Fancy dress Casio
By Abby Turner, Melbourne ยท
You know how some Casios look like they're trying to be a much more expensive watch? The A1000 isn't trying, it just is a nicer object. Steel case, steel bracelet, a mineral crystal instead of the usual acrylic, and a dial surround that looks like it came off a 1970s cassette deck. It's 43.2 mm wide and 10.3 mm thick, so it's chunkier than the little A168, and you'll feel the weight of the bracelet.
Functions are the usual Casio set plus world time: alarm, stopwatch, and the ability to check what time it is in London, which I mainly use to work out whether it's too late to ring my sister.
Where it loses me is readability. The display is smaller relative to the case than on the cheaper models, and with all that shiny steel around it, there's glare under hospital fluorescents. I'd still be able to read the seconds, but not at a glance the way I can on a DW-5600.
US$80 to $110 is fair for what it is. I'd call it a going-out Casio rather than a shift Casio. If you want one watch for everything, I'd spend the same on a G-Shock and be happier on a wet Tuesday.