[Edifice Review] EFV-C100D-1B — Racing-style dial and Telememo

Ana-Digi format can already be considered a phenomenon for the Edifice line. Look at their lineup, almost all models are there, even flagships [I mean EQB]. Of course there are ERA series and some others, but they did not come close in popularity to the same EQBs either. The situation is very strange, but I see only one logical explanation – the Japanese deliberately limit the number of digital models in the car line. It is difficult to understand this logic, because the electronic display, whatever one may say, will be more functional and at least more convenient in terms of readability and information content. Want some cool digital functionality? Then buy G-Shock or ProTrek, there are plenty of such series there. But more recently, the Kasiites made a small exception, called the EFV-C100, and today’s review will be just about them.

Yes, friends, this is a real ana-Digi dial. Moreover, there are only two arrows, there is no second. Given the frequent problems with this arrow [it lags behind digital time, it stops altogether, and it does not depend on the model or even its cost], which I personally had to face, such a move is justified. I do not think that the manufacturer took the second away precisely because of its “problem” [after all, it is in many other series], but someone will not get too much cause for concern. Do you want to know the time by seconds – please, press the upper left button and seconds are displayed on the electronic scoreboard.

Even in the first article [EFV-C100 – ana-digi, a notebook and a 10-year battery] we noticed the complete similarity of the module to the series from the cheaper direction Standard – AEQ-110 [our review: AEQ-110W-1AVDF – inexpensive and almost like a g-shock]. And since the module is identical, then the functionality is the same as that of the AEQ-110. After analyzing the market for budget digital watches and sales of the 110s, the Kasiites decided simply to “dress up” a successful model in metal, and serve them under a new sauce [this is just my guess].

Why not? Even the name Edifice sounds much more attractive, because it is a separate flagship brand Casio. And that means a higher level. And the capabilities of AEQ deserve a more solid body.

A bit about design. I did not see anything fundamentally new – all the same all-metal case and a steel bracelet with a folding clasp. The clock itself is not very large [51.6 × 46.6 mm], but the thickness seemed huge to me – 14.2 mm [although these figures seem to be standard]. The reason is the large and massive bezel [by the way, it is aluminum], which takes on itself [visually] a third of the entire thickness. The hour markers are located directly under the glass [without large indentation], which means that the thickening of the bezel is a necessary measure, and not an unreasonable whim of designers. But if you compare with the same jishokami – EFV-C100 is still thinner.

The back cover is not screwed, but mounted on 4 bolts.

I liked the dial. The design is very similar to the steering wheel of a car – a symmetrical figure in the form of the letter “X” in the center and an arc from above clearly hint at a racing focus. Multilayer construction – this is evidenced by a different type of surface on different layers. Despite the presence of a digital time display, the dial did not seem overloaded to me, all the small details add up to a single and integral image.

Solid and distinct hands, large white hour markers – the readability of the analog zone is ideal. The marks of the upper half of the dial are signed with the corresponding numbers, not so much for convenience, but for beauty.

Questions arise only for digital windows – the main display is a little small for convenient display, which is not in favor of its inversion. This is especially felt when working with a notebook of watches, but more on that later.

I was pleased with the separate adjustment mode of the arrows H-S [in case they got lost]. Yes, such a function exists in almost all such watches, but rarely as a separate mode, but only as an additional option. Since there is no second hand, you can only move the minute [in increments of a third of a minute], and the hour will move automatically.

The current time mode is more or less informative. The display simultaneously shows either hours, minutes and seconds, or the day, month and day of the week.

Most of all I was interested in a notebook and how convenient it is in practice. Kasi people call the function very simply and concisely – Telememo. You can store up to 30 entries, each with a name and phone number. Well, I’ll try to score at least one record.

In the future I will use the symbolic names of the buttons, so I am attaching a screen from the official manual:

Go to Telememo mode using the C button – it follows immediately after the current time mode. Three horizontal risks were displayed on a digital board, so you can enter data. I press and hold button A – the first risk began to blink. This is where the charms of character entry without a qwerty keyboard begin. No matter how trite it may sound, the switching of characters occurs in two directions – forward and backward with buttons B and D. If you hold one of these buttons, switching will occur in high-speed mode. The alphabet consists of Latin letters, numbers and some special characters – this is quite enough. I entered one character, then with the button C I switched the position and switched to the second, and so on. So I entered my name, consisting of 7 characters [the maximum allowed length of the name is 8 characters].

One moment – if your name is less than 8 characters, then the remaining ones should still be skipped so as not to write part of the number in the name field.

To enter a number, smaller figures are provided than for a name. There is already a maximum of 16 characters, the input principle is the same. I finish my efforts with button A, and voila – the record is saved.

Honestly, I thought it would be more difficult and painful, but no, everything is quite simple and thought out by the Japanese to the smallest detail. You may ask – who needs such a notebook, if now all the information can be stored on the same smartphone or in the cloud? Imagine a situation – you are in a foreign country, your smartphone is exhausted, or, God forbid, ordered a long life, and there is no Internet access for obvious reasons. Not everyone can memorize mobile numbers of near and dear ones, and therefore your watch with a notebook will become a saving straw in this case, because once you did enter a couple of the necessary numbers there. And there are many such situations that can be modeled, so any seemingly primitive watch functions can become useful at the most unexpected moment.

Here I substantiate my claim to the size of the electronic window – at the same time only 3 characters are displayed. The name is still okay, but it’s not very convenient to look at the number. Yes, of course, there is a scrolling, but I would like a more thoughtful indication in this regard. Keep in mind, this is my personal IMHO, perhaps many will not bathe about this.

The rest of the functionality is typical of digital models – a capacious stopwatch for 24 hours, a timer [without auto-repeat], three separate alarms [one with the “snooze” function], world time, an automatic calendar and an hourly beep.

“Specifications of EFV-C100”]

• Case / bezel material: Stainless steel / Aluminum
• One-touch 3-fold Clasp
• Stainless Steel Band
• Mineral Glass
• 100-meter water resistance

• Telememo
  Memory capacity: Up to 30 sets of data, with 8-character name and 16-digit telephone number
  Others: Remaining memory screen, auto-sort
• World time
  Current time in 30 cities (29 time zones), daylight saving on/off
• 1/100-second stopwatch
  Measuring capacity: 23:59’59.99”
  Measuring modes: Elapsed time, split time, 1st-2nd place times
• Countdown timer
  Measuring unit: 1 second
  Countdown range: 24 hours
  Countdown start time setting range: 1 minute to 24 hours (1-minute increments and 1-hour increments)
• 3 daily alarms (with 1 snooze alarm)
• Hourly time signal
• Full auto-calendar (to year 2099)
• 12/24-hour format
• Regular timekeeping
  Analog: 2 hands (hour, minute (hands move every 20 seconds))
  Digital: Hour, minute, second, am/pm, month, date, day
• Accuracy: ±30 seconds per month
• Approx. battery life: 10 years on CR2025 Size of case : 51.6×46.6×14.2mm
• Total weight : 161g

The EFV-C100 has no backlight. But there is a luminescent coating on the arrows and marks. Lum is very bright, but not long, literally for 5-10 minutes.

But the Japanese did not save on the battery – 10 years is very cool. Moreover, in the absence of backlighting, other functions cannot be called resource-intensive, so an honest 10 year watch will work for sure. Unless of course you’ll be using the alarm clock for more than 10 days [more than 10 seconds of a beep per day].

Water resistance is 100 meters [it is possible to swim and dive shallow].

Conclusion

The EFV-C100D-1B is primarily interested in ana-Digi display format and automotive-style design. Notebook, although not intended for regular use, but can help out at the most crucial moment. In all other respects, these are ordinary steel edifice with their own distinctive features and unique appearance. It is a pity only, there is no backlight, after all, there is a lot of information on the dial, and even with a 10-year battery, one could afford such luxury.

Read Quick News on EFV-C100:

• [Edifice Review] EFV-C100D-1B — Racing-style dial and Telememo

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Firstly published, but we carefully translated into English.