Casio Marlin W-350 [152]

I’ve never really understood the love of Marlin watches (or Sailfish to be a bit more accurate) — having owned several over the years, but never worn them much and usually selling/trading them for something else.

Until I got this one, the Casio W-350 [152] and wore it solidly for a week.

It arrived with a bleeding LCD and a leather band that did it no favours, but I had a spare QW152 module with good LCD and was able to source a rubber strap which was a very close replacement for the original which, I’m guessing, went out of production a few decades ago.

And now I understand the appeal. They are the consummate everyday watch — less bulky than a G-Shock, and more durable than a boardroom watch.

You strap it on and forget about it, regardless of the activity you are doing.

Function-wise, it covers the basics — time and date, alarm, hourly chime, stopwatch and light. It’s also water resistant (which is pretty much the same as waterproof unless you’re a deep sea diver). It also looks good and feels great on the wrist, almost like you aren’t wearing a watch at all.

This model also came with a (very hard to find) metal bracelet, but the rubber strap suits it perfectly.

Marlin watches, and there are a lot of them around, still carry hefty price tags mostly because of their popularity with collectors. And now I’ve worn this one for a while, I can completely see why.