Casio Super Illuminator Review
Fire Phasers!
The lume in broad daylight
Bracelet detail
The Casio Super Illuminator came to me by way of a fellow member of the Poor Man’s Watch Forum. It was at the big annual meeting in NYC where I first saw this watch and I commented about how nice it looked. At that, this generous soul handed me the Casio and basically said, it’s yours. Good stuff to say the least.
Lume fans, listen up. If Super Luminova isn’t super enough, Indiglo doesn’t glow for you and tritium is too radioactive, this is your watch. The Super Illuminator has a pair of lights at the 12 and 6 o’clock positions on the face that activate when the second crown (at the 2 o’clock position) is pressed. We are talking flashlight style light here folks. If you can’t see the face of the Super Illuminator, you should probably check out the review of the Braille watch I did a while back. This Casio is that well lit.
In terms of other specs, the Super Illuminator’s stainless steel case measures(at least this example, there are other case styles) 43mm in width (47mm with the crown), 14mm in height, and 51mm lug to lug. The watch uses a semi-integral, stainless steel bracelet (folded link design but quite nicely done) whose lug width is 12mm. Water resistance is rated at 100 meters and the 3 o’clock crown screws down (but not the 2 o’clock crown oddly enough. I don’t think it has to for water resistance purposes since it doesn’t turn either). In addition to the powered lume system, the watch also has conventional luminous paint on its hands and face. Additionally, the watch has a thick dome shaped mineral glass crystal and the bezel will turn counter-clockwise. The movement is an otherwise unremarkable quartz model (I believe the reference number of the movement is 3304) that exhibits typical superb quartz level accuracy.
There is really no downside to the Casio Super Illuminator. It is inexpensive, rugged, accurate and remarkably easy to read in low light. As an added bonus, it looks very good too. (I don’t know why but the domed crystal reminds me of an Oris.) This watch would make a perfect daily wearer for anyone who wants a good solid watch with no hassles.
posted by Ed at 11:05 AM
26 Comments:
Ed,
Nice looking watch. Looks like a cross between an Oris Diver and an Omega Seamaster. Thanks for the rreview . . .
Thanks. Glad to hear that you liked it. That is a good description of this one's looks.
Ed,
Thanks for the reviews of the Casio Super Illuminator and MTG 900.
I intially purchased the diver watch at Target for around $59 but then found one at Walmart for $49.My watch has a rubber strap which is uncomfortable in my opinion. I have not seen one with a bracelet.
Also I just purchased the Casio MTG 900 as a Christmas present for my stepson.I got to play with it and liked it so much that I purchased one for myself at Walmart for around $89.
I collect watches and felt guilty about buying more but just could not help my self when it came to these two watches.Merry Christmas to all.
The MTG900 really is an exceptional watch. Merry Christmas to you too.
good blog :) , I'm also very keen to have attractive swiss watches. I want to buy new rolex replica watch on new year eve. So i went through http://www.swissprecise.com for online shopping. Now i need some more suggestions. Please help.
Personally, I wouldn't waste money on replicas. Their overall build quality is generally poor and they would not fool anyone who knows something about a good watch. There are plenty of well made watches from real companies that can be had for very reasonable prices these days. A Debaufre diver, for instance, is just a bit more than $400 and it is Swiss made with a very good ETA automatic movement. A Tissot PR50, another very nice Swiss watch, can be had for less than $200. Even a Vostok automatic diver, which is a very rugged timepiece, will only run you about $70 these days to say nothing about a Seiko 5 with its 7S26 automatic movement. With so many good options available, there is no way I could recommend a fake watch which probably uses a cheap Chinese movement that would be difficult if not impossible to service when it fails.
Just curious, what's the crystal made of?
Usually, Casio uses regular glass or really weak mineral.
But I've been wondering if they have updated their material quality.
I can still say the bracelet is poor but I really love the look of this watch; similar to the UV line. I missed my chance on the Hope watch so I'd like to get my hands on one of these...
It appears to be domed mineral glass. So far, its geld up pretty well.
When are you going to review the watch your brother gave you for your birthday...ya ingrate!!!
Hey Dude!! Good to hear from you!!
Ed,
After reading your comments about this watch, I went out and bought one with a rubber strap. It sports four anaemic lugs and proclaims "Made in China" on the back. Then I came upon another , just like yours, with lugs like Popeye's forearms and a metal braelet. This one says "Made in China" with "DR" underneath it. The face of the first one has a leaping bill fish just about the 6 o'clock positin. that logo is absent from the second watch.
The band is a bit on the light side but I don't plan on hanging from it. The clasp, however, is lopsided when closed.
I have to spend minutes to regain my night vision after turning this thing on in the dark to see what time it is.
All in all, it's worth every one of the $49.95 I paid.
Thanks for your review.
There really is nothing like one of these in the dark. Wear it in good health as my grandmother would say :)
I need a watch that I can see at night. After my luminox battery died I came across the casio at a military exchange. I immediately loved the watch, but encountered problems with the watch keeping time. I thought maybe it was the battery so I paid to have it replaced. That did not solve the problem and I called the manufacture. Initially casio wanted me to pay $10 in addition to shipping to have the watch serviced. I voiced a complaint and told them the watched only cost me $40. I since have paid $8 for a new battery, shipping an additional $3, and they want $10 more? They agreed not to charge me the $10. The watch has since been problem free and I cant think of another watch that I would want to replace it with. In addition you can use it as a flashlight at night. In regards to the crystal it gets easily scratched.
Glad to hear that it worked out. I didn't know that the crystal scratched easily though. Something to keep in mind.
Ed, Nice watch. Could you please post the model number? Thanks.
Regrettably, I don't own this anymore. A friend liked it so off it went.
nice review but if you try to change the time or date you'll go looking for the microprinted user manual in 3 languages which i can't find since it's been misplaced being only 2" x 3" - all i find are old user manuals for two casios i never could change the time on - oh well it is a good looking rugged watch which i was looking for
I cant seem to find this watch anywhere... ask your friend what model it is if possible.
Thanks
Casio MTD 1048
Just for the Illuminator, I'll buy that watch! That watch is so cool!
It is cool indeed :)
guys, I own the diving version (rubber strap, rated to 200M and with bill fish@6o'clock) and here is its Model# MDV102-1AV. Here is a link to the Casio website:
http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/Sports/MDV102-1AV/
fyi, I got mine off amazon for around $43 and (at the time) free shipping
I appreciate this information it is usefull for me.. This piece of information is very useful to many .keep up the good work.
I picked up a used one today. The local gun store (yes, gun store) owner has a big display case where he displays and sells high-end watches. And I do mean really high-end.
I saw the watch in the back of the case and was surprised that it was a Casio when I examined it. It had apparently been a part of some trade for firearm. I really liked it's easily readable face, push-button illumining feature, and styling. Kinda like a poor-man's Submariner I thought. So, what the heck, it was cheap and I bought it.
No regrets at all today about it!
I picked up a used one today. The local gun store (yes, gun store) owner has a big display case where he displays and sells high-end watches. And I do mean really high-end.
I saw the watch in the back of the case and was surprised that it was a Casio when I examined it. It had apparently been a part of some trade for firearm. I really liked it's easily readable face, push-button illumining feature, and styling. Kinda like a poor-man's Submariner I thought. So, what the heck, it was cheap and I bought it.
No regrets at all today about it!
I liked this Casio so much I now have 3. I modded 2 w/ ahftermarket hands
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u279/bmworacle/Mods/0bae6c01-3341-467a-8fb6-56baf1335e80_zpsf2c128eb.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u279/bmworacle/Mods/1853af6a-47ac-491a-9b5c-7532ec1432fa_zpsb6e16943.jpg
Ken aka ncmoto
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