Casio launches new premium slim Vintage watch with sapphire crystal

The Casio A1000 has been quietly building a reputation since its launch in 2022 as the brand's "grown-up" take on its classic digital watches. Unlike the A158 or A168 — which use chrome-plated resin cases and plastic crystals — the A1000 series features a full stainless steel case, a solid bracelet, and a slimmer 7.3 mm profile that gives it a noticeably more refined profile on the wrist. It's part of Casio's Vintage Premium lineup, a tier above the entry-level digital range.

The new A1000SP-7 takes that further. The biggest upgrade is the crystal — where the existing A1000 models use mineral glass, the SP variant gets a sapphire crystal. This means that you get genuine scratch resistance on a Casio that already looks the part. Casio has also added striped vapor deposition on the underside of the sapphire. This gives the brass dial a textured, dimensional effect that shifts under different lighting. The bracelet has both hairline and mirror polishing across its links, so you get contrast between matte and glossy surfaces.

The specs underneath are standard A1000 — stainless-steel case measuring 39.6 × 38 × 7.3 mm and weighing 101 g on the solid bracelet, a one-touch three-fold clasp, water resistance, Super Illuminator LED backlight, 1/100-second stopwatch, daily alarm, hourly time signal, auto-calendar, and a three-year battery life on a CR1616 cell. The watch ships in special packaging as well. 

Pricing hasn't appeared on the Casio international site yet, but given that the standard A1000A-7 sits at around €85-€100 in Europe, the sapphire-equipped SP variant is likely to carry a significant premium over that.

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