Creating my Ultimate Casio Royal AE1200 with the SKXMOD kit

Рет қаралды 10,662

11 ай бұрын

Thank you to SKXMOD for creating this modification kit to turn my favorite Casio into my ultimate Casio.
Check out the mod kits at:
www.skxmod.com/
Thank you so much for WATCHing my video and I hope that you check out all my other content.
I release 3 videos per week, all watch related, including reviews, first impressions and general watch related topics.
I try very hard to diversify my content as well and will feature big known watch brands, microbrands as well as Aliexpress watches.
The majority of the watches I feature are in the affordable range but I do try and get some less affordable watches as well.
Most of the watches that I feature I have bought with my own money. I buy them to enjoy and wear but I also to feature them on this channel.
Being a smaller channel it is challenging to cover the cost of all the watches that I buy and partly because of this I have become an affiliate member with a number of companies including Aliexpress, Ashford.com and Jomashop.
If you are looking for watches from well known brands then it is worth checking out:
www.ashford.com
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As an affiliate member I may leave affiliate links in the descriptions of videos. These links will direct you to the watches that I’ve experienced, reviewed and would certainly recommend. If you choose to use those links I will earn a very small commission.
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Пікірлер: 79

@watchsixto 11 ай бұрын

Awesome work, James. You made it look so easy that the price is a deal breaker for others, but it could be worth it

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

I’m really impressed with it. It is now a permanent watch in my collection

@piquetuk 11 ай бұрын

I had a couple of screws in the bracelet that were a bit too tight to move but like you I worked around them. I love a metal Casio.

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

Thankfully it did not turn into an issue. It has however turned out to be an amazing watch. I am loving it.

@WatchtheTime 11 ай бұрын

Nice one mate and it definitely elevates the look of the Casio 👍👍

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

I’m really happy with how it has turned out

@brianmsahin 11 ай бұрын

Excellent video James. This has been on my mind. Two issues have stopped me, firstly price and secondly a more practical issue. The Royale for me is the best world timer around, forget GMT's. I travel regularly for work across 3 time zones, Istanbul to Mumbai and on to Kolkata to visit suppliers and then on to Jakarta where we have a sales office. One great thing about the Royale, you can usually pass straight through the metal detectors without having to take your watch off every time, which becomes a nuisance over time. With the metal case that won't be possible anymore. As far as price is concerned, I see the mod is definitely worth it, but it's still too expensive in relation to the watch and I do love the Royale. I could swap back and forwards I suppose, but I would be happy enough to pay around $40 for a mod like this. Ali have lots of good quality mods for the DW-5600, I got one myself, very good quality too. If I ever see a more competitively priced one there I would probably go for one. At the moment AE don't have a Royale mod but maybe one day they'll do one. I couldn't justify 4 times the price. It's like put $200,000 leather seats on your $50,000 car! 😊

@mikeellis4345 11 ай бұрын

Yes indeed. For the cost of that mod kit vs ~4x the Casio Royale watch cost, we can buy at least 2 PD watches on AE with ssteel case and bracelet, sapphire crystal and reliable seiko movement. I’ll be keeping my Casio Royale as it came. Can’t justify that kit’s price at all.

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

It’s a good point about not being metal. It is a great travel watch. I’ve been keeping an eye on AE hoping they would do one of these kits. Perhaps one day it will become available

@alleskleinundzsamm 7 ай бұрын

Did it - SKXMod´s parts are really high quality and such a blast in look and feel after replacing the original stuff with the parts of SKX... Now my AE-1200 fits in much better in my collection of mechanical wristwatches. I will buy the black case as well + a different face plate to have different options for the look. Worth every penny/cent...

@WATCHingJames 7 ай бұрын

I have been really impressed by it. I have just received the casioak kit as well and it also looks incredible

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

I have wanted to do this since the moment I saw this mod kit

@marcgoulding5230 11 ай бұрын

I do love the Royale. I got the kit with only the case, since I don't much wear bracelets. I'm absolutely in favor of SKXMOD's stuff, though I sorta cringed over the price. In the end, I think I'll get a second for my second Royale...

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

It has definitely turned it into something extra special

@tundra75 4 ай бұрын

I knew I wanted this mod but the negative reviews about the bracelet always stopped me from getting one. After seeing this review and seeing that they come with a milled clasp now I went ahead and put my order for one. Decided to add an FKM rubber strap, just in case. I’m excited! Great video!

@WATCHingJames 4 ай бұрын

That’s great to hear. I’ve really enjoyed mine. A definite upgrade from the original.

@valerin0 11 ай бұрын

Been thinking about this kit for a while, thanks for the video 👍

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

So have I. But I’m now glad that I got it. A big upgrade in my opinion.

@watch-box 11 ай бұрын

I went with the solid bronze case, and searched around for the older model of world timer that has a green hue to the digital display (green/bronze look great together imo). Rather than get the bracelet which is disappointing to say the least I got a leather strap from Vario which is purpose made for the world timer - the end result is fantastic, and will only get better with time as the patina grows. Thanks for sharing your thoughts as always.

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

I was considering this option too. I can imagine how good that would look

@adk7962 11 ай бұрын

I’ve been on the fence about getting this watch and doing the mod. The milled clasp may have just pushed me over the edge into doing it. Thanks!

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

I was really happy to find that they now have the milled clasp.

@markkuzminski3922 11 ай бұрын

Thanks James. I still have reservations about that bracelet. The sticky links are off-putting at the price. I am still inclined to go for an upgrade kit with a strap rather than the bracelet. Vario also make suitable straps for the AE1200 - so I might go for one of those. Looking forward to the "full" review - it may change my mind...

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

It is starting to wear in already and is feeling better every time I put it on. I’ll do a review once I’ve had it on wrist for a good amount of time.

@TimeToGoTravelAndTimepieces 11 ай бұрын

Just got the ws1600h which apparently works with these and am definitely considering giving one a try. A little on the pricey side but looks great.

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

Definitely not cheap but I’m now convinced it’s worth it.

@keving4408 11 ай бұрын

Thanks for this instructive video, James. I appreciated the use of your dramatic theme music when performing a technical task - helped to build anticipation for the outcome (lol). I love my Royale and have been eying this kit. It would be nice if they had a case option without the "world time" and "illuminator" inscriptions. Casio's tendency to scatter spec info all over the dial and case of watches always annoyed me.

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

I think they do have that option. Check out the options on their website.

@keving4408 11 ай бұрын

@@WATCHingJames Thanks for the reply. You're right! (I recall looking a while back and the options wasn't available at the time.)

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

👍

@Soggz7785 7 ай бұрын

Love mine. I would like to see a gold version of this mod. All the best👍🏾🇬🇧

@WATCHingJames 7 ай бұрын

That would be a statement on wrist

@tonyd223 9 ай бұрын

James, there's two positions to look at this. One is before you buy it, which is how do I i justify the cost for a watch which I i wear in rotation. The other side is after the purchase, money less of a factor as it's already been spent, and now it's about feel. Your approach is right mate. Me? I've been on the fence with this one, and I have 2 SKXMOD kits for the GAB2100, which just made more sense to me as a modding platform. Both are excellent and no regrets.

@WATCHingJames 9 ай бұрын

It has turned out to be the right decision for me. I now have my perfect Casio in my collection. Who said money can’t buy perfect….. 😁

@markmahood3093 11 ай бұрын

Thought about buying one of these kits for a while but cant justify the price. Good review.

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

I had that same feeling every time I looked at it too. But am now glad to have done it.

@Aetila 8 ай бұрын

It's crazy that some decade ago one could buy a steel case Caso watch (here in Sweden) for peanuts, at least one version...I was a fool to get rid of it when the "module"/movement stopped working, the steel case was just fine. I totally missed the point to try to get a new movement. The watch cost about 25 USD (250 Skr) at that time, just a simple thing with 10 ATM, light, big numbers, etc. and a lovely steel case... I hate how "plasticky" Casio became. I have one (W755) and it's made of plastic, the buttons are hollow plastic things that are worn out now, they couldn't use metal buttons...I wonder if it's a planned worn-out. The movement is working perfectly, it kept the 10 ATM tightness, could swim with it, but the case is totally worn out, with the stupid plastic "glass" on it, lol. Only now I see that there're such upgrading kits around, good to know. Thanks for the tutorial! (I couldn't get a clear info at their site, is it a Chinese company, do they sent the kit from China?)

@WATCHingJames 8 ай бұрын

I’m not actually sure where they come from. But I can say they are really good. I’m now planning on the similar mod of the casioak.

@seanboogie10 4 ай бұрын

For that price the bracelet should NOT be sticky. It should be a good stainless steel bracelet, which are around $20.

@WATCHingJames 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for WATCHing

@jerrygeorge3604 3 ай бұрын

Do you not have Amazon Shopping in Australia? For Pete's sake man, you could buy the entire stainless steel watch, band included, for around $35 - $50 USD. Certainly much cheaper than the "kit" you bought.

@donjoe2661 2 ай бұрын

@@jerrygeorge3604 The body is from plastic with metal look. Glass isn't sapphire and wristband also of less quality. The SKX mods are quality

@mikeellis4345 10 ай бұрын

I have the Royale and would like to mod it as well with this kit but the price is just too high. I modded both of my Casio Duros with SS bracelets, sapphire crystals and milled clasps, for less $$ than the cost of each Duro. That made sense to me. They look and wear fantastic and are complimented by others. Despite the end result looks amazing, this kit doesn’t meet those measures. I get that they need to spend $$ tool up etc if they make the parts themselves ( I doubt it ) but so do others making watches and parts. Nice review as always! Cheers!

@WATCHingJames 10 ай бұрын

I did think the same. It was really hard for me to get over the price. But I started to think about it in a different way. The cost of a full metal Casio from Casio is a lot more money. And I tried not to think about AliExpress pricing. As I think those low prices can sometime distort our pricing expectations. And finally. And probably most importantly for me is I love this particular Casio so much. It was worth making it better. Thanks for WATCHing

@larrydalton2205 11 ай бұрын

Good review James. In spite of the price, last year i did three of these mod kits. A black with black buttons and a matte silver with brushed bracelet for me and another black one as a gift. One minor correction to your review where you refer to your kit as being the brushed version. Looking close, you have the matte version with the newer matte rather than brushed bracelet. My older kit only had a brushed bracelet option which was shinier and a bit of a mis-match with the matte sand blasted case. Your new version looks better. The current brushed bracelet has the old thin clasp and no quick release. I think the sticking on the bracelet is due to the angled shape of the links but it is no problem on wrist.

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

Yes. It is more of a bead blasted feel to it. All matches well and I’m happy about the upgrade to the clap

@larrydalton2205 11 ай бұрын

@WATCHingJames I would love a true brushed version of the case to go with my old brushed bracelet but they aren't doing that. So, I plan to order a polished case to use with my brushed bracelet and just use my matte case with my Vario brown strap. I already have a l another stock Royale to use with the polished case.

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

👍

@julienfroidevaux1143 5 ай бұрын

Surprised they don't do it with the 5600 as its a far more popular watch . Imagine if they did it with bronze or brass .😊

@WATCHingJames 5 ай бұрын

They are coming out with more and more. I would love to see them do the 5600 too.

@julienfroidevaux1143 5 ай бұрын

@@WATCHingJames one can only hope , they would kill it .

@julienfroidevaux1143 5 ай бұрын

@@WATCHingJames I also don't understand why brass isn't more popular . I stripped my brass plated Vostok and looks so cool and unique.now .

@rverma92 8 ай бұрын

Tasteful mod, nicely done. Have you felt the bracelet sticking less since compared to when it was new? Is the black bezel also stainless steel , painted black I guess ? 🍻

@WATCHingJames 8 ай бұрын

It has definitely worn in as I’ve been wearing it. It is all steel. The black on the dial is still the original plastic. But the case and bracelet are steel

@trulsdirio 7 ай бұрын

I do not look at it as a mod kit that costs four times of what the watch costs, I look at it as a 200€ watch when done and for that it seems to offer the quality I would expect. Getting a big brand quartz watch with sapphire, full stainless, solid links and everything like that would be about the same (or more), so overall it seems like a good deal if you like the result. What does seem really expensive is the rubber strap option, 10€ difference between strap and bracelet seems really slim. But I am not a bracelet kind of guy so I probably will have to swallow that pill when I get my mod kit.

@WATCHingJames 7 ай бұрын

That’s how I am thinking about it now too. It makes more sense and for me it is definitely worth the total cost.

@chrisbowden7558 Ай бұрын

I can feel the bracelet from here. Dry n creaky

@WATCHingJames Ай бұрын

Thanks for WATCHing

@chrisbowden7558 Ай бұрын

@@WATCHingJames I’m still gonna buy it tho(; haha

@mikeellis4345 11 ай бұрын

Nice looking mod kit .. but waaay too pricey for me and my Casio Royale.

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

It is a lot to spend on this watch. But I love it. So was worth it for me.

@seanhickling7340 11 ай бұрын

I've been looking at this mod kit for a while now but I've not pulled the trigger. You've definitely reignited my interest but I'm not happy about it as I've already had an expensive week in which I've purchased a Hamilton 'Cooper', A Smiths Everest Expedition, a Seiko and a Wenger! All I can say is: You complete *******! 😂

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

Hahahahaha. That is a big week. Maybe next week …..

@seanhickling7340 11 ай бұрын

@@WATCHingJames you're not funny, James! 😉

@WATCHingJames 11 ай бұрын

👍