Before G-Shock took over the world, Casio was quietly building a back catalog of plastic-and-steel icons that have outlived just about every trend they survived. These eight classic and vintage Casios prove you don’t need four figures (or even three) to wear real horological history on your wrist.
Casio’s vintage lineup is basically a cheat code for watch collecting: ’80s and ’90s designs (plus one modern dive-watch classic) that are still in production, still affordable, and still genuinely good. Most of these can be ordered tonight on Amazon and on your wrist by the weekend. Prices below are current Amazon listings at the time of writing and can fluctuate.
At a Glance
| Model | Year | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casio F-91W | 1989 | ~$21 | The starter icon |
| Casio A158WA | 1989 | ~$27 | Dressy chrome cousin |
| Casio A168WA | 1995 | ~$30–$45 | Bolder, brighter A158 |
| Casio CA-53W | 1988 | ~$28 | Calculator nostalgia |
| Casio MDV-106 “Duro” | 2011 | ~$65 | True 200m dive watch |
| Casio AQ-230 | 1995 | ~$45–$60 | Minimalist ana-digi |
| Casio MQ-24 | 1985 | ~$20–$30 | Mod-friendly analog |
| Casio LA670WGA | 1988 | ~$30–$40 | Tiny retro charm |
1. Casio F-91W: the digital watch
Year Introduced: 1989
Price: $19.61
Where to Buy: Amazon
The F-91W is the Casio. Resin case, 7-year battery, daily alarm, micro-light, and a silhouette so recognizable it’s practically a logo. It weighs nothing, survives everything, and looks just as right with a suit as with a hoodie. If you only ever buy one vintage Casio, make it this one.
At roughly 21 grams in a 35.2mm-wide case (38.2mm lug-to-lug, just 8.5mm thick), you barely register it on the wrist, yet the module quietly packs in a stopwatch, a daily alarm, an hourly chime, and an auto-calendar. The one caveat is water resistance: it’s rated at 3 ATM, so rain and hand-washing are fine, but it isn’t built for swimming. You can grab one on Amazon for around twenty bucks.
2. Casio A158WA: the steel-bracelet square
Year Introduced: 1989
Price: $29.79
Where to Buy: Amazon
Think of the A158 as the F-91W’s dressier cousin. Same compact square case, but now in chrome-plated metal on a tapered three-link bracelet. It’s the watch you wear when you want “Casio” to read as quietly stylish instead of overtly nostalgic.
At 45 grams in a 33.2mm-wide chrome-plated case (36.8mm lug-to-lug, just 8.2mm thick), it carries that unmistakable 1980s digital face, while the spec sheet keeps things classic with a 1/100-second stopwatch, daily alarm, and a small LED light. It’s also surprisingly dressy under a shirt cuff, which is why so many people end up wearing it well outside its original “casual digital” lane. Pick one up on Amazon.
3. Casio A168WA: the bigger, brighter sibling
Year Introduced: 1995
Price: $44
Where to Buy: Amazon
The A168 takes the A158 formula and turns up every dial: larger case, bolder digits, and a proper EL backlight (blue-green) instead of a tiny micro-light. The gold-tone version is the one that keeps showing up on style blogs and street-style accounts, and for good reason.
At 36.3mm wide it wears noticeably chunkier than the A158, and the upgraded EL backlight makes a real difference for night legibility. Casio’s design even picked up Japan’s Good Design Long Life Award in 2011. Casio has also kept the colorway list interesting over the years, with silver, gold, black, and even rainbow editions all still floating around. The most popular gold-tone version is easy to find on Amazon.
4. Casio CA-53W: the Back to the Future calculator watch
Year Introduced: 1988
Price: $29.92
Where to Buy: Amazon
Marty McFly wore one. Walter White wore one. You should too. The CA-53W is a fully functional 8-digit calculator on your wrist, complete with a tightly-packed button keypad and a dual-time feature that 1988 had no business including at this price.
Inside a featherweight 34mm resin case (Casio just lists it as “water resistant”; spec sheets cite 30m, so it’ll survive a splash but not a swim), you get an 8-digit calculator with constants for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, plus the usual Casio toolkit of dual time, a daily alarm, and a 1/100-second stopwatch. It’s a genuine pop-culture artifact you can actually use, and it’s still in production on Amazon.
5. Casio MDV-106 “Duro”: the $65 dive watch
Year Introduced: 2011
Price: $65
Where to Buy: Amazon
Hodinkee calls the Duro “the internet’s favorite affordable diver,” and for once the internet is right. 200m water resistance, screw-down crown and caseback, a unidirectional bezel, and a dial that openly winks at the Rolex Submariner. All for less than the cost of one Sub link.
It’s a 44mm stainless case with a proper screw-down crown, mineral crystal, and a three-year battery: a real diver (not a desk diver). The dial layout openly borrows from the Submariner playbook without ever feeling like a cheap imitation. If you only own one analog Casio, make it this one.
6. Casio AQ-230: the ana-digi throwback
Year Introduced: 1995
Price: $44.95
Where to Buy: Amazon
Before the G-Shock GA-2100 made ana-digi cool again, the AQ-230 was quietly nailing the format. Tiny analog hands at the top, a digital display at the bottom, and a chrome-plated case that screams ’80s revival. It’s the watch your dad’s cooler friend wore.
The compact 29.8mm-wide chrome-plated resin case (38.8mm lug-to-lug, 8.1mm thick, 47g) houses both a twin-hand analog display and a small digital window, and the module quietly covers dual time, a daily alarm, and a 1/100-second stopwatch. Gold, silver, and two-tone variants are all in regular rotation on Amazon, so you can match it to whatever else is in your rotation.
7. Casio MQ-24: the everyman analog
Year Introduced: 1985
Price: $25
Where to Buy: Amazon
The MQ-24 is what you give someone who says “I just want a watch that tells the time.” Clean three-hand dial, resin case, resin strap, and a price so low it’s almost suspicious. It’s also the perfect mod platform: strap swaps transform it instantly.
The 35mm resin case weighs barely 20 grams and basically disappears on the wrist, hiding a simple three-hand analog quartz movement and a three-year battery. Casio offers it in a parade of dial colors, and because the lug width is standard, swapping in a NATO or leather strap transforms the whole look in seconds. It lives on Amazon for the price of a couple of coffees.
8. Casio LA670WGA: the tiny retro charmer
Year Introduced: 1985
Price: $40
Where to Buy: Amazon
GQ called it a “teeny-tiny” watch and meant it as a compliment. The LA670 wears more like jewelry than a watch, with a 25mm square case sitting on a fine segmented metal bracelet, but it still does stopwatch, alarm, and calendar duty. Marketed as a women’s piece, but it’s a unisex hit on smaller wrists.
The compact 25mm case rides on either a gold-tone or silver bracelet, and despite the tiny footprint it still bundles in a daily alarm, a stopwatch, and an auto-calendar. The whole package leans hard into a Y2K aesthetic (in the best way), and you can find it on Amazon for around thirty to forty dollars.
Which classic Casio should you buy first?
If you want the definitive vintage Casio experience, start with the F-91W (~$21); it’s the cheapest entry into a genuine watch icon. Want something more dressed-up? The A158 on steel is unbeatable under $50. After a true tool watch on a budget? The MDV-106 Duro is impossible to argue with. And if you just want to grin every time you look at your wrist, the CA-53W calculator still delivers.
Pro tip: Stick to Amazon listings sold and shipped by Amazon directly, or by Casio. Counterfeit F-91Ws and A168s are surprisingly common in the third-party marketplace.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are vintage Casio watches actually any good?
Yes. The eight watches in this guide are all still in active production, which means quality control is current and parts are easy to source. Casio’s quartz movements are spec’d at ±30 seconds per month, and most of these models run for 2 to 7 years on a single battery.
Which Casio did Marty McFly wear in Back to the Future?
Marty wore the CA-50 in the 1985 original, and the CA-53W in Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Part III (1990). The CA-53W is the one still in production today, which is why it’s the entry on this list.
Is the Casio F-91W waterproof?
Not really. The F-91W is rated 3 ATM (about 30 meters), which means it’ll survive rain and hand-washing but isn’t built for showering, swimming, or diving. If you need real water resistance under $100, jump to the MDV-106 Duro instead.
What’s the difference between the Casio A158 and A168?
The A158 (1989) is smaller, slimmer, and has a basic micro-light. The A168 (1995) is chunkier at 36.3mm wide, has bolder LCD digits, and adds a full EL backlight that lights the whole face evenly. Same DNA, different vibe: the A158 dresses up, the A168 stands out.
Is the MDV-106 Duro a real dive watch?
Yes. With 200m water resistance, a screw-down crown and caseback, mineral crystal, and a unidirectional bezel, the Duro meets the basic spec criteria of a dive watch on paper. At around $65, it’s the cheapest legitimate dive watch most reviewers will recommend.
What’s the cheapest Casio watch worth buying?
The F-91W, at roughly $21 on Amazon. It’s one of the best-selling watches in history (over 100 million units shipped), still produced in its original 1989 form, and the easiest possible entry into the Casio catalog.
[Prices noted in this article are current Amazon US listings at time of writing and may change. All product links above point to the respective Amazon product pages.]
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