Casio’s Latest Affordable Retro Watch Is a Quieter Take on the Classics

The Japanese watchmaker gives a new shape and dressed-up aesthetic to its hallmark digital timepieces.

Close-up of a silver Casio digital watch with a metal link band on a turquoise background.

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The classic Casio design language is one of the most recognizable in the industry. But still, that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of room for interpretation.

For its latest release, the Japanese watchmaker looks to classics like the F-91W and A168 for guidance but with its own vintage-inspired twist.

Three Casio digital wristwatches with metal bands in silver, silver with blue face, and gold on dark fabric. — Casio evolves its digital formula with the A140, featuring a larger display and rounded corners for a more elegant look.

Digital age

The A140 is a brand-new digital watch for Casio, but certainly recalls past hits. A large LCD display is front-and-center on the dial, with chronograph and auto-calendar features, as well as a daily alarm. The watch is also water resistant.

It’s illuminated by the highly-effective electro-luminescent backlight, glowing blue for use at night. This is a big step up from the largely inferior single-corner dim LED that the brand likes to throw on some of its watches.

Three Casio digital alarm chronograph watches with metal link bands, one with a blue face, one with a black face, and one with a gold face and band. — Featuring sunray dial finishing, the A140 gives off a more minimalist aesthetic thanks to the new design.

While every bit of the A140 looks like a Casio model, it certainly interpolates the design language differently. This time around, the watch gets softer features with its rounded corners. Compared to the longer, more casual look of the A168 and F-91W, the overall elliptical shape of this new model changes the vibe completely.

Gold Casio digital watch with metal link band and rectangular face displaying time and date. — The gold variant is the most dressed-up of the inaugural trio.

Stretching 36.8mm across, the timepiece is available in three variants upon launch. The first two sport silver-toned resin cases surrounding sunray dials in either gray or navy blue. You also have a dressier gold-tone option with a matching gold dial surface.

Silver Casio digital watch with black face, alarm chronograph, and metal link band. — Features on the watch include chronograph, auto-calendar and daily alarms.

Dressed to impress

Decidedly elegant compared to its progenitors, the taller dial yields more surface area, resulting in more room around the edges to appreciate the finishing and increase its minimalist aesthetic. Even though this is a humble $110 quartz watch, it certainly feels more dressed up than your average Casio.

Silver Casio digital watch with blue face and metal link band showing time 10:58:50. — The display is illuminated with EL backlight that glows blue at night.

According to the brand, “The A140 brings quiet refinement to everyday style with a seamless pairing of a retro-inspired case and digital display, balancing vintage character with a clean, contemporary feel.”

Close-up of a silver metal watch band with brushed finish links. — Nodding to ’70s and ’80s dress watches, the bracelet changes up the standard three-link chunky band on some other Casio timepieces.

All three references are adorned with stainless steel bracelets to match their respective cases. It’s a multi-row band that pays homage to vintage “old money” dress watches, as opposed to the larger three-link bracelets you see on today’s A168 and A158 models.

It’s powered by a CR2016 battery with 7 years of battery life.

Availability and pricing

The A140 is available now from Casio’s website. The two silver-colored references (A140WE-2A and A140WE-8A) carry a $110 price tag, while the gold-toned A140WEG-9A is priced at $130.

Silver Casio digital watch with black face and metal link bracelet showing time 10:58:50.

Casio A140 Digital Watch

Casio’s new A140 is a brand-new digital watch that takes the overall design language of classics like the F-91W and A168 but dresses them up a bit. The focus here is more on aesthetics, with an elliptical case shape and a wider, more minimalist dial area. It’s adorned with a multi-row stainless steel bracelet that recalls ’70s and ’80s dress watches.

$110 at Casio

About the Author: Ethan Brehm is an associate editor at Gear Patrol writing about footwear, watches, spirits, EDC and more. When he’s not shopping for his next G-Shock, he spends his time watching movies and planning a future road trip with his family. He firmly believes CDs sound better than vinyl.

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