of work to tell the hands and their reflections apart from the fancy dial textures of expensive luxury watches, which often have hands, dials, and crystals that reflect light. Also, it is much more comfortable than 300m or 600m (desk) diver's watches, which are five times as heavy and hurt when you move your wrist. This is because the watch strap is light and easy to move. This small Casio is comfortable to wear and easy to read, which brings it one step closer to being a real watch that can be worn every day.

Should You Buy The Cheapest Diamond Set Watch Ever, The Casio A159WAD-1D?

Then it's time to talk about the diamonds, because the most interesting thing about this watch has nothing to do with how easy it is to read or how good it feels on your wrist. It's only on this Casio model, the A159WAD-1D, and three others: the A159WGED-1, which is gold, and the LA670WEAD-1EF and LA-670WGAD-1D, which are smaller versions. The two diamonds are prominently displayed above and below the display, underneath a faceted front glass element that looks like a diamond.

When there are diamonds on a watch, the price is usually at least in the low thousands, but most of the time it is between five and six figures. They can be a sign of status, worth, skill, or other things. Has anyone talked about the group? Finding valuable stones in a Casio watch, let alone a cheap one, is exciting and mysterious. If you know of any Casio watches made before 2018 that have diamonds set at the factory, I'd love to see them. But this makes me wonder if this is just a fashion move by Casio to get customers who like small, pretty things. Or, and I may be overthinking this because I've worked in the luxury watch industry for a decade, I wonder if Casio is making fun of high-end watchmakers and how they often raise the prices of diamond-set watches too much.

There's no way around the fact that it might not make you like diamonds if you don't already: The Casio A159WAD-1D is a factory-set diamond watch. So, there is a good chance that it will have two more diamonds than any luxury watch your friends are wearing at the time. When watches are often just bragging rights, it's interesting to see a standard bragging war tool go down to $35. At this price, talking about how these two little stones are more "industrial grade" than "investment quality" is missing the joke entirely. Yes, inexpensive natural diamonds are used on different tools that cut and drill.

Casio says on its official home page, "Natural diamonds: The diamonds used in certain models are natural materials that were gathered in accordance with UN resolutions and from reputable sources that don't fund war." There are no man-made gems used. Because of this, Casio is more open than many Swiss watchmakers about at least some parts of where its diamonds come from and how they naturally formed. Even though the instructions that came with his watch say not to, a user on the watch seeks forum says he downloaded a diamond certificate. Take it for what it's worth, especially for a watch at this price, since I couldn't do it myself and there may be some differences in different markets.

The scratchy "resin glass" on the front of the Casio A159WAD-1D is almost as fun to look at as trying to catch the light in one of the diamonds' facets. Leave sapphire crystal behind. Even if they are sitting further back and behind the front glass, they might still be able to see their reflection in the top facet, also called the table, and the angled row of elements, also called the crown. The small case goes well with the size of my wrist, which is 6.8 inches (17 cm). The black text and border around the screen and the reflections on the glass and bezel work well together. 

The scratchy "resin glass" on the front of the Casio A159WAD-1D is almost as fun to look at as it is to try to catch the light in one of the diamonds' facets. Forget sapphire crystal. Even if they are sitting further back and behind the front glass, they might still be able to see their reflection in the top facet, also called the table, and the angled row of elements, also called the crown. The small case goes well with the size of my wrist, which is 6.8 inches (17 cm). The black text and border around the screen and the reflections on the glass and bezel work well together. The scratchy "resin glass" on the front of the Casio A159WAD-1D is almost as fun to look at as it is to try to catch the light in one of the diamonds' facets. 

Forget sapphire crystal. Even if they are sitting further back and behind the front glass, they might still be able to see their reflection in the top facet, also called the table, and the angled row of elements, also called the crown. The small case goes well with the size of my wrist, which is 6.8 inches (17 cm). The black text and border around the screen and the reflections on the glass and bezel work well together. The scratchy "resin glass" on the front of the Casio A159WAD-1D is almost as fun to look at as it is to try to catch the light in one of the diamonds' facets. Forget sapphire crystal. Even if they are sitting further back and behind the front glass, they might still be able to see their reflection in the top facet, also called the table, and the angled row of characteristics, also called the crown. The relatively small case goes well with my 6.8-inch (17-cm) wrist, and the black display surround and text and the reflections on the glass and bezel work well together; go to website