Be geeky without looking the part

I was in search for a watch with some geeky features, but suitable enough that I can wear it while dressing up without looking like a pocket-protector wearing nerd. I knew Casio had a wide variety of watches with atomic timekeeping features, but the last time I wore a Casio I was in grade school and they looked something like these:

Don't get me wrong, the G-shock watches are nice, but most are suited for sports or the perils of the modern urban environment. I wanted something that is geeky without looking geeky. This being a watch, the most important thing is date and time -- unless you're the type of person that buys a cellphone for it's 2-megapixel camera.

The last watch I had that had automatic timekeeping was the Timex Internet Messenger. While not exactly classy, it wasn't hideous, and it kept accurate time to the second. It did this because the pager function was hooked up to Skytel's pager network, so it always had correct time. Also, when you traveled to a
different timezone, the watch would automatically change to that timezone after getting a signal from Skytel's network. Timex called this feature "FLEXtime" and I think this was the only watch to feature it. It is unfortunate that this isn't available anymore because it is a great feature and the only other easy way to do timezone calculation is via GPS and those watches can be HUGE. The Suunto X9i GPS watch is almost 19mm thick, recharges with a cradle, and is $500. The Timex Internet Messanger was better at 12mm thick, but its battery averaged a mere 3 months on the zinc-air batteries.

So I hoped to find a non-hideous Casio Waveceptor watch to satisfy my need. Searching online only got me so far. I want to see these things close up and try them on. The best selection of Casio's I found were at retailers that my parents would probably be more apt to go to than me: Sears & JCPenny. The JCPenny near me (Boulevard Mall in Las Vegas) had quite a selection of Casios, and I opted for the WVQ120 and was out the door for $80:

I think this is an older model Casio, but there are other new analog Waveceptor models like it. This one is extra-stealthy -- no digital display whatsoever. But don't be fooled, there is plenty of high-tech hiding behind the analog face.The time sync happens at night because the signal can travel much further from Fort Collins, Colorado as the signal bounces off of the ionosphere. The signal can reach up to a 2000 mile radius. The timezone doesn't change automatically but I can set the GMT offset (currently -08:00 for Pacific Time) and when I travel I just need to change the setting to the correct offset. In addition it's solar powered so no more batteries -- I just have to remember to go outside once in a while.