The Casio Royale AE-1200 Is $20 at Walmart: The Best Cheap Watch Just Got Cheaper
Shopping sales is always fun, but when items that are already highly affordable get a price cut, it feels almost obligatory to pay attention. That is what is happening right now with Casio's AE-1200, better known as the Casio Royale. Every once in a while, the watch dips below $30 — it usually sits around $40 from Casio's own site — and right now it has dropped even further: when purchased online, the all-black resin version costs just $20 at Walmart. For a watch that is already widely considered one of the best values in the category, this is about as good as it gets.
The AE-1200 is one of Casio's most recognizable digital watches. Introduced in 2012, its visual language is deliberately rooted in the brand's '80s models, particularly the 1986 AE-200 "Twin Graph" and 1987 W-50U. The "Casio Royale" nickname was given by fans because the display strongly resembles the fictional watch worn by Roger Moore's James Bond in 1983's Octopussy — and a working version of that very timepiece, the Seiko G757 Sports 100, fetches a few hundred dollars on eBay these days. The Royale gives you a pretty impressive alternative for $20.
Arguably the finest "cheap" watch you can currently buy, the Casio Royale features an ambitious digital display with both a digital time readout and an analog-style digital clock, a world map that indicates the selected time zone, and additional calendar information. It is a genuinely fun watch for road trips, and the feature density at this price point is remarkable. If that is not enough, the watch benefits from a solid 100 meters of water resistance, a 10-year battery life, and a great LED backlight for nighttime visibility. It is the kind of watch you can grab without a second thought, beat up for a decade, and never worry about.
Compared with a smartwatch, the Royale gives up notifications and fitness tracking entirely — but it also gives up charging, updates, and anxiety about a $400 screen on your wrist. Compared with other budget digitals, the AE-1200's combination of world time, map display, 100m resistance, and 10-year battery is unmatched at this price. The one caveat: the deal applies to the all-black resin version, while the stainless steel variant costs more. If you have been looking for an excuse to own the most legendary $20 watch in existence, this is it.