Casio Edifice EQS-500, it’s alive!

There is no doubt digital watch has upper hand when it comes to functionality. It is limitless, at least in theory. Despite that people who think about expensive watch gravitate towards analog options and chronographs with multiple sub dials to fit functionality. Clock work can be very complex and show you all the things in the celestial world. Edifice EQS-500 is modern middle ground between digital functionality and convince and analog time data delivery.

As usual , long time ago there was Citizen… Citizen came out with analog watches filled with multiple digital functions: timer, alarms, chronograph. It was not really convenient at the time due to relative simplicity of the set up – you got one motor or two to move hands around and it took long time to actually set up something like alarm or return to current time. It was 5 minute affair, comparing to digital 1 minute. Analog digital combo had both worlds covert, yet failed out of grace. Most prominent Citizen watches enjoyed analog look with multiple functions, they still do. Casio approach was more radical. Casio put as many motors as needed to operate different sub dials independently and fast.  Thus making reaching functionality more rapid affair. By the way, before Citizen was Seiko with examples like 8M25 based watches.

EQS-500 based on 5123 Casio module.
It day date watch with perpetual calendar, 1/100s stopwatch , world time and alarm. Minute hand moves 3 times in a minute and along with hour hand and 24 hour hand or am/pm indicator sitting in separate sub dial (call it as you want) show time in any mode along with the date.  Two other sub dials and second hand are responsible for extra functions. The best way to describe it is to go over each mode and let the functions act. It is a beautiful l choreographed act. Some of the watch appeal is in the hand movement as unclear as it sounds. But you have to see it. It like to say that marching bands they are about marching and bit less about music.

 

Before going through Ikea furniture like assembly instructions of watch functionality I want to go over esthetics and how I feel about it. Most of the times you buy watch because you like how it looks. There is no denial. That how it goes: I like to look at it and I wear it. EQS-500 is heavy watch with manly size already surpassed by new models. In a current day and age not only Godzilla getting bigger and taller, watches follow the trend. EQS-500 watch face is extremely busy with design elements.

 

It whole sports arena full of design elements pushing cannon ball in one corner, running 400m in another and jumping heights in the another corner. It is a freaking Tokyo transit map. Similar to transit map you have to spend time getting used to it, reading very small print and learning your way to destination. Once you mastered it you are the pro. Despite overwhelming amount of information on the dial I like this watch. I have no problem telling time and date. It takes bit more time to read other functions as well as set them up, but it is trade off of analog watch face.

Functionality includes chronograph with 1/100s capability and 24 minutes capacity. Not really useful as any digital one ,but impressive especially when it turns watch face into horse race making circles around the markers. Alarm is usual affair, however on my watch is too silent to be heard in any outdoor or working environment. Not sure it going to wake up someone. Dual time is nice addition with only one complaint: it takes same amount of time to read it as it takes to calculate it.  The best part of the watch is combination of perpetual calendar and integration of world time. If you traveling you don’t need to worry about setting your watch in same amount of time it will take to set up digital watch you tune your watch to local time. Ease supplied by the marvel of modern engineering. Together with solar power it makes EQS-500 magic bullet watch. You set it up and forget about it.

So who is customer of this watch? Frankly anyone who appreciates  practical cool watch. Someone who likes intelligent things and may be too old for digital watch but not really snooty for “only mechanical watches have soul”. There is plenty of character in this watch. EQS-500 is a cool engineer with tones of knowledge who can equally design chemical plant or set up tent in the mountains. Traditional but not bland.

Would I recommend buying this watch? 100% sure. Do I know someone who bought it? No.