Sunday, January 20, 2019

The very Rare Casio Duro DRO-204



The Casio Duro DRO-204 is one of those watches that went under the radar for quite some time and wasnt sought after when it hit the shelves. To be honest even this watch in my collection was not bought brand new but I rather like stumbled upon it while surfing ebay listings about 7 years ago. This watch came from Bulgaria and even the original owner I guessed didnt know the value of this gem at the time.

Design

To anyone familiar with G-Shocks this design is really the common five button configuration with the light button configuration in the middle and the normal mode adjust split and start/stop buttons. The faceplate of the watch face is rather thick giving a sense of depth for the digital display. The caseback is the normal stainless steel plate secured by four small phillip head screws although I really wished it came with a screwback type. I was lucky enough to get this watch its original steel bracelet while others have reported having theirs with rubber straps. Lugs are 20mm wide and you can happily use the strap from the casio DW-8300 or even a 20mm Nato Strap. Rated at 200m water resist I have brought this watch out for pool and seaside swimming with no issues.




Whats so Speacial?

What makes this casio so special is that the design of the watch fitted with a steel bezel is much like the DW-8300 "Stargate" and DW-8100 "Gangster" series. Also while most electro luminecense light is usually light green in colour. This DRO-204 lights up with a brilliant blue light. The best part about this watch is that it is not even a G-Shock series but is very much sought after by any G-Shock Collectors.

Other than this its a really simple casio watch, durable and reliable, with all the basic useful functions like timer, stopwatch and alarms.

This watch is proving very hard to find nowadays, ebay listings are very rare and some of the DRO-204 that I found have already been modified using G-Shock modules inside them.

If you do find one grab it!!! Its an awesome daily watch. Watch out for the light button as of it gets broken its bery hard to find a replacement.



Happy hunting and wear your watchea in good health.