Tick-Tock
My first watch ever was bought because of this exact tweet from an account that talks about warfare technology.
Buka online shop kalian sekarang juga, beli Casio F-91W, se-kaya apa pun kalian, se-banyak apa pun koleksi jam tangan kalian, wajib ada Casio 😌. Jika pentolan teroris nomor 1 di dunia, Presiden Amerika Serikat, pasukan elit negara maju, dan milisi pakai itu, kenapa kalian tidak? https://t.co/JUq9s4gC2O pic.twitter.com/88WCHiBH1t
— Random Warfare Worldwide (@RWWReborn) December 30, 2024
And yes, I did exactly what it says in the tweet. I opened my favorite e-commerce app, checked the price, thought it was so cheap, and checked out.
What could go wrong, wearing the same watch as Osama bin Laden? The picture from the tweet also mentioned other high-profile people like Obama.
I never had a watch before. Well, not really. From what I remember, I only started using a watch for the first time because I got some merchandise from the TEKNOFEST competition back in 2020. It was a locally made Turkish brand called Revello, and it had an engraving that said “Gaziantep,” the place where the competition was held. I used it for quite a while, but not really every time I went out. I usually only wore it with a shirt, and I used it because it had braided fabric straps that allowed my small wrist to wrap around until there was only a very small fold left.
The fact that I only started using a watch in my 20s is because of two things. One, my wrist was always small, and a lot of watches, especially those with buckles, would still be way too loose even at the last hole. My wrist was simply too small for them to wrap around properly. The second thing is that watches are not cheap. While a lot of my friends were already wearing watches in school, I sometimes checked the price and realized that it would cost one or two months' worth of my pocket money.
I bought the F-91W model on December 31, 2024. Exactly one day after the tweet. And I have been regularly using it ever since. I don't know if I have become more self-aware, or if people using the F-91W are actually growing day by day. Because I can't help but notice that a lot of people are actually using this watch. My observation is that this model has indeed become more popular, even in the midst of the smartwatch and sport watch era, where everything looks boring and pretty much the same regardless of the brand.
Yes, it looks boring. But I bought that boring-looking watch in February 2025. It was the Garmin Forerunner 165. The only reason I bought this was because, yes, I admit that using a watch is cool, but my workplace has this flexi wallet benefit where I can buy gadgets or health devices. This watch serves its purpose. It has built-in GPS, and I have used it a couple of times when I went hiking. But one thing that I hate is that it does not have a built-in badminton mode. I need to buy the higher-tier model, which is the 265. That's why the Chinese are going to win. These Western watch brands are so stingy and overpriced.
And I also have the A168 Casio, which my friend Alif gave me sometime around my birthday in 2025. It has a similar style to the F-91W, and again, I started noticing a lot of people using it as well. This watch even has a stereotype of being a “barista watch.” It’s very popular among the coffee shop scene. I usually wear this watch in more formal settings. It looks elegant even though the price is not that expensive.
I really enjoy using these Casio models because they strip away all the “trying to look rich” games that come with watches. You can wear an F-91W or an A168, and people wouldn’t know if you are a brokie salaryman or a millionaire. Baristas use it, my manager uses it. Some celebrities and high-profile people use it, and even terrorists use it. And I think that’s the cool thing about these watches. Watches are not really my hobby, so maybe I’ll just use these three watches that I have for at least another 10–15 years. If they don’t break.