Casio MRW-200H Unboxing and First Thoughts

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My full review of the Casio MRW200H is live! Be sure to check it out for my impression of the watch after several months of ownership.

See it here.

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A few days ago I wrote about coming across an incredibly cheap ‘diver’ style quartz watch from Casio, the MRW-200H. It had excellent reviews on Amazon, which was surprising for such an inexpensive diver. Maybe people just didn’t have high expectations when ordering. At only $15 dollars, I figured I’d find out for myself, and see what it could handle.

Not much to say about the box. Very simple carboard packaging.

First peak inside. The features are listed as 3-hand analog, rotating bezel, day / date display, and 100m water resistant.

Out of the box. The MRW 200H comes on an absolutely not fancy plastic display stand, wrapped in thin plastic.

First unwrapped. It came with some protective plastic stuck to the dial. My first thought is that the watch itself definitely doesn’t look bad. At first glance you might be able to mistake it for a spendier time-piece. The rubber band, however, is very very cheap feeling and looking.

Close up of the dial. The bezel rotates both ways, without any kind of clicking into place. It’s simply held in place by light friction, I can see it easily turning accidentally during a dive. The sword hands look decent, and move with the standard quartz once-a-second jump. 

The day display features both English and Spanish dates, and is set by pulling out the crown (which is not a screw-down) one click. Pulling out two clicks allows you to set the time, with the second hand stopping.

The bezel markings are molded in and filled with color, instead of just painted on as can be found in many cheaper watches. Hopefully this makes the markings last.

The stainless steel caseback is plain, with the brand, model number, and other info engraved on it. It’s held to the watch with four screws in the corner, instead of the more usual to dive watches screw-down back.

Obligatory wrist shot of the Casio MRW-200H. My least favorite part of this $15 diver is the band. I’m going to replace it with a NATO strap and see how that looks and feels. The 18mm strap width will take the same straps as my Vostok Amphibia.

Overall feeling? It’s better than I expected for the price. And once I replace the band with something better I might even like wearing it. The next step is to put it through the ringer, see just how well that 100m water resistance stands up.