Re-creating the 1974 Casiotron with Updated Specs and Features

TOKYO, Feb. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Casio Computer Co., Ltd. announced today the release of a new watch re-creating the Casiotron QW02, the world's first line of digital watches with an automatic calendar function, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Casio watches. The new TRN-50 is available in a limited edition of 4,000 watches worldwide.

Casio originally released the Casiotron in 1974, breaking ground with a digital wristwatch inspired by the insight that "watches simply add up seconds." The watch made the most of the original digital technologies Casio had developed in its calculator business, bringing the concept of a fully automatic wristwatch to life. The Casiotron not only displayed time but also the correct month, date,* and day of the week — automatically adjusting for longer and shorter months with its automatic calendar function.

*Except for February 29 during leap years.

The new TRN-50 stays true to the Casiotron concept of a fully automatic wristwatch, drawing on all the advancements of Casio watch development over the half-century since the original model came out. While re-creating the Casiotron design, the new watch incorporates state-of-the-art features including radio controlled time adjustment, solar charging, and Mobile Link functions for pairing with a smartphone.

The original watch exterior, including its size, is meticulously re-created in a design that meets present-day quality standards. Many details, including the sophisticated textures of the case and band, the dark blue face, and the CASIOTRON logo, are faithfully reproduced.

The new watch also delivers practicality with the highly readable super-twisted nematic (STN) LCD and Tough Solar charging system. In addition to receiving time calibration signals transmitted from six stations around the world, the watch is equipped with Mobile Link functionality for pairing with a smartphone via Bluetooth® to ensure precision timekeeping. The vision of the original Casiotron lives on in the new TRN-50, now with features including automatic updating of world time zone/time difference information.