Tech review: Casio DBC 32 ‘Databank’ calculator watch
Price: Around £26 (black resin strap and case), £35 (metal strap and case)

I’ve had a love affair with wristwatches, probably down to growing up as a kid in the 1980s with the Casio range; the ‘de facto’ standard for feature packed watches that are affordable for all. From the G Shock and Pro-Trek, to the very basic cheapest of cheap to the databank models – there was a watch for everybody. There isn’t anybody you know that hasn’t had a Casio watch at some point in their lives.

Towards the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Databank models fell mostly out of favour and were extremely hard to obtain – and (correct me if I’m wrong) were discontinued at one point entirely unless you imported one from Japan. In recent years, Casio has recreated a couple of models in the form of the DBC 32 and DBC 611.

First impressions:

The DBC 32 feels weedy and lightweight in the resin strap form, with complaints about the metal strap variant feeling ‘tinny’. It seems the cheaper models of Casio are made in China, while the more expensive ranges are made in Japan – as noticed when I compared it against my G Shock GW1400, as there’s marked differences in quality between the two watches. However, this is a churlish complaint as the G Shock is several times the price and built like a tank – but don’t let the cheap construction fool you. The watch is easy to wear, and even on bony wrists doesn’t look obtrusive – you would assume with such a strange rectangular shape they may look overly long and awkward but are in fact contoured to your wrist and the resin strap is comfortable to the point that you forget it’s there.

Display and functions:

The time readout is bold and clear, with a clear indication of the month, date, day and year. This said, it’s a struggle to make out the top right hand of the display which harbours indicators for the auto light function, auto light duration, and key beep (marked as ‘Auto’, ‘3 Sec’ and ‘Mute’). But, these actions will become prevalent when you tip the watch to yourself and the display auto illuminates and/or you hear a key beep, which are easy enough to turn off.

Pressing the bottom left button cycles through the functions of telephone number memory (allowing for storage of 25 numbers), 8 digit calculator with currency conversion option, 5 alarms (allowing for a date setting) with hourly time beep, and dual time (time in a different time zone). The databank memory allows for an 8 character alpha numeric description, and a 15 digit number which should cater for most phone numbers or other numerical data that you need to store. However, unlike the databank watches of old there’s a lack of passworded data storage, battery backup should the watch run out of power, or schedule reminder memory which made it useful as a business watch to remember important dates and meetings. Also lacking, is a countdown timer, but the watch contains a stopwatch facility and oddly – multi lingual support that supports 13 different languages.

Inputting data can feel fiddly for those with mutton fingers as the keyboard does feel stiff compared to the original databank models. There’s no mention that the watch is waterproof, but it certainly appears to be splash proof and will survive an accidental trip to the shower, which is probably down to the complex nature of the keyboard and buttons. Therefore, if you know it’s going to get particularly mucky or wet then it’s best to take it off.

Durability:

The watch will tolerate everyday usage, but if you’re doing some manual labour where the watch could become badly beat up then it probably won’t last. It will survive an office environment if it’s to be used as a “daily” and if you have a collection of wrist watches that you alternate between. In a tougher environment, the G Shock will tolerate the abuse that this particular watch won’t. The more durable of the two models is the metal strap and case variant, but there’s been criticisms of it being tinny as mentioned earlier (It’s only a watch between £25 – 35, and is hardly a Rolex after all). There’s an acclaimed battery life of 10 years, but in real terms could be an average of 7.5-8 years depending on how often you use backlight illumination and alarm features. The overall longevity will be good in the future, although resin straps perish over time (several years dependent on wear and tear) and some may dispose of the watch completely rather than replace a battery – which would be a real shame as generally it’s a decent watch for the cost.

Accuracy:

Now, this is where it’s REALLY surprising. In approximately 3 months of ownership I would’ve expected it to have drifted horribly, gaining or losing time by around 5 minutes. Incredibly, there has been a drift of only 1-2 seconds from cross referencing accuracy with a Casio Waveceptor atomic timekeeping watch and a radio controlled alarm clock that receives the MSF time signal from the National Physics Laboratory in Anthron, Cumbria. This is an impressive feat for such a budget watch.

Overall:

In general, the DBC 32 is extremely hard to beat for features for such a small cost. An excellent timepiece, with retro 1980s nerdcore credentials.

Rating: 4.5/5