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Casio’s New Retro Timepiece Takes Heavy Cues from Seiko’s ’70s-Era Icon

The affordable MTP-E740 isn’t an exact Time Sonar dupe, but it certainly emits the same overall vibe.

Silver metal Casio watch with an orange dial and day-date display on a turquoise background.Casio
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Ethan Brehm

By Ethan Brehm

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Seiko isn’t known as an unorthodox watch brand. But every now and then, it surely pushes the needle.

Silver stainless steel Seiko wristwatch with green dial, black accents, and day-date display.
Seiko’s Time Sonar was an unusual watch when it debuted in 1976, featuring a transparent dial and sonar-inspired aesthetic. There have been several different iterations over the years. The model above is the Huf collab from this year.
Seiko

That’s what happened in 1976 when it debuted the Time Sonar, one of the most unusual mechanical watches it’s ever produced. It combined a transparent dial, one of the world’s earliest display casebacks and a futuristic design. The timepiece’s unique look is reminiscent of a submarine sonar screen, hence the name.

Now, Casio takes a perhaps-inadvertent stab at the aesthetic … to a degree.

Silver Casio wristwatch with an orange dial, white hour markers, and a day-date display showing Sunday the 5th.
Casio’s latest MTP-E740 is its own interpretation on the transparent dial style, albeit with a few differences from the Time Sonar.
Casio

I’m looking through you

Admittedly, the new MTP-E740 isn’t a faithful dupe of the Time Sonar. However, it’ll get you the same overall vibe at one-fourth of the cost.

For the task, Casio goes with a transparent dial just like Seiko’s, and in five colorways: black, orange, blue, navy blue and teal. The minute track on the outside isn’t as sophisticated and ditches numerals entirely. However, the end result is something decidedly cleaner overall.

Close-up of a Casio wristwatch with a silver metal band, black and brown dial, and day-date display showing Sunday the 5th.
The new Casio is decidedly cleaner despite omitting any numerals and the red second hand.
Casio

Powered by a quartz movement (instead of an automatic), the E740 boasts a three-hand display. Except Casio opts for a white seconds hand rather than a sonar-evoking red. You still get the day-date window, and with bilingual readouts. The ones found on Casio’s international site feature both English and Spanish words for the days of the week.

It’s all housed in a stainless steel case measuring 39.8mm across with a slender 8.7mm thickness. Water resistance sits at a serviceable 50m. 

Three Casio wristwatches with stainless steel bands and green, blue, and dark blue dials showing day and date.
There are five colorways in total, including the teal, blue and navy options you see here.
Casio

The bracelet is surprisingly elegant here as well. Blending brushed and mirror polishing, the steel band is a three-link setup like we’ve seen on select Time Sonar models, including the Huf collab earlier this year.

It’s safe to say these won’t have transparent casebacks, considering the quartz movement, but we’ll just have to wait until these land on some wrists to find out.

Availability and pricing

No word yet on when the MTP-E740 will land in North America, but you can already find them on Casio’s international sites. In the UK, the price is listed at £85 (~$114), keeping these in the budget range, as to be expected.

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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