Casioak mini (GMA-S2100-7AER) review

I bought this for my daughter who already own a Casio Baby G watch which she has worn on and off for years. She is not into watches in any way, but when she saw this online she was taken with it.

Now, I am not a man to indulge my children with whatever they want, but if it’s a watch I am much more amenable to being persuaded. It took 2 seconds after finally seeing it available in a shop window for me to decide to buy it and £99 later she had a Casioak.

Casio initially marketed this watch as for ‘women’ which shows that many watch brands still don’t get that a lot of women want bigger watches now and all it does is mentally preclude men from buying some models that would otherwise work perfectly well for them.

At 46.2 x 42.9 x 11.2mm it is actually more suited to men, this is not a small watch despite the ‘mini’ moniker advertised by Casio, but its weight (41g) means that effectively anyone can wear it if they can cope with the size.

My daughter loved it straight away and I asked to try it on just to see what it was really like, and I have to say that the experience was more than positive. Indeed, it was one of the most positive first wear experiences I have had with a watch. It hugs the wrist perfectly, it is so light that it is barely noticeable and it looks sublime.

The Royal Oak styling is what made this watch an enthusiasts favourite, but for me the lack of depth and the consistency of the design is what makes it feel like such a complete offering. And below this new shape and thinner case is the same G-Shock experience we have known for decades.

Besides the traditional analogue time display you get 5 daily alarms, perpetual calendar, 24 hour timer, date and week display, effective GMT function with 2 times displayed at once, stopwatch and world time. All of this happens in the unobtrusive LCD display which can at times be covered by the traditional hands, until you press a button and they handily move out of the way.

It is genuinely hard to knock a watch that costs less than £100, that has shock resistance at the height of the watch industry, 200m of water resistance and a design that is subtle and stylish at the same time.

I always thought that the hype was merely a few watch enthusiasts falling for the octagonal design and nothing else, but I was wrong. It is a do anything timepiece that oozes style in every area.