The Casio F-91W: A true design classic?

Some design classics get all the love. The Eames chair, the Leica Rangefinder camera, Concorde, Pharrell’s big hat. Of course they’re all great, but how many of them do you actually own? Exactly. 

Step forward the imminently-ownable Casio F-91W. Seemingly designed to represent the phrase ‘function over form’, its no-frills appearance hasn’t been updated since its introduction in 1991. There have been no reboots, no ‘re-imaginings’ and – thankfully – no collabs resulting in a £800 Jeremy Scott special edition with leopardskin wings stuck on the side. It’s so uncool it’s become, well, cool.

Part of the the watch’s charm lies in its basic features: The numbers that hover on the flat grey screen marching onwards with dull digital precision (the leftmost digit slightly narrowed as it only ever displays ‘1’ or ‘2’). The inadequate light that when activated partially illuminates the left hand side of the display. The rubber strap that reminds us why the whole thing only costs seven quid. A Rolex this is not.

But the F-91W is popular. Really popular. Although Casio don’t release official sales figures it is rumoured to be the world’s best selling wristwatch – even Bin Laden had one.

Turns out, that’s not surprising. Records released from Guantanamo Bay detention centre state that the watch was “the sign of al-Qaeda”. Thirty-two of the detainees held there made reference to the usefulness of the black plastic F-91W as a reliable component in bomb-making, while a further 20 referenced the flashier, silver-cased version, the A-159W. Proof, were it needed, that oneupmanship among groups of men extends as far as international terror networks.

So there you have it: the Casio F-91W. Cool, reliable, ubiquitous. Surely the definition of a true design classic? 

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