Casio AQ-S810W-1A2VER
Casio
First Impressions: A Sporty, No-Nonsense Design Built to Last
Most watches ask you to choose a side: dressy or rugged, analogue or digital, disposable or built to last. The Casio Digital Solar Black Resin Strap Watch refuses the choice altogether. It pairs a traditional three-hand analogue face with a digital display window, wraps both in a chunky black resin case, and powers the whole thing with light instead of a battery you'll forget to replace. That combination — equal parts practical and stubbornly durable — is exactly why this model keeps turning up on wrists that need a tool more than a fashion statement.
Pick it up and the first thing you notice is heft without excess weight. The resin case is wide across the face, giving the dial genuine presence on the wrist rather than the slim, easily-scratched look of a dress watch. It shares a visual language with Casio's tougher, better-known sports watches — a family resemblance that shows up in the raised bezel, protected buttons, and squared-off lugs — without the added bulk or price that usually comes with that styling. The black-on-black colourway keeps it versatile: it doesn't shout for attention at a desk, but it doesn't look out of place at the gym, on a hike, or poolside either.
The fixed bezel is a deliberate choice rather than an oversight. There's no rotating timing ring to bump out of position in a bag or against a doorframe, which suits a watch aimed at daily wear over one aimed at diving or timed sporting events. The resin strap matches the case in both colour and material, and while resin will never have the give of a fabric NATO strap or the polish of leather, it's the right call for a watch that's explicitly built to get wet, get knocked around, and keep going.
Inside the Case: Solar Power Meets Reliable Quartz Timekeeping
Underneath the styling is where this watch quietly does something clever. Both the analogue hands and the digital display are driven by the same quartz movement, kept in perfect sync with each other and adjusted automatically whenever you update the time — so there's no separate mechanical movement drifting out of step with the digital side, a common annoyance on cheaper combination watches.
What sets the movement apart is how it's fed power. A photovoltaic cell sits beneath the dial's surface, converting ambient light — sunlight, room lighting, anything bright enough — into stored electrical charge. In practical terms, that means the watch effectively never needs a battery replacement under normal use, sidestepping one of the most common ways any old digital watch dies: a corroded battery compartment ruining water resistance, or a flat cell stopping the watch on the one week you actually needed it.
It's worth being clear-eyed about what quartz-plus-solar does and doesn't offer over other watch technologies. You won't get the smooth sweeping second hand of a mechanical automatic, and you won't get atomic-clock accuracy from radio time syncing, since this model sets its time manually rather than picking up a radio signal. What you do get is the accuracy quartz movements are known for, with essentially none of the maintenance cost or landfill waste of disposable batteries.
Feature Breakdown: What Each Function Actually Does for You
A watch like this lives or dies on whether its features are actually useful day to day, not just impressive on a spec sheet. Here's what each one means in practice.
World Time for the Frequent Traveller
The world time function lets you keep a reference to a different city's time zone without losing track of your home time — useful for anyone who calls colleagues abroad, travels for work, or simply wants to know what time it is for family overseas. You select a reference city and the watch handles the offset calculation, which beats mental math at 6 a.m. in an unfamiliar hotel room.
Chronograph and Dual Countdown Timers
The chronograph measures elapsed time down to a hundredth of a second, which is more precision than almost anyone needs for a training run, but genuinely useful for timing intervals, laps, or short tasks where fractions matter. Alongside it are two independent countdown timers with auto-repeat, meaning you can set a duration — say, a work sprint or a rest interval — and have it cycle automatically rather than resetting it by hand every time. That auto-repeat detail is a small thing that saves a surprising number of button presses if you use interval-based routines regularly.
Five Alarms and the LED Backlight
Five separate daily alarms mean you can set reminders for different recurring events — a workout, a medication schedule, a shift start time — without them overwriting each other, which is more flexibility than most standalone alarm clocks offer. The LED backlight illuminates the digital display at the press of a button, solving the one weakness that pure analogue watches have always had: reading the time in the dark. It's worth setting expectations here — this is a functional utility light for glancing at a screen, not a long-lasting glow-in-the-dark lume that stays visible across a whole night.
Auto Calendar and Day-Date Display
The auto calendar tracks month lengths and leap years without needing manual correction at the end of shorter months, and the day-date display keeps both visible on the digital face at once. Together these remove the twice-a-year ritual of resetting the date that plagues simpler quartz watches — one less thing to think about.
Water Resistance: What 100 Metres Really Means Day to Day
A 100-metre water resistance rating sounds like a green light for serious diving, but the more accurate read is that it comfortably covers everyday water exposure: showering, swimming laps, snorkelling near the surface, and getting caught in the rain without a second thought. It is not, however, rated or intended for scuba diving, which requires watches built with additional sealing and pressure certification for sustained depth exposure. For the person this watch is designed for — someone who wants peace of mind at the pool or beach, not someone planning a dive trip — the rating is more than sufficient, and arguably more water resistance than most daily-wear watches ever need.
Solar Charging and Power Endurance: Why You'll (Almost) Never Think About Batteries Again
The practical upshot of solar charging is a shift in mindset: instead of remembering when you last changed a battery, you simply need to give the watch reasonable light exposure over time — daylight through a window counts, and direct sunlight tops it up faster than artificial indoor lighting. Worn regularly on the wrist during normal daily activity, the watch should stay charged indefinitely without any thought required.
Where it matters is if the watch goes into a drawer for an extended stretch. Solar watches of this type are generally engineered to hold a meaningful power reserve even without fresh light, lasting for an extended period on stored charge alone before the display would start to show signs of low power — a sensible inference given how Tough Solar technology is designed to behave across Casio's solar range. If you do let it sit unworn for a long stretch, a few hours on a bright windowsill is typically enough to bring it back to full function. The one thing to avoid is long-term storage in a closed, dark drawer or box, since that's the one scenario solar charging can't work around.
Who This Watch Is Really For (and Who Should Look Elsewhere)
This watch earns its keep with people who want one reliable timepiece for a genuinely varied routine: gym sessions, swimming, travel, work, and everyday errands, all without swapping watches or worrying about charging cables. It particularly suits:
- People who dislike the idea of paying for battery replacements or dealing with a dead watch at the worst moment
- Frequent travellers who want a quick second time zone reference without reaching for a phone
- Swimmers and casual water-sports users who want confidence without needing dive-grade certification
- Anyone who wants useful digital functions — alarms, timers, a stopwatch — without giving up an analogue face
It's less suited to a few groups. If you want smartwatch features — notifications, heart rate tracking, GPS, app connectivity — this isn't that category of device at all; it's a dedicated timepiece, not a wearable computer. If you're after a dress watch for formal occasions, the chunky sporty case and resin strap will look out of place with a suit. And if precision-to-the-second accuracy synced automatically over radio signal matters to you, note that time and date here are set manually rather than received wirelessly.
How It Compares: Positioning Against Other Watch Categories
Buyers usually cross-shop this kind of watch against a few different categories rather than a single rival model. Here's how the trade-offs generally break down.
| Watch Category | Where It Wins | Where It Falls Short |
|---|---|---|
| This Casio solar ana-digi | No battery maintenance, combined analogue/digital display, swim-ready, multi-function (world time, chronograph, timers, alarms) | No smart connectivity, manual time setting, backlight is functional rather than long-glowing |
| Basic battery-powered digital watch | Often cheaper up front, simple to use | Battery needs periodic replacement, risk to water resistance seals each time it's opened, no analogue display |
| Premium rugged digital watch (e.g. higher-tier G-Shock style models) | Greater shock resistance, more advanced features like Bluetooth sync or radio time correction | Meaningfully higher price, often bulkier, overkill for users who don't need extreme durability |
| Fitness smartwatch | Health tracking, notifications, app ecosystem | Requires regular charging, shorter product lifespan, higher cost, more to go wrong |
Seen this way, the watch occupies a deliberate middle ground: more capable and lower-maintenance than a basic digital watch, and far simpler and more affordable than either a premium rugged watch or a smartwatch — a sensible choice for buyers who specifically want a maintenance-free, multi-function daily watch without paying for capabilities they won't use.
Strengths and Weaknesses: The Honest Picture
What Stands Out
The strongest case for this watch is how little it asks of its owner over time. Between the solar charging and the auto-calendar, day-date, and auto-syncing hands, most of the usual quartz-watch upkeep simply disappears. Owners consistently point to the value proposition — genuinely durable build quality and a long features list — as the standout draw, alongside a clear, easy-to-read analogue display that holds up well against sportier, pricier alternatives.
Where It Falls Short
The honest weak points are worth flagging rather than glossing over. Initial setup — syncing the analogue hands to the digital time, configuring world time and alarms — takes more patience than a simple three-hand watch, and first-time buyers sometimes need to consult the instructions or watch a setup guide before it clicks. The LED backlight, while genuinely useful, isn't the kind of long-lasting luminous glow some buyers expect; it's a brief illumination rather than an extended glow-in-the-dark feature, so reading the time in a fully dark room without pressing the button can be harder than with a heavily lumed sports watch. And as with any resin strap, comfort is somewhat personal — most wearers find it disappears on the wrist after a short adjustment period, but a small number find resin less forgiving than fabric or leather across a full day of wear.
None of these are dealbreakers so much as reasonable trade-offs for the price and feature set on offer — the kind of honest give-and-take that comes with any watch built to a sensible budget rather than a premium one.
Final Verdict: Should You Buy the Casio Digital Solar Black Resin Strap Watch
If your priority is a genuinely low-maintenance, multi-function watch that can handle a gym session, a swim, a work trip, and a normal day without complaint, this is a strong, easy recommendation. The combination of solar charging, a synced analogue-digital display, and a genuinely useful feature set — world time, chronograph, dual timers, five alarms, auto calendar — covers more real-world scenarios than most watches at this level attempt to address, backed by a manufacturer's two-year guarantee for peace of mind.
Where it makes less sense is if you specifically want smart features, dive-grade water resistance, or a dressier aesthetic — in those cases, look toward a dedicated smartwatch, a certified dive watch, or a slimmer dress model instead. But for the broad middle ground of buyers who just want a dependable, do-everything daily watch they can stop thinking about, this Casio earns its place on the wrist.
What People Say
166 commentsMy Review for Casio Men's Black Resin Strap Watch
Bought the watch as I needed a reasonably priced and durable analogue watch. Initially had some problems trying to set the watch up properly, mainly with trying to synchronise the analogue hands with the digital display. This is covered in the substantial manual, but takes some time and patience to read and understand. Also it seems that the watch needs to be fully charged before setting, which I eventually achieved by leaving facing a flourescent light for some hours. Setting up needs careful reference to the manual, but once done, the watch seems to be functioning nicely. I've now been using it for nearly a month with no issues in operation or with charging.
Looks good and does the job
I wanted a watch that just told the time (remember when that was all they did lol?)
The LCD display is perhaps a little small for my ageing eyesight, but can be set to display month & date, or the day of the week,or battery level, amongst others like stopwatch & alarm etc.
Backlight is only for the LCD display.
After initial charging (leaving in daylight for most of the day) I have made no conscious effort to keep the watch in light, and the battery has remained full.
The hands don't seem to glow for long after dark, but that is my only complaint
No more watch batteries!!
I’ve had this a couple of weeks and I cannot say a single negative comment about it.
It’s a simple set up (even for me), it’s super light, the strap is comfortable and feels secure on your wrist and the actual watch feels like it’s built to last. I actually prefer this to my Apple Watch, no risk of battery getting low.
I consider this watch sexy, has great features and at an affordable price. For the price you pay, you get a lot of watch comparatively speaking. And of course, it’s solar powered which was the biggest selling point for me.
Super watch
Its only been 2 weeks or so and it's fantastic. love the solar panel no battery feature. Also it is light weight like a feather with multiple function's. However, the down side is 2 things 1 the sound or alarm tone isn't as loud as I want it to be and it is only 10secs long bleeping. The second is the hands have luminous tips which do not last long . I guess the light it has on the digital display ops. For that feature. Other than that great quality and price that is what makes it special thank you Argos
Useful and functional!
OK, so right now I don't have any need for a hi- tech stopwatch (in lockdown, time is already slow enough to watch, and NOTHING is going fast!). That having been said, the watch is solar-powered, (no need to twiddle with batteries) and it's chunky, unpretentious and efficient. It also helps me with letting me know what time it is for my relatives in California and New Zealand! Pricewise it's great, and I've never needed anything in the David Beckham class (not that he would have to pay for one!)
Solar Casio Makes Hot Watch
This wonderful watch never needs a battery change due to is built in solar panel watch face. Easy to read analogue hands with a very small but clear LCD display which gives you options of Day/date, stop watch and 5 functional alarms. To adjust the time you do it through the LCD display and the hands automatically synchronise accordingly. The only downside is the low led backlight which could be brighter but still functional. The hands are luminescent but short lived.
An excellent Casio watch.
Good looking watch but digital display very small
The watch looks good, it is very light and the solar power is a great feature. Can be used for casual or smart dress as there are no bright colours on the watch. The digital display is useful and means you can switch between time zones on the hands at the simultaneous touch of two buttons, so great for travelling. The only downside is the digital display is very small and hard to see at night or for those with less than perfect eyesight - but for the price a very good value watch. Recommended
A watch powered by the sun
The face is clear and easily read. The digital display is on the smaller side, but useful enough.
It is powered by a rechargeable battery which is recharged when the watch face is in sufficient light.
Negative points - large and chunky, often gets tangled in jacket sleeves when removing jacket.
In summary; it's light, easy to read and live with, practical and sturdy. The reasonable cost is also a bonus. I would recommend it if you prefer practicality over style and need a hardy timepiece.
Analogue and Digital, Light Weight and Backlit
My criteria was simple but I struggled to find what I wanted until I came across this.
Criteria - smallish, light, analogue face with digital display for time, day and date, backlight, simple to use in respect of digital display and not too expensive.
All achieved. Solar power is bonus but of course helps with weight. Quartz is bonus.
Maybe slightly more expensive than I was hoping but exactly what I was looking for so don't mind. Obviously it has timers etc but not for me.
Great watch.
Excellent value for money
Really very pleased with the quality of the watch for the price paid. Not the easiest watch to set up and the instructions included with it did not reflect the model supplied; so had to download the correct instructions to enable set up. Once it was set up, the daily use and access to features is relatively easy and the watch appears to keep itself charged with the inbuilt solar panel without undue effort. Very happy with my purchase so far, and would definitely recommend to others.
Great Value Watch
I've only had this watch a couple of weeks but so far I love it. It "does what it says on the tin". Overall I've given it 5 stars, but i do find making adjustments a bit fiddly with the buttons, which seems to be a feature of the Casio design. However, it is comfortable to wear, not too heavy (I prefer a lightweight watch) and is easy to see the time in daylight (night-time a bit less so). The digital display is quite small but adequate.All in all: so far so good.
Awesome style and feels great!
I brought this watch a little while ago now and I love it also suffer from really bad escma [gotta watch what I use, wear and eat] nd because I was allergic to the silicone type I thought it might still have the same effect but I'm so glad I'm able to wear resin this was a great buy not expensive either and an easy set-up ALTHOUGH! all I would say is the instructions was a little confusing so to this I suggest youtube! Found a great tutorial type thing on there
its ok but...
The watch is ok as they go, although I am very disappointed that there is no date feature, ( there is a day feature if you dont know what the day is I suppose that would be handy),also due to the nature of the strap,which incidentally is plastic I think I will have great difficulties replacing it when it breaks.
The only plus point is that it is solar meaning I wont have to pay for batteries.
Sorry but I can't rate this any better.
Great watch and no need to buy batteries
Great watch with all the functions I need. The watch is a great timekeeper with the added function of having world times, timers and a clear face. I bought it as a replacement for my old one as I needed a good watch for work. The best selling point is the fact it is solar powered and you don't need to keep on having to think about replacing batteries all the time. An excellent watch which should last for many years to come.
Great watch
Fed up with changing watch batteries and losing their waterproof capabilities, I opted for this solar powered watch.
This has performed well at sea and in the shower!
It has useful power saving features like the display turns off at night, but then pops up when you check it, amazing!
It looks great with the analogue face but a quick glance at the digital display will give you the accurate time.
Fantastic watch for the price.
Bought this watch purely for work, I do a manual job. I have banged it a few times on things and it is still like new. Had trouble trying to set it up from the instructions. I was contemplating taking it back for a refund. And then I thought go on You Tube. And there I found quite a few instruction videos. And from that I managed to set it quite easy. A great watch for the price. I recommend it highly.
Entry level G Shock...? (great for work/kids)
Bought as a present for the (9 year old) boy of the house, who describes it along the lines of "wicked" or "sick". I believe those to be positive in his context.... ;)
The strap goes down to about 15.5cm, with the excess kept neat, fitting even a child of his age. It doesn't look ridiculously big on him either.
It's fairly smart, tough and waterproof enough to swim with - pretty good value overall.
Too big for a puny 10 year olds wrist.
We reserved this watch on line, then went to the store and took a look. It was a lovely looking watch, great functions and typically unfaultable Casio. Sadly it was massive on my 10 year old stepsons puny wrist. Hopefully in a few years, he might grow a bit if he leaves his PS4 alone and gets out and does stuff outdoors. If so, we might try one on him again. Love a Casio watch. They’re ace.
g shock copy
its comfortable and a lot lighter on the wrist than I expected. although its only the led display that lights up the hands on the dial do absorb light and glow for a fair time at night so you can see the time when needed. its solar powered of course and only took 1 hour to go from mid charge to high. for £33 you'd be really hard pushed to find similar for anywhere near this price.
Men's Casio solar watch.
The watch looks great, however for me has issues. For some daft reason Casio decided to add the seconds on displays where it would really be better not to have them for example the date. Today's date September 19th, this shows as 09 19 42, the 42 being seconds which makes this look like a time rather than date. But get used to this little issue and it's a nice watch.