Why you should and shouldn’t buy the Casio ring watch (plus US, UK, SG product links)

Will Casio release the CRW001-1 ring watch in the U.S. today? When will it be released in the U.K. and Singapore? Don’t know, but it’s coming very soon and the official Casio product page links for those countries are below. Here are some reasons why you should and shouldn’t buy it.

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Reasons To Buy The Casio CRW001-01 Ring Watch

1. It is the hottest Casio release of the year

The ring watch sold out immediately in Japan and is now commanding extremely high prices from third-party sellers there. It also sold out quickly in China. It is a limited edition release for the Casio Watch 50th Anniversary, and it’s going to sell out worldwide. At a time when new watch releases have become somewhat predictable, the ring watch is a breath of fresh air. [We originally thought that the ring watch was a limited edition due to its Japanese model name ending in “JR,” but after reports of plans to restock it in Japan and the United States, it seems possible that it is still being produced to meet the demand.]

2. You will regret not buying it

The FOMO is real with this one. If you see it available online and pass up the “Buy Now” link, can you live with yourself after it sells out? You will probably regret not buying it, maybe not on the same level as not buying Bitcoin in 2012, but it is something that you may end up spending unnecessary mental energy on in the future. There are definitely a few watches that I regret not buying and still think about sometimes. Is there a greater chance that you will regret buying it for $120? Probably not. Casio could have charged twice as much and it would probably still sell out.

3. It is the first Casio ring watch

This is the first working Casio ring watch ever released. Casio previously released some G-Shock-shaped jewelry rings in Japan made of real silver and gold, but this is an actual water-resistant Casio watch with dual time, stopwatch, auto-calendar, and LED light. Casio’s description on the international pages is a bit misleading when it says, “We celebrate Casio Watch’s 50th anniversary by bringing back the very first ring watch.” There was no digital ring watch before this. The CRW-001-1 is the first and the original ring watch, and something may have gotten lost in translation. (The first product from the company that preceded Casio was a pipe ring that held a cigarette, and the proceeds of it were used to develop calculators.)

4. It is shaped like a G-Shock

Casio could have chosen a number of digital watches to model the CRW-001-1 on but chose the G-Shock DW-5000/5600 shape, honoring its most prominent sub-brand.

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Reasons Not To Buy The Casio CRW001-01 Ring Watch

1. More Casio ring watches are probably coming in the future

Casio has stated that it intends to use the same module in future products. These products could be more rings, but we do not know if they will be shaped liked a G-Shock watch again or other Casio watches. (Casio also hinted at the possibility that the products will not be rings.) We don’t know if such releases will be reserved for future Casio Watch Anniversary celebrations, the next of which isn’t expected until 2029 at the earliest, or 2028 for the G-Shock 45th Anniversary.

2. It is made in China

Being made in China is not inherently bad (I love my iPhone and Nintendo Switch and have no qualms with Chinese-made G-Shock models), but Casio is a Japanese company and this is an anniversary release, so it would have been nice if it was made in Japan like some of the high-end G-Shock models. (The ring was developed with Casio’s Chinese factory because it specializes in the metal injection molding process used to make it.)

3. Battery replacement is a concern

Although Casio has stated that the battery is replaceable by way of the removable mineral glass display, the display is held in place by double-sided tape which may present an issue for DIYers, as it’s not known if the tape is reusable if the display is removed. While many people are capable of replacing G-Shock batteries on their own, the ring watch probably uses some kind of specially cut tape that may need to be replaced, so it may need to be sent to a service center to ensure the proper adhesion and maintain the water resistance. The approximate battery life is two years, but this is assuming daily LED light and time flash use, so it can possibly last a lot longer.

4. You probably won’t wear it much

Most people are going to buy the ring watch as a collectible that sits on a shelf and that’s fine, but wouldn’t you rather buy something that you will wear regularly and possibly daily, perhaps something like the G-Shock DW-5000R-1A which not only honors the original G-Shock watch but is an actual reincarnation of it?

Casio Links:

Casio CRW001-1 Ring Watch at Casio U.S.

CRW-001-1ER at Casio U.K.

CRW-001-1 at Casio Singapore

(Links for other countries are not available yet, please follow your country’s official Casio site at casio.com.)