Casio Oceanus
Casio Oceanus is an elite line of Casio watches designed for both men and women. The line uses technology from both the G-Shock and Waveceptor watch series. Originally available internationally, the Oceanus line has been discontinued in the US in favor of the Casio Edifice line.
Characteristics
All Oceanus watches are known for the following key characteristics:
- Analog watchface – All Oceanus watches are analog, with some earlier models having a combined analog and digital watch face.
- Five-motor drive – present on more recent models, the five-motor drive consists of five internal motors running independently to control dials for time, stopwatch, seconds, day of week, and hours.
- Multi-band 5 (USA) or Multi-band 6 (Japan) – perhaps the most significant aspect of the Oceanus line is the ability of all watches to automatically synchronize with the Japanese time signal (JJY), the American time signal (WWVB) from Colorado, and the European time signals from both England (Time from NPL) and Germany (DCF77). The synchronization feature does not work correctly in Arizona, which does not observe daylight saving time. The Japanese Multi-band 6 models add the Chinese time signal in Shangqiu City, China, at 68.5 kHz. Thus, the Oceanus watches will auto-synchronize themselves if one is to visit Europe, North America, Japan, or China (Multi-band 6 models). Not all American Oceanus watches carry the Multi-band 5 technology as it is relatively new.
- Sapphire crystal – Oceanus watches use a sapphire glass crystal, which is very scratch resistant and is found on higher-end watches.
Models
Oceanus 600 series
The Oceanus OCW-T600 series wristwatches are the basic Oceanus model on the Japanese market.
Oceanus CACHALOT
The Oceanus CACHALOT series wristwatches are designed for marine sports. They include a rotating bezel and a yacht timer chronograph.
Oceanus 700 series
The Oceanus OCW-M700 was the last model introduced to the American market. It features a complete analog face with no LCD screen as well as the standard characteristics for Oceanus watches. It is unique in the Oceanus line as it includes a subdial to show the status of the ocean tides in the current time zone. It is the only Oceanus model to include this feature.
Oceanus 1000 Series "Manta"
Released on June 1, 2007 and complete with the sapphire crystal and the MULTI-BAND 5 technology, the Manta is the most versatile and the most expensive watch out of all the Oceanus watches with a base price of 100,000 Japanese Yen (approx. $1000 American). It does not include the tide meter that appears on the 700 series. It closely resembles the 600 series watch style but it is thinner than both the 700 and 600 series watches.
Availability
The Oceanus line has been discontinued outside Japan and succeeded by the Casio Edifice brand.
Additional Resources
- Official Casio American Oceanus Website (This now redirects to the Casio Edifice page.)
- Official Casio Japanese Oceanus Website
- Casio American Website (English)
- Casio Japan Website (Japanese)
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