Casio’s Mysterious, Affordable New Sports Watch Is the Best-Looking It’s Ever Made

Practically every entry-level watch brand has been upping its game in recent years in a bid to appeal to the fast-growing enthusiast market. From Citizen’s renewed focus on mechanical watchmaking to Bulova’s raiding of its mid-century archives to Timex launching its own luxury sub-brand, the bargain watch category has never been more competitive or desirable.

Casio has been a bit slower to take to this trend than its competitors, but make no mistake: the ultra-affordable Japanese watchmaker is in this game to win it.

Back in June, the brand known for cheap digital watches unveiled its first automatic watch ever, then made headlines with a trendy ring watch. Now it’s keeping the party going with a mysterious, seriously attractive stainless steel integrated sports watch that recently appeared on the brand’s online catalog and which bears more than a passing resemblance to one of the hottest watches on the luxury market.

Casio

Casio Cubitus

Casio’s new watch is an addition to the brand’s MTP line, a broad collection of homage-ish analog quartz watches with designs resembling everything from a Rolex Datejust to a Tissot PRX to the Apple Watch.

Its latest is an integrated sports watch with sharp angles and multiple finishing techniques that would feel right at home in many luxury brands’ collections. In fact, with its vertically brushed eight-sided bezel featuring a mirror-polished chamfer, its three-row integrated bracelet with polished center links and its slanted applied indices, it looks a whole lot like a very specific luxury integrated sports watch: the Patek Philippe Cubitus.

The Cubitus may have been controversial when it debuted last year, but the smaller 40mm version that debuted at Watches and Wonders this year is an absolute dream on the wrist, and both versions are straight-up impossible to get at retail. Love it or hate it, the Cubitus is a white-hot watch.

Casio, Patek Philippe

Of course, Casio’s design isn’t a total Patek ripoff. It lacks the distinctive Nautilus-style “ears,” its bracelet is flatter and bolder with differently spaced links, its semi-skeletonized handset is entirely different, the dial is vertically brushed instead of engraved with horizontal lines, and it features large applied Arabic numeral hour markers at 12 and 6. What’s more, the Casio case’s octagonal shape is more rectangular than the square Cubitus, and it’s more compact, measuring 38mm across, 46.5mm long and just 8.3mm thick.

There are plenty of other differences that should go without saying. Naturally, the Casio’s finishing won’t be in the same universe as the Patek’s, and instead of an automatic movement from a legendary haute manufacture, we get a simple Casio quartz caliber. For what it’s worth, though, the Casio is more accurate than the Cubitus, with a stated deviation of ±20 seconds per month.

The “Casio Cubitus,” as a couple of people have called the watch on Reddit, where it’s also drawn comparisons to the Maen Manhattan and Cartier Santos, comes in several different options. It’s available in plain steel with a blue, green, white or black dial on an integrated steel bracelet, with the black and green dials also available on an integrated black leather strap.

Casio

Lastly, and perhaps most out of character for Casio, is a two-tone version in steel with rose gold ion plating on its bezel and the center links of its bracelet. It features a dark blue dial and is a strong aesthetic match for the two-tone rose gold Cubitus. It also looks pretty high-end for a Casio.

Pricing and availability

Now, here’s where things get a bit tricky. Casio has not yet announced the pricing or availability for the new Cubitus-like MTP line, and the watch is only live on the brand’s international website — it’s nowhere to be found on Casio’s U.S. site.

I’ve reached out to a rep for some details on pricing and availability, and will update this story if and when I get that information.

As for now, I think it’s safe to assume the “Casio Cubitus” will come in well below the $50,000 SRP of the steel Patek Cubitus. I expect a price between $150 and $200, as the existing integrated sports watch in the MTP line retails for $110 and has far less elaborate finishing.

Casio

Casio MTP-B195RG-2AV

Specs

Case Size	38mm
Movement	Casio quartz
Water Resistance	50m

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