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Casio x Back to the Future: a watch that smells of gasoline, VHS tapes and the 80s

When a time machine becomes a fashion accessory

Casio x Back to the Future
Photo: Casio

Sometimes it seems like Casio and Doc Brown are hiding the same plan for a time machine. The new CA-500WEBF-1A - Casio x Back to the Future watch, created in collaboration with the legendary Back to the Future film franchise, is actually a portal to 1985 — except it's powered by a tiny CR2016 battery instead of plutonium.

Casio did something that few brands manage to do with this release: bridge the gap between nostalgic geek culture and modern urban style. Instead of creating another “movie” toy, they created a Casio x Back to the Future watch that could easily be worn by anyone. Marty McFly, if you found yourself in the year 2025 — and probably matched it to your hoverboard.

Back to the future, this time via the wrist

When the screen lights up, it feels like you're watching a mini replica DeLorean dashboard. The red, yellow, and green buttons aren't just there for style — they're a direct homage to the time circles from the movie, where Doc entered destinations across dimensions.

Photo: Casio

The inscription is displayed above the screen. OUTATIME, that iconic license plate that has become synonymous with movie nostalgia. If you turn the watch over, you'll find an engraving of the legendary capacitor flux — the small fictional reactor that gave the world that most famous saying about “1.21 gigawatts.”

VHS packaging that Doc would probably put in the garage

Casio didn't stop at the details. The watch comes packaged in a box shaped like an old VHS tape, with video store-style stickers — the kind where you used to be charged a “late fee” if you returned a tape a day late. It's not just packaging, but an almost artistic commentary on how the digital and analog worlds once coexisted.

It harbors the spirit of another time — one when things were more tangible, slower, and perhaps therefore a little more authentic.

Photo: Casio
Photo: Casio

Retro technology that still knows how to count

Perhaps most magically, the watch is also completely functional. It's a classic Casio calculator model that's a watch, a mini digital archive, and a tiny artifact of the past. It tells time, measures seconds, counts days until 2099, and, of course, calculates.

It's powered by a single battery that's supposed to last five years — meaning you can easily intercept at least three time streams in that time and still make it to lunch on time.

A silver-steel case adorns your wrist, and the combination of resin and steel band makes you feel like you're wearing something between a fashion accessory and a digital relic. It's light enough to wear every day, and eye-catching enough to make people wonder if it's really showing the future.

Photo: Casio

When a clock becomes a metaphor

For Casio, this release has almost symbolic weight. Calculator watches were once a symbol of progress — a tool for those who wanted to be more precise than the analog world. Back to the Future was a film that did the same thing in Hollywood: with faith in technology, humor, and audacity.

Now, 40 years later, the two myths meet on the wrist. The result is not a museum artifact, but an everyday fashion piece *Casio x Back to the Future , which tells the story of how far we've come — and how we sometimes wish we could go back.

Release time, time for nostalgia

Casio will release the watch October 21, 2025, so right on the official Back to the Future DayIt will cost approximately 119 euros and will be available in limited quantities. Which means you almost certainly won't be able to buy it if you wait too long — but that's kind of part of the charm. It's like a time machine: it always arrives too late or too early.

The end that is not the end

Casio he didn't invent anything new with this watch. And that's exactly why it works. It's pure proof that nostalgia can become an object of everyday pleasure — if it's done with taste and humor. This isn't a watch that screams "look at me, I love the 80s!"; rather, it whispers: everything is fleeting, except good design and a little irony.

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