History of Casio watches

Sometimes things start in the most surprising ways. Take the Casio watch company, for example. If you were asked to guess what the first product Casio made was, you might think it was the calculator or some other type of electronic product. You would be wrong. The Casio Company was founded in 1946 by Tadao Kashio. He understands that this was in Japan after World War II. The financial situation was dire in Japan at the time, to say the least. When Mr. Kashio started his company, he was a manufacturing engineer hoping for a big break.

His big opportunity presented itself in a very unique way. Tadao Kashio developed a product called yubiwa pipe. The design of it allowed to wear it on the finger. It was used to hold a cigarette, allowing the smoker to smoke the cigarette all the way to the filter, all while still being able to use both hands. In impoverished Japan at the time, cigarettes were a hot item, and the product was an overwhelming success. The yubiwa pipe is a far cry from the calculators and watches that would come later, but it set the company on the path to success.

Since it is obvious that Mr. Kashio was an inventive kind of guy, it only took him a little while to make up his mind to explore different products. At the trade fair in Ginza, Japan in 1949, he discovered electronic calculators. With the proceeds from the sale of yubiwa pipes, Mr. Kashio and his brothers began experimenting with making their own calculators. At that time, most calculators were powered by the use of gears. With diligence and hard work, the Casio Company introduced the first calculator that used solenoids. The new type of calculator went on sale in 1954. This calculator was also the first to have the 10-digit keypad and only had one display window unlike the competition which had three.

As you well know, calculators were not the only product made by Casio. After the release of the Model 14-A calculator, many more products were designed and released to the general public. The same year that the 14-A was released, the company also became Casio Computer Co., Inc. This is the time when Casio watches first made their mark on the watch industry. Casio has been well known for the great variety and innovation of its watches almost since the beginning of production. They were one of the first watch companies to make the now famous quartz crystal watches. Quartz watches produced by Casio were available in both digital and analog styles. Perhaps the most remembered watch produced by this company was the calculator watch. For those of you who don’t remember, it featured all of the amazing timekeeping capabilities of regular Casio watches, with one added feature. It had a small calculator complete with a miniature keyboard built right into the watch. During its heyday, it was the bane of math teachers everywhere and the savior of all math-deficient students.

Considering that the calculator watch was a lot of fun, Casio continued to raise the bar. This company was also the first to design and produce a watch that could provide its owner with some interesting details. One such clock could display the time in many different time zones at the touch of a button. Others were equipped to provide weather details such as temperature and barometric pressure. Mountain climbers of ages didn’t particularly like the version that came with a pressure gauge to indicate altitude. While other watchmakers were stuck with the same old, Casio was constantly offering new and exciting variations on the classic wristwatch.

With the true gadget fanatics of the world in mind, Casio devised a watch just for them. It is the Wave Ceceptors line of watches. They really outdid themselves with this one. These watches are equipped to receive radio signals that allow the watch to keep accurate time. They can also tell the time in different time zones, the user can set alarms and timers. This line of watches also came with an incredibly extensive user manual to provide all the necessary instructions to the owner.

From the yubiwa pipe to the world’s greatest calculators and watches, Casio has come a long way from its humble beginnings. They continue to challenge themselves and their competitors to new higher peaks and offer the best products electronics can build.