Dantes wears a 50-euro watch with an '80s-style design
Ukrainian singer Volodymyr Dantes wears a Casio watch that costs about 50 euros, or roughly 2,500 hryvnias. It is the AQ-230A-1DMQ model, whose design resembles Casio watches from the early 1980s. Despite its low price, the model has several useful features.
Vladimir Dantes was spotted wearing a Casio watch that looks quite simple. The model was identified by its appearance—it is the Casio AQ-230A-1DMQ. This model costs about 50 euros. Converted to Ukrainian currency, that’s about 2,500 hryvnias. In other words, the accessory the singer is wearing is by no means an expensive watch.
At first glance, the Casio AQ-230A-1DMQ looks quite understated. It combines classic hands with a small digital display. It is this combination that makes the model resemble Casio watches from the 1980s. But its simple appearance doesn’t mean the watch lacks features. “In addition to displaying the time in multiple time zones, it has a stopwatch, an alarm, and a calendar, and it can also be set to chime every hour,” the author of the post noted.
The watch has a small case. It measures 38.8 by 29.8 mm and weighs just 47 grams. Therefore, it shouldn’t feel heavy or bulky on the wrist. This model does have one drawback, however. Its case is not made of steel. It is made of resin with a chrome-plated finish. Over time, the plating can wear off, causing the watch to lose its original appearance. “The case is not made of steel, but of resin coated with chrome, which wears off over time. Although you can always buy a new one for 50 euros,” the model description states.
A Design from the 1980s
Interestingly, the appearance of the modern Casio AQ-230A is linked to a much older model. Its design pays homage to the 1982 Casio Janus. It was in the early 1980s that the company introduced a watch that combined a traditional analog dial with a digital LCD display.
For that time, this was quite an unusual approach. The watch offered users both classic hands and a digital display. The modern AQ-230A essentially carries on this concept more than 40 years later. It retains the key features of that design—hands, a small digital screen, and a compact case.
So Dantes’s watch attracts attention not because of its price, but precisely because of its combination of a simple look, practical functions, and retro design. Volodymyr Dantes, whose real name is Volodymyr Gudkov, has also been in the news recently due to a car accident. After the accident, the singer reached out and spoke about his condition. This was reported by the author of the cats_and_watches account on Threads, who specializes in watches.
