
For the last decade, minimalism has set the tone for many industries like fashion, design, furniture and technology. Relieving yourself of the excesses and the burden of non-functional components of a design while still maintaining an aesthetic approach has been the theme of these industries. Minimalism has become a major factor in the thought process of developing new products and projects. Apple has been following the principle of Minimalism ever since the first iPod was released. Steve Jobs once threw a prototype iPod in an aquarium to show that there was still space in the body which needs to be removed which was proven by air bubbles streaming up from the iPod body This was the determination of Jobs towards reducing excesses and sculpting the body to its most compact form.

Casio announced their most popular watch ever in 1989 named the F-91W and designed by Ryusuke Moriai. It was the first design for the calculator manufacturer by Moriai and became an instant hit across the world when it reached the markets in 1991. It was worn by Ripley in the classic Alien and even sported by Barack Obama. The simplistic design of this watch has helped it endure the sands of time while Casio has maintained a production of 3 million units every year. So it has not really experienced much of a drop in popularity in the 30 years since its release.
The F-91W has recently become popular due to the revival of minimalism and the acceptance of simple designs. The watch in itself is quite sturdy and the straps are flexible and tough. Reading time is quite easy and practical due to its wide face and use of larger fonts for the time. I have found it to have a much more practical user experience than other Casio watch series like G-Shock and Edifice. It's dark profile helps it blend in with most formal and semi-formal clothing for most occasions as it can achieve the rare task of being professional and casual at the same time while offending neither type of party. There is also a blue outline on the watch face which accents the seriousness of the watch giving it a smooth, aesthetic look.
The watch feels durable, flexible and worth its price. It has three buttons in concurrence with its minimalistic philosophy which is all you need to function as a watch, alarm and stopwatch. Its popularity has endured a large shift in the trends and ideas being applied in designing all the way from the 90s to present day. This watch is also a symbol of the way inspiration in fashion is being drawn from the 90s era to create modern designs. The current trends have come full cycle and the cult following of this watch is quite strong. Now more than ever as the F-91W seems like an amazing purchase due to its low cost of around Rs. 900 in India and $18.95 in USA. It does not present any drawbacks in its purpose with the exception of not calculating the year and hence requiring to adjust the date in a leap year. It has given me the only thing I personally require in a watch which is to tell me time in a concise and tidy manner without requiring much of my time and effort spent on adjusting the watch itself after the first time it is changed to match the current date and time. This does not obviously dilute the great charm of expensive watches, with their use of extravagant materials, ornate complications and beautiful finish. Most of those timepieces are masterpieces and have a place in horological history, but at the same time so does the F-91W.
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