| Sometimes things start out in the most surprising ways. | | | | on the watch industry. Casio has been well known for |
| Take the watch company of Casio for example. If | | | | the huge variety and innovation of their watches |
| you were asked to guess what the first product that | | | | almost since the beginning of production. They were |
| was made by Casio, you may think it was the | | | | one of the first watch companies to manufacture the |
| calculator or some other type of electronic product. | | | | now famous quartz crystal watches. The quartz |
| You would be wrong. The Casio Company was | | | | watches produced by Casio were available in both |
| started 1946 by Tadao Kashio. Understand that this | | | | digital and analog styles. It is possible that the most well |
| was in Japan following World War II. The financial | | | | remembered watch produced by this company was |
| situation was dire in Japan at the time to say the least. | | | | the calculator watch. For those of you who don't |
| When Mr. Kashio began his company, he was a | | | | remember, it featured all of the amazing time keeping |
| fabrication engineer hoping to catch a big break. | | | | capabilities of the regular Casio watches, with an |
| His big break showed up in a very unique way. Tadao | | | | added feature. It had a tiny calculator complete with |
| Kashio developed a product called the yubiwa pipe. Its | | | | miniature keypad built into the watch. During its hey day |
| design allowed it to be worn on the finger. It was used | | | | it was the bane of math teachers everywhere and |
| to hold a cigarette, allowing the smoker to smoke the | | | | the savior of every math deficient student. |
| cigarette to the filter, all while still being able to use both | | | | Considering the calculator watch was so much fun, |
| hands. In the impoverished Japan of the times, | | | | Casio continued to raise the bar. This company was |
| cigarettes were a hot commodity and the product | | | | also the first to design and produce a watch that could |
| was an overwhelming success. The yubiwa pipe is a | | | | provide its owner with some interesting details. One |
| far cry from the calculators and watches that were to | | | | such watch could display the time of many different |
| follow, but it did start the company down the road to | | | | time zones at the touch of a button. Others were |
| success. | | | | equipped to give weather details like the temperature |
| Since it is obvious that Mr. Kashio was an inventive | | | | and barometric pressure. Mountain climbers of ages |
| sort of man, it only took a little while for him to decide | | | | past particularly were fond of the version that came |
| to explore different products. At the business show in | | | | with a gauge to indicate the altitude. While other watch |
| Ginza, Japan in 1949, he discovered electronic | | | | makers were stuck on the same old, same old, Casio |
| calculators. With the proceeds from the sale of the | | | | consistently offered new and exciting variations on the |
| yubiwa pipes, Mr. Kashio and his brothers began to | | | | classic wristwatch. |
| experiment with making their own calculators. At the | | | | With the true gadget geeks of the world in mind, Casio |
| time, most calculators were run by the use of gears. | | | | came up with a watch just for them. It is the Wave |
| With diligence and hard work, the Casio Company | | | | Ceptors line of watches. They really outdid themselves |
| came out with the first calculator to use solenoids. The | | | | with this one. These watches are equipped to receive |
| new type of calculator went on sale in 1954. This | | | | radio signals that enable the watch to keep accurate |
| calculator also was the first to have the 10 digit | | | | time. They also are able to tell the time in different time |
| keypad and had only one display window as opposed | | | | zones, the user can set alarms and timers. This line of |
| to the competitors' that had three. | | | | watches also came with an incredibly extensive user |
| As you well know, calculators weren't the only product | | | | manual to provide all of the necessary instructions to |
| manufactured by Casio. After the release of the | | | | the owner. |
| Model 14-A calculator, many more products were | | | | From the yubiwa pipe to the finest calculators and |
| designed and released to the general public. The same | | | | watches in the world, the Casio has come a long way |
| year as the release of the 14-A, the company also | | | | from its humble beginnings. They continue to challenge |
| became the Casio Computer Co., Inc. This is about the | | | | themselves and their competitors to new higher peaks |
| time when watches from Casio first made their mark | | | | and offer the best products electronics can build. |