Help me find my first ever watch

[Fume troll]

In about 1982 I got my first watch. It was a black resin Casio digital, a bit like an al-Qaida F-91W, except it had four push buttons (silver). I remember because you could re-set the watch by pressing all four at once. It had a countdown timer, stopwatch, alarm and calendar. It told you the day but I can't remember if it did that with a little SU/MO/TU digital display or a little bar underlining the day which was written off-screen.

I'm pretty sure the stopwatch recorded 1/10ths of seconds, not 1/100ths, and I think it had a lap timer but I'm not 100% sure about that. It also had a light, a sort of orangey/yellowish glow which came from one side, not an indiglo type thing.

Anyway, I'd love to buy one if I can work out which it is.

Any ideas?

Cheers,

FT

[sneijder]

I'm on my phone now, but someone somewhere has scanned every Argos catalogue.

Google it, find the year and have a browse.

[Ikemi]

This?

[Corsair7]

Fume troll said:

In about 1982 I got my first watch. It was a black resin Casio digital, a bit like an al-Qaida F-91W, except it had four push buttons (silver). I remember because you could re-set the watch by pressing all four at once. It had a countdown timer, stopwatch, alarm and calendar. It told you the day but I can't remember if it did that with a little SU/MO/TU digital display or a little bar underlining the day which was written off-screen.

I'm pretty sure the stopwatch recorded 1/10ths of seconds, not 1/100ths, and I think it had a lap timer but I'm not 100% sure about that. It also had a light, a sort of orangey/yellowish glow which came from one side, not an indiglo type thing.

Anyway, I'd love to buy one if I can work out which it is.

Any ideas?

Cheers,

FT

Its in the bottom draw, at the back, with those penguin cufflinks your gran got you.

[Ikemi]

Alternatively ...



... or perhaps the Casio 'Goldmember - I like goooooooold! special edition?

[Fume troll]

Ikemi said:

Alternatively ...

Most like that one, but not green, I think it had blue bits. And definitely the fourth button. The little signs pointing at the buttons saying what they do rings a bell though.

Cheers,

FT.

[JAM35F]

Are you sure it was a Casio?

Only reason I ask is that your description of how the date was indicated sounds exactly the same as that used on 'Zeons'. Days written on the outer graphics and a digital line indicating under the relevant one.

I had a few when I was a kid, a poor mans (parents') Casio!!

[Ikemi]

Fume troll said:

Most like that one, but not green, I think it had blue bits. And definitely the fourth button. The little signs pointing at the buttons saying what they do rings a bell though.

Cheers,

FT.

Is this closer?

[sneijder]

I'll have a fiver on horse number 9.

[Fume troll]

sneijder said:

I'll have a fiver on horse number 9.

Good find! Unfortunately it's not 9. More like 5, but that doesn't seem to have four buttons, or a countdown timer. It was definitely only 1/10ths on the stopwatch.

Cheers,

FT.

[Fume troll]

JAM35F said:

Are you sure it was a Casio?

Only reason I ask is that your description of how the date was indicated sounds exactly the same as that used on 'Zeons'. Days written on the outer graphics and a digital line indicating under the relevant one.

I had a few when I was a kid, a poor mans (parents') Casio!!

Yeah, I'm pretty sure. This one for example has that style of day indicator.

http://www.digitalwatchlibrary.com/DWL/1work/casio...




Cheers,

FT.

[RV8]

I had 4, 7 and 9 from that catalog page as a kid, my nan worked at a watch store. The one you are after might not be one with 'illuminator' written on it, i think those had a differnt kind of light to the one you mention.

[sneijder]

Illuminator is too new school for this horological quest I think also.

Fact of the day : Illuminators are called FireFox for the Japanese domestic market, named after a glowing fungus thing in, you guessed it, Japan.

This is why G Shock fans get all sweaty and their legs go to jelly when they spot a rare FireFox model.

[JAM35F]

Fume troll said:

Yeah, I'm pretty sure. This one for example has that style of day indicator.

http://www.digitalwatchlibrary.com/DWL/1work/casio...




Cheers,

FT.

No problem, my zeon was obviously a copy of that style of casio. I could only ever dream of a casio as a child though having looked at that argos catalogue I'm beginning to think my parents lied when they said casio's were too expensive!

[Pints]

Fume troll said:

Yeah, I'm pretty sure. This one for example has that style of day indicator.

http://www.digitalwatchlibrary.com/DWL/1work/casio...




Cheers,

FT.

Why, sir! I do believe that was MY first ever watch. Oh, the memories...

[Fume troll]

Pints said:

Why, sir! I do believe that was MY first ever watch. Oh, the memories...

The more I look at it the more I think it was my one too, but it doesn't have enough buttons. It was very like that though.

Funny isn't it? I loved that watch. My parents wouldn't let me have it until I could tell the time on an analogue face, which was really frustrating. When I got it I was immeasurably proud of it, so much pleasure from something so small! I even remember a dream I had about it: I dreamed that if I pressed a certain combination of buttons it would scroll through the TV listings! Way ahead of it's time eh? When I woke up I had to try it. (Didn't work...)

Cheers,

FT.

[Gazzab]

thanks for this thread - I found my old Casio AA85 on-line! I loved that watch.
I had my first digital watch back in approx 1976 - it was a red led watch from Dixons. I was the first person at my school to own a digital watch (Cranmore in Horsley) but everyone thought it was fake as it didnt tick!)
The Casio AA85 though was my favourite. No idea what happened to it. Unfortunately I had a habit of taking things apart :-(
Looking on-line it was also called a 'blue thunder' watch (I think it was in a film in 1981) and it appears they are quite expensive at auction !