First there was the Casio AE1500. Then Casio brought forth the AE1600. Can you guess what’s next? If you said Casio AE1700 you’re correct. But if you imagined the AE1700 looked like its predecessors you’d be wrong. Casio has drawn on the Seiko digital Tuna for their AE1700.
The AE1700 departs from the AE1500 and AE1600 in its case design. However it still has big numbers on its screen. It’s like the whole AE series now represents the best in Casio legibility.
Again, I will ask the perennial question, “Can Casio please make a G-Shock with numbers as big as their AE series watches?”
Video Summary
How could one possibly summarize my unboxing videos which are notorious for their chaos? Not my problem. I’ll shovel off that task to Google’s Gemini AI. Here below is the AI generated summary with a word from me following it:
Digital Tuna Vibes and Big Numerals
In this “double the chaos” installment, Jim Kinkade unboxes two versions of the brand-new Casio AE1700: one with a classic positive screen and a “Pepsi” (red and blue) bezel, and a stealthy negative LCD version with a black and gold bezel. Jim explores whether this latest entry in the AE “lanklet” lineup has what it takes to unseat the legendary AE1500 as the king of affordable, high-visibility digital watches.
The Return of the Rotating Bezel
The most striking feature of the AE1700 is its rotating bezel—a rarity for a purely digital watch. While it doesn’t feature the satisfying “clicks” of a mechanical dive watch, the bezel allows for a manual 60-second count-up timer. Jim demonstrates how to use the “snake” graphic on the digital display in conjunction with the bezel to track elapsed seconds. Design-wise, he notes its uncanny resemblance to the Seiko “Digital Tuna,” giving it a rugged, industrial aesthetic that fits right in with the Jim Kinkade “war chest.”
Legibility and Screen Controversy
A major point of discussion is the legibility of the new module.
- Numerical Design: The AE1700 features “lanky” numbers—tall and thin compared to the bold, thick segments of the AE1500. While they aren’t as wide, they are still exceptionally large, making the watch a great choice for those who need to tell the time at a quick glance without straining.
- Viewing Angles: Jim tests the polarization and crispness of both the positive and negative displays. He observes that Casio seems to have fine-tuned the viewing angles; the screens are sharpest when held at a natural viewing angle rather than a dead-on 90 degrees.
- Negative Display Verdict: Despite being a self-professed leader of the “Support Group for People Who Hate Negative LCDs,” Jim admits that the thick segments on the AE1700 make the negative version surprisingly readable, though it still falls short of the high-contrast positive screen in low-light conditions.
Durability and “Vocationally Tough” Testing
True to his “news, reviews, and abuse” mantra, Jim doesn’t baby these watches.
- Scratch Resistance: During the unboxing itself, Jim manages to scratch the acrylic crystal by slamming the watches together. He points out that unlike the AE1500 or AE1600, which have protective “krenellations” or raised bumpers, the AE1700’s crystal is the “proudest point” of the watch face, making it more prone to battle scars.
- Nested Lugs: He praises the “nested lug” design, which helps protect the pins from popping out—a common failure point Jim has experienced with cheaper Casios and calculator watches in the oil field.
- Big Wrist Approved: Jim confirms that the AE1700 fits comfortably on an 8.5-inch wrist. While it doesn’t have the “mega-long” extended band found on some Walmart specials, it has enough notches to accommodate most big-wristed users.
Functionality Rundown
Clearing up some misinformation found on official websites, Jim confirms the actual feature set of the AE1700:
- No Fishing Timer: Despite some initial rumors, the AE1700 does not include a fishing timer.
- Local Time in Other Modes: A significant improvement over the AE1500 is that the AE1700 displays your local home time in the top right corner while you are in the timer mode.
- Standard Features: It includes a 1/100th-second stopwatch (with fractions of a second), a countdown timer, world time, and three alarms with an hourly chime.
Final Impressions
While the AE1700 is a stylish and functional “Goldilocks” watch that fits both small and large wrists, Jim believes it still hasn’t quite unseated the AE1500 in terms of pure, raw legibility. However, its unique “Pepsi” styling and the addition of the local time display in sub-modes make it a worthy addition to any collection.
Jim concludes the session with a teaser for upcoming reviews, including the solar-powered GAB010 and some novelty knives that would make perfect Christmas gifts. As always, he finishes with a reminder that Jesus is the reason for the season.
Lanklet Numbers
It’s so funny what AI picks up on. Yes, the numbers are lanky.
For those of you who don’t know, if you are a man under 6′ tall you are a manlet. But if you are over 6′ tall but under 200lbs, you are a lanklet. (A man is over 6′ tall and 200lbs.) The Casio AE1700’s numbers are big, like the AE1500, but skinnier. So in a passing remark I said they are lanklet numbers. Now that stray remark is indelibly fixed into the consciousness of Artificial Intelligence.
The most dangerous part of AI is the information it learns from me.