When the Casio G-Shock GA2100 series was first launched, watch fans immediately recognised the similarities of its octagonal bezel to that of the iconic Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, a feature that quickly earned it the nickname “CasiOak.” As one of the most popular watches of the last couple of years, it only makes sense for the Timex to release its own version called the Command Encounter, however, while the CasiOak shared a bezel shape with the Royal Oak, the new Command Encounter arrives with an almost identical look to the G-Shock and a higher price.
The Command Encounter features a three-piece resin composite case that measures 45mm across and 14.5mm thick (the CasiOak is a more wearable 42.9mm wide and 11.2 mm thick), a quartz-powered analogue/digital time display and a water resistance of 100m. As you can clearly see the similarities are almost endless, from the nearly identical parallelogram-shaped digital read-out and the location of the date indicator at 9 o’clock, to the quartet of buttons and the corners of the case and even the word “SHOCK” on the bezel in a font that bears more than a passing resemblance to that of the G-Shock.
Perhaps the single improvement that Timex has made is the size of the four buttons, which are much larger and look significantly easier to use (the CasiOak buttons are very difficult to press without a fingernail), however, the rest of the design is very, very similar. What’s more, it’s got half the water resistance of the CasiOak and somehow manages to cost more, with an RRP of $294 (a full-price CasiOak comes in at $269). Unless you’ve got an ideological issue with Casio or a burning passion for American-founded watchmakers, the choice between the two is an incredibly easy one.
Image credit: Timex Command Encounter Digital Chronograph, Uncrate
