Gary's Initial Impressions of the Casio MDV106-1A

I also bought one of the Casio MDV106-1A watches, which I received yesterday. Here are my initial impressions.

Pros

- It's nicer looking in person than in the pictures
- The chrome outlines around the hands and lume markers look classy
- The dial has a "sunburst" reflection when held in the sun
- The 120-click, unidirectional bezel works well
- The band is softer than the resin bands on some other Casio watches I've seen

Cons

- The lume is a little weaker than I'd like and is applied unevenly, giving the hands a "mottled" look in the dark. (Actually my Casio AQS800WD-1EV solar watch has better lume, and it's not even a diver watch.)
- The second hand alignment varies a lot depending whether the watch is horizontal or vertical. When horizontal it's just slightly fast. When vertical it's very fast (about a half second) when the hand is moving down, and pretty accurate when the hand is moving up.
- There seems to be a lot of slop in the second hand mechanism. Often when it moves forward one second it bounces back a bit. Perhaps this is just a problem with my sample or maybe it's typical of this movement.
- The 6 o'clock lume marker is not aligned with the minute marker just below it

Notes

- I measure the case at 43 mm without the crown, and 46 mm with the crown
- It's heavier than I thought it would be

I'm still deciding whether to keep it or return it for a replacement or a refund. Perhaps others who bought it can weigh in on the second hand cons noted above, so I can determine if they are typical or sample defects.

Related articles

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A Diver Watch Is Armor and God Knows That's What I Need

Diver Tool Lume Torch: Orient M-Force First Generation

Seiko Kinetic Watches Need a Lot of Wear to Keep Going

Does a Watch Obsession Inevitably Lead to the Diver Watch?

Comments

[David]

Gary: I agree that the watch is even better in person than in the pictures. Also, the "sunburst" dial is nice. The lume, as I mentioned in another post, is not the greatest, but not a deal breaker for me.

My main negative is that the second hand does not line up perfectly around the dial... Due to the low cost of the watch, I just live with it. Overall, it's a very nice watch. I would buy another one, without a thought, if I lost or busted this one.

[Angelo]

http://www.smartbargains.com/detail.asp?iq=1&bo_products_id=0&bo_products_variance_id=161489

I like this watch and some others by "Dunlop" (licensing the name of a tire company for watches???). I like the gray rubber and face design----a great beater at this price.