CasioMen's Vintage DBC32-1A Data Bank White Digital Watch

I'm a huge fan of the Databank series; both because of functionality and aesthetic. I had the CA-53W for awhile, and decided I'd "upgrade". I put the word upgrade in quotes because although this model has a light and a phone book (which I think is really cool!), it drops water resistance from the previous model. I showered with the old watch everyday, even scuba dived in the Grand Cayman Islands (despite the manual saying you shouldn't), and it's perfectly fine to this day, almost a year later. This watch has the look that I like, also a bunch of neat functions, but the loss of water resistance is unfortunate because otherwise I believe it would be perfect.EDIT: 20170614The individual keys on the pad are a bit harder to push down, surprisingly, than the previous model. They also seem to be a tough sort of plastic, unlike the rubber feel of the CA-53W. For what it is does though, I still believe the product is worth 4 stars.EDIT: 20170619Over the past week, I've noticed the wristband is a bit squeaky. Also, I've been steadily taking this watch with me in the shower/bath, sometimes fully submerged, and no signs of water damage at all (i.e water under the screen, buttons not working, etc).EDIT: 20171028My watch is still very much functional/reliable, even with showering everyday with it. It's accrued a couple of scratches on the screen, but nothing too crazy. About a month ago, I went to look at the time and noticed a bunch of jibberish (random characters) on the screen. However, pushing one of the buttons cleared it and that problem hasn't happened again since.As I've used the phone book more, I've come to realize it's a shame the numbers don't double as a keyboard, kind of like a phone, or T9.Again, I use this watch everyday, and will continue to do so until a better Databank model is released. (Hopefully with a light and guaranteed water resistance).EDIT: 20180926The timepiece is still going strong! I haven't had any "jibberish" issues since the last edit. I shower daily with the watch, even go swimming and go in the steam room/sauna, yet still no problems i.e; all buttons are functional, and light still works. However, I've had to replace both bands due to degradation. The one with the clasp gave out months ago, and the other with the holes actually cracked in half (sorry, I never thought to take pictures) recently. Luckily, Casio sells exact identical bands for really cheap. The reinstallation is a little frustrating at first, but once you get the hang of it, all future installs are a breeze. In my small collection, this watch remains my favorite.In case you're curious where I got my replacement bands, go here:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LGN54W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1EDIT: 20190818After two years and some change, this piece remains my daily driver. I've taken it off and used another for a total of a month... at most. Yet, it keeps on ticking (pun definitely intended). Even with me going diving again (about 5-10 meters), the watch is entirely functional. Because of that, I have to give the watch 5 stars. There's no reason not to. I do, however, have some additional notes [read: very small nitpicks] I hope Casio can address in the next iteration:1. I've replaced the band twice in two years. My first replacement was with the aforementioned official Casio resin band, and the second replacement was with an unofficial Casio band. So, I guess I hope they'll be able to increase the durability of their official band as I much prefer that to the one I currently use.2. Having to use my finger nails to push the keys in on the keypad, there's permanent grooves [or indents] on them. No big deal though.The "jibberish" issue I had was truly an anomaly, as I haven't experienced since then.So yeah, a phenomenal watch for a phenomenal price. I'm still a huge fan of the series, and eagerly awaiting the next version!Changing headline from "Almost perfect" to "Perfect".EDIT: 20240324In one of the above notes, I mentioned a genuine replacement band for this watch. After a 5 year hiatus from this masterpiece, I was ecstatic to return! Real quick, for those curious, the watch was still ticking and was only a few days off with the correct year. That really surprised me.Anyway, I soon realized I lost the replacement bands and spring bars that I had. Which brings me to the reason I am updating this post after my last...When I got my new replacement bands, about 4ish days ago, I was ready to get home from work and slap this bad boy back on my wrist! The link I posted years ago had a massive oversight though... If, for whatever reason, you lose your watch's spring bars (the metal piece inside the watch straps to keep it attached to chronograph), the replacements that Casio provides (again, linked above) do not include them. I cannot fathom a single good reason why these essential pieces would be omitted. Only thing I can think of is Casio wanting the consumer to buy an entirely new watch. But I am here to help negate that! So, go here for some spring bars, and with a tool to boot. I haven't bought them yet, but it seems like a good kit:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CYPVGWY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2T1L5956FRSLP&psc=1I will be purchasing these soon and will provide an update.As for the DBC-32 itself, I had honestly considered dropping the score down because of the company's bad practices, but I believed it wouldn't be right because it is truly an amazing watch, remains at 5 stars. So, yeah...until next time.EDIT: 20240325The spring bar kit already arrived. I got the watch slapped on my wrist and good to go now. I used the 22mm spring bar (I believe that’s also stated in the product’s info). I now have a kit full of spring bars that I’ll never go through in an entire two lifetimes, but it’s good peace of mind. I recommend purchasing the aforementioned kit if you lost your spring bar.

Got this for a great price @ 52% off, this is definitely gonna be my new daily beater. Already getting lots of wrist time. Little difficult to adjust the time but easy once you figure it out (YouTube helps), motion light when you flick your wrist up is nice too, much more noticeable in a dark environment. Overall this is a great piece.

I've had a pair of Databank watches for quite some time... a 150 and a 300 version. I made the fatal error of taking my 150 to a "watch repair shop" to get the battery changed, at some point, and then next time did it myself (as I usually do). And I discovered that the repair shop had failed to replace the o-ring seal... which I knew would eventually result in the watch failing.Well, recently, it did. The 150's module is totally non-functional. And my 300 is almost too valuable to wear anymore. I wanted something new. This watch is the last version which is (mostly) compatible with those earlier watched. It comes in several variants, so I bought a silver one and a black one. This review relates to both versions.This is a pretty decent watch, comparable to the older (and better) versions in most ways. It has a lot less available data memory (which seems odd, doesn't it?) and no longer has the "Indiglo" electroluminescent backlight) which is wonderful, instead merely using white surface-mount LEDs to reflect light inside the case. And, of course, it loses the "countdown timer" function (which I almost never used, anyway).But the calculator functionality is equivalent to, and in one way better, the earlier models. This has a built-in "currency conversion" mode (really just a single memory which you can multiply your entries by) which does come in handy if you travel a lot.The "dual time" mode is less capable than the earlier version. In that case, you'd set it based upon whatever time zone you might be in, and you could step through timezones (say, from London to Cairo) without having to reset the time itself. In this case, you simply have to reset the watch time for a second entry... not quite as nice.It does have a "daylight savings time" option which helps a bit, since you don't have to reset the watch twice a year (you only turn DST on or off).The reduced "databank" feature set means that you no longer have the calendar display at the top of the screen (which was nice... you'd see a darkened box on days when an event was set, or a blank if nothing was set). However, this is replaced by a LARGE text box which tells you the day of the week, so it's probably a improvement in the eyes of most people.The keypad is actually an improvement over the prior versions in terms of ease of pressing of the buttons. There's a triangular "pyramid" atop each button, in clear plastic, with the printed label underneath. Unfortunately, they removed the "three letters" (in addition to the number) from each button. This is supposed to make it easier to see the numbers, I guess, but it makes text entry a lot more challenging (if you don't have the num-pad text entry scheme committed to memory).Basically, Casio has severely hamstrung the "databank" portion of this device, to the point where it's largely not worth it to use except as a conventional watch or a calculator.But that's OK, for most of us, as not many people probably made full use of the older version's feature set. It's still the best option out there.Soon, practically-sized "smart watches" may become an actual reality. The i-Watch is not really what I mean... it's just a first step down the path. It's pretty much useless without an iPhone, and a watch should be a stand-alone device, or at least be capable of being a stand-alone device. The Samsung "smart watch" is a great concept, except that it's HUGE. But until real, practical smart-watches arrive (in a few years) this remains your best option, in my opinion.This particular watch is the "black" version. The band itself is a pretty standard plastic band, and is quite comfortable to me.