Sub-$30 Digital Watch Exceptional


If you consider the 3vdc CR2032 coin cell battery running this digital watch using only 220mAh of power for 10 years, that means only 22mAh per year, or only 1.83mAh per month or 0.59mAh daily, even a tiny solar PV module could energize a rechargeable battery in such a device using ambient indoor light via a highly sensitive CIGS or similar high efficiency photovoltaic technology. 



Meg & I were talking about this watch because its cheap & exceptional because of what it does at such a low price point. In an era where smartwatches like the latest Samsung Gear or Apple Watch get all the trending public mass media attention, an entire wrist watch industry exists based on tiny quarts crystals that vibrate to provide a precise timing signal. 

Timing signals are extremely important in computer science, business, manufacturing, logistics, aerospace, & in many other industries. In business, time is money. We each as people only have a finite amount of time alive. Everyone must spend time easting & sleeping. There is a time for everything. Many world religions talk about time. Many wrist watches are fashion accessories popular with Men as a kind of information jewelry. 

I was watching a WatchFinder.Co YouTube video about a $680,000 wrist watch featuring a 3-axis orbiting escapement, year rotation of the entire movement, the Earth & Moon as 3D objects that rotate inside the large glass & precious metal enclosure. Some wrist watches cost millions. These are social status icons, objects whose value is about vanity, the worship of money as idolatry, excess & extremism, exceedingly extreme selfishness, arrogance, price, avarice, narcissism & a blind disregard of the suffering of other people & nature. Only 18 examples of the craziest watch ever made were produced by Jacob & Co. thus creating a Limited Production. Some automakers put the word Limited on higher trim level vehicles & it makes me wonder if they people driving them have limited executive function. 

As a School Bus driver for example I have to be on-time & cannot be late or I would miss my route and many many children late for School. Thus many other people count on me to be timely, so to be early to work is to be on-time, to be on-time is to be late, and to be late is completely unacceptable. 

Given the low cost of even the highest quality CR2032 freshly made from Panasonic in Japan or SAFT in France or VARTA in Germany / the really freshest newest highest capacity coin cells, then the PV tech & rechargeable battery has a tough price competition. Citizen Eco-drive movements & solar electric variants of watches similar to the one in this post tend to cost 2X to 20X more.  

Consider the Coin Cell 2023 which comes as a CR2032 or BR2032 / Both start at just over 3vdc & discharge to around 2vdc with just over 200mAh capacity, where the BR a low self discharge often used as the CMOS backup battery in computers where higher discharge rate CR variant cells used in clocks, watches, times, AirTags, Tile trackers & other electronics or COTS consumer off the shelf technologies. The coin cell offers a unique combination of compact, low mass, easy to connect, easy to change, easy to make, easy to replace, high energy density, low cost primary single use battery solution. 

CLithiumManganese dioxideOrganicLithium32.0
BCarbon monofluorideOrganicLithium32.0

Last purchased Jun 28, 2021, have a look at the Product Details / 

Product details

  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Casio
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09S4VLZYD

Cheap at under $30 USD2023

Effective, durable, & well made

Highly Legible, Easy to Read At-A-Glance, making it easy to tell the time & date fast

10 year battery life actually really good even among other watches of similar designs 

100 meter water resistance means you can shower & swim & run in the rain, no problems

Stopwatch, I use it to time my showers to compete to use least amount of warm water, to go faster

Dual Time Zones makes it easy to switch if you regularly travel to another local in a different time zone

5 Alarm Settings to remind you to take medication or supplements, lunch, to leave for work or return 

Countdown Timer great for cooking or baking timing 

Full Calendar means day & date info readily available always 

Yellow LED backlight low energy & not stimulating if you do an early AM time check in bed





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