Casio’s New ‘Tank’ Style Watches Are Pure Class

Legendary Japanese watchmaker Casio has been putting out pieces that capture the essence of class and culture without fans having to shell out their entire life savings. While the Japanese player has already released Cartier Tank-style dress watches, some male buyers second-guess picking them up because they may be too small for most their wrists.

We want to shed some light on the new Casio MTP-B190GL-7BV (yes, Casio, we appreciate the catchy names), which may be a more proportional “Tank-style” watch.

Casio’s previous piece with this tank-like silhouette is the LTP V00-7L and the LTP B165, which are actually marketed as women’s watches.

If you’re looking for a versatile square timepiece that won’t break the bank and won’t look ridiculous on your considerably beefier wrist, these new pieces may be for you.

The Casio’s exterior consists of a genuine leather band, stainless steel case and bezel capable of 50-meters of water resistance, and a gold ion plated surface on the glass. It weighs just about 43 grams. The watch also comes in navy blue dial option with the iconic white roman numeral hour markers.

Casio Philippines’ website offers the watch for P6,360, which is a small fraction of a brand-new or second-hand Cartier Tank that goes for hundreds of thousands of pesos.

We see this style ethos involving minimal fuss and a straightforward dress watch offering as a no-brainer purchase in cases where you just own bulkier pieces like a G-Shock or other digital pieces.

The fanfare and uproar around dress watches and even those with tiny dimensions has maintained in recent years as style aficionados such as Tyler, The Creator (who also wears very affordable Casio dress watches) and Timothée Chalamet have helped them back into the meta.

There are a lot of watch collectors who respect the Cartier Tank and its history but rarely wear these pieces since they don’t really hold value on the resale market as much as more sought-after pieces from brands such as Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and Patek Philippe. The smaller and sleeker silhouette may also not be for everyone, especially those who favor more robust and larger-dialed pieces.

Gold trim around the case and a decent crocodile leather band is a step-up from the previous “Casio tank” we looked at a few months ago.

Black roman numeral hour markers and hands look pretty darn good on the wrist, too. The watch is 41 mms long, 31.5 wide, and 8.1mm tall.

Looking at the aforementioned women's section Casio Tank, the LTP V00-7L, it is also fashioned with an elegant leather strap, the vintage-looking roman numeral hour markers at a much cheaper P1,700 price tag. Both tank models for us are great gifts and beater watches given the fantastic price points.

While Casio doesn't explicitly declare its admiration for the classic Cartier watch, hardcore fanatics of the Japanese brand still throw these endearing nicknames around, much like the Rolex community and their "Batmans" and "Batgirls".

So, why is there this timeless allure and appeal with watches like the Cartier Tank and other smaller dress watches? 

We start with why its affectionately called the "Tank," which is simply because they were modeled after the Renault tanks in World War 1 with their distinct square proportions. Imagine you're a bird looking down at these tanks, that's the basic idea.

The iconic Cartier Tank Louis is by no means a medium or large watch, measuring at only 24mm x 31 mm and slightly larger variations coming in about 27 mm x 35 mm. 

Larger-than-life personalities such as Muhammad Ali, Andy Warhol, Frank Sinatra, and even Princess Diana have all donned "Tanks" on their wrists.

If we're talking influence, Casio is no slouch as is its ultra-popular Casio F-91W has been in countless movies and TV shows (We're looking at you Walter White from Breaking Bad).

A quick rundown on folks you may know who have been spotted with Casio watches on their wrists:  former US President Barack Obama, Hollywood A-listers such as Ryan Reynolds, and even on the notorious Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

Cartier Tank

Casio F-91W

With modern men's fashion now going a dressier and nostalgic style route, watches like the new "Casio Tank" and square dress pieces would start you out nicely in the business of cool.

ALSO READ:

Why You Should Be Stoked For Casio’s First Automatic Watch

These Casio Watches Can Make You Look Like A Million Bucks

You don't really have to go full  Corpcore  just to pair this watch with your outfits since these slimmer watches would tie together virtually any outfit or any function. Homages to classic and vintage playbooks from previous will always be met with nods of approval from even your fiercest rivals and detractors.

Casio Style in Steel

For those who may want a square watch but in a steel bracelet, the slightly differently named MTP-B190D-7BV, may be an option you’d want to keen an eye on.

This variation resembles more of the Cartier Santos in steel, another piece renowned for its versatility and history.

The steel bracelet has the same guts and core of its leather-strapped brother but offers an on-touch three-fold-clasp for a heavier 97g piece. It’s surprising that a heavier steel bracelet would make this the cheaper brother of the two at only P5,940.

Personally, we don’t really favor this variant over its leather band counterpart since it looks a little bland and a bit-lacking in color.

These are both quartz battery-operated pieces of course considering the price point (although you could get an older Seiko 5 automatic piece on the second hand market).

On the wrist, the piece does look better than in the wild since the polishing of the case and around the bezels does stand out, a more wearable and accessible option for the average male wrist size.

The Japanese watchmaker put out its first mechanical/automatic watch in August this year in the Edfice EFK series. Its foray into mechanical watches comes already 50 years into its storied legacy.

Casio is being the exciting brand it needs to be right now by putting out accessible pieces like these but it has to work toward innovation too, much like how it was a zeitgeist figure in the 1980s in the quartz digital watch movement.