It is my opinion that there is a Casio for everyone. Not only are there a lot of Casio watches available at any given time, but at least one model looks good on pretty much everyone. For this reason I really think that most people need to have at least one Casio watch in their collection. They make good beater watches, are hip and stylish, and are a passable way to wear an inexpensive watch in a setting were plastic just isn’t ordinarily acceptable.
The same goes for women. I don’t care if you are the type of woman who only likes to wear elegant formal watches on dainty bracelets, you can pull off a feminine Casio Baby-G as well. I didn’t always believe that, until I saw women of all looks and ages wearing fun sporty Baby-G watches and looking good in the process. You don’t need to like every model, but there should be at least a few good ones out there for you.
I chose to check out this Casio Baby-G ref. BGA131-7B (BGA131) watch because it is trendy being all white, and has a cool “pop-up” dial with a seriously cool type of illumination. The watch also comes in all black as well (ref. BGA131-1B). The “resin” (plastic) case is 39mm wide and has a strap that is integrated with the case. At 39mm wide this is actually femme-sized for a G-Shock. Hence the “baby” part of the Baby-G name. While technical in appearance, the case is relatively clean for a watch like this. There are still four pushers placed around the sides of the case. Based on the G-Shock collection, these watches are meant to be durable and take a super beating. I don’t mean for you to put it to the test, but know that these are tough watches.
This is one of those analog/digital hybrid models that are popular with a lot of people. The Japanese quartz movement powers analog hands for the hours and minutes, while a small LCD screen offers the rest of the information. Let me say that the screen is very small – and if you have vision problems you’ll not likely be able to use it. The screen is used to access all the watch’s functions. The timepiece has the time, world time, five alarms, chronograph, calendar, and full calendar. There is a lot of stuff for a little screen. Anyone familiar with using Casio digital watches will be able to use this one pretty quickly.
Most people are going to buy this watch because of the dial and lume style. Casio indicates that the dial is “pop art” inspired. I can see that as the numerals are large and overlapping. The hands are cute – perhaps not the most legible in the world, but good enough. There is a little heart placed into the minute hand. You’ll notice another heart being used as the 2 o’clock hour marker. I wonder what the male version of hearts are… Like maybe skulls or rocket ships? If this was a dude’s watch then the minute hand would be a spaceship and the 2 o’clock hour marker would be a smiling skull, right?
The magic happens when you press the illumination button. It activates an LED located toward the bottom of the dial that causes the dial to mysteriously light up in different colors. It reminds me a bit of a black light effect. The LED is an ultra violet light and causes the pigments to light up differently. It is a fun effect and also useful. Price for the Casio BGA131-1B and BGA131-7B watches is $99.
