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Casio

The Japanese company that gave the world the calculator watch, the G-Shock, and the keytar

Active — Still going: the calculator-and-watch maker survived by constant reinvention — from the G-Shock to the keytar.

Casio was founded in 1946 by Kashio Tadao in Tokyo, initially making a small gadget that fitted a pipe into a cigarette holder. The company found its calling in electronics — Casio became one of the first companies to build a compact, mass-market calculator, and by the 1970s it was a household name in Japan and beyond for calculators and digital watches.

The 1980s were Casio's golden age of invention. It produced the world's first digital camera (1981), the iconic, near-indestructible G-Shock watch (1983), and the CZ-series synthesizers — including the legendary Casio SK-1 sampler and the 'keytar,' a keyboard guitar that became a symbol of 80s pop. Its F-91W wristwatch, launched in 1989, went on to sell over 100 million units and became one of the most recognisable objects of the 20th century.

Casio never dominated a single market, but it never stopped making things either. Today it remains a profitable, diversified electronics maker — still selling calculators, G-Shock and Edifice watches, musical instruments and projectors. The name 'Casio' conjures the G-Shock and calculator watch more than any single product, and the company is still very much alive.

Timeline

  1. 1946 — A Tokyo start: Kashio Tadao founds a company that will grow into an electronics maker. (Tokyo)
  2. 1970s — Calculator + watch era: Casio becomes a household name in calculators and digital watches.
  3. 1981 — First digital camera: Casio builds an early digital still camera, decades ahead of the market.
  4. 1983 — G-Shock debuts: The shock-resistant 1983 G-Shock becomes Casio's defining product line.
  5. 1989 — The F-91W: The $20 F-91W watch launches; it will sell over 100 million units.
  6. Today — Diversified and alive: Casio still sells watches, calculators, instruments and projectors worldwide.

Quick facts

Founded
1946, by Kashio Tadao
Iconic watch
G-Shock (1983), F-91W (1989)
First digital camera
1981
Music icon
CZ synths, SK-1 sampler, keytar
Still active
Watches, calculators, instruments

Sources

  1. Casio - Wikipedia — Wikipedia (2026-02-14)
  2. The history of the G-Shock — Casio (2026-02-14)

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