In Review: The Casio Edifice EFB730D Panda Chronograph

Casio Panda EFB730D Chronograph – $111.26 ($165)

• model: EFB730D-7AV
• size: 40mm case diameter, 11mm thick, 47mm lug to lug, 20mm lug width
• movement: Japanese Quartz Chronograph
• water resistance: 100m
• crystal: Sapphire
• etc: Chrono seconds hand is NOT the “big” seconds hand. That acts as a standard seconds hand. Chrono/stopwatch seconds is kept at the 6 o’clock subdial. 3 o’clock sub dial is a 24 hour time indicator. 9 o’clock is a 60 min. chrono counter.
• pricing: $165 MSRP through Casio. Much less on Amazon.
• TL;DR Grade: B. Looks great, feels okay. Big seconds hand not acting like a chrono is a bit odd. Bracelet is fine. Would probably look better on a rally style leather strap.

Racing chronographs have been around for a while. One of the most famous watches ever made was one. The design is both complicated and intuitive. Pushers on either side of the crown act as a start/stop and reset for an internal stopwatch, with the elapsed time kept on smaller sub dials. Brands from Rolex to Omega to Zenith have all…

Hey wait a second…

Left: $120ish | Right: $10,000

Ah. Well. There it is.

Casio’s Edifice EFB730D series has high octane looks at a regular unleaded Mr. Fusion banana peels & empty beer cans price point. The “panda ” style (light dial, black subdials) is certainly gonna catch a lot of ogles, but they’ve also got more colors if you want something else:

The watch is made in China and it’s powered by a Japanese quartz chronograph movement. You should get ~3 years before it needs a new battery. No surprises there. The oddest thing about the watch is how elapsed seconds are counted when the chrono is in use. Traditionally, chronographs use the big seconds hand for tracking elapsed time. Because if your watch is also a stopwatch, chances are you don’t want to be squinting at the results of something you’re timing down to the very last second. But that’s not the case with the Casio.

“Can’t stop won’t stop.” So said the big seconds hand,
which isn’t the chronograph seconds hand on this watch.

That big seconds hand acts like a regular seconds hand would. It’s married to the big minute/hour hands, and goes round and round as long as the crown is pushed in and the watch is running. The chronograph seconds tracker (activated and reset by the pushers) is the sub-dial at 6 o’clock. That probably won’t matter to most, but if you’ve had a sports chronograph in the past, it’s kinda weird.

40mm case diameter on a 7.25″ wrist

The recessed sub dials, applied indices, and sunburst silver gray face truly makes it appear more expensive than it is. As does the positively perfect 40mm case diameter. It’s not some oversized galoot posturing and puffing out its chest. The Zenith (which one can assume the Casio pulls inspiration from) is only 37mm. People just weren’t as big back when they used to drive the hell out of cars for fun. Plus, have you ever seen a car built for racing? Or a driver who is paid to race them? They’re smaller than you think. Size doesn’t win there. F=MA and all that.

Cased in China. Japanese movement.

The bracelet is a mainly brushed with polished inset bits and sides. It wears comfortably, and the double push button clasp’s action is clean and snappy despite how inexpensive the watch is. There’s no quick release spring bars or on-the fly micro adjust, but that’s unheard of at this price point. The fact that it has a sapphire crystal is something of a profit margin miracle. That should help it resist scratches, and keep that oddly great looking dial with all its layers and pieces/parts easy to view.

Flat sapphire crystal keeps things slim and scratch resistant.

It’s no secret that watch prices have been on the rise over the last few years. Casio’s Edifice EFB730D line of motorsport inspired chronographs are somehow still cheap, feel decent, and look terrific. All for less than the current price of a couple of fill ups.