Actor Gaten Matarazzo spotted wearing a Casio

On the set of Stranger Things, Gaten Matarazzo's character Dustin Henderson can be spotted wearing a Casio F-91W — a casting choice that is either delightfully accidental or a sharp piece of period costuming. Either way, it puts one of the world's most recognizable watches back in the cultural spotlight.

The Casio F-91W launched in 1989 and has remained in near-continuous production ever since. It runs on a Casio Module 593 quartz movement, accurate to plus or minus 30 seconds per month — modest by fine watchmaking standards but entirely adequate for daily life. The watch weighs just 21 grams, measures 38.2mm wide by 33.2mm lug-to-lug, and achieves 30-meter water resistance. A single CR2016 lithium battery powers it for approximately seven years. The backlight, stop-watch, and daily alarm round out its capabilities. It is, by any functional measure, a complete watch.

The F-91W occupies an almost paradoxical position in watch culture. It has been cited by Wikileaks documents as a component in improvised explosive devices — earning it a strange notoriety — yet it has simultaneously become a symbol of democratic, no-nonsense timekeeping embraced by tech communities, minimalists, and serious collectors who wear it precisely because it signals indifference to status. Barack Obama was photographed wearing one. It costs less than a cup of airport coffee.

For a show set in Hawkins, Indiana in the mid-to-late 1980s, the F-91W is a credible prop. The model launched in 1989, making it accurate for the show's later seasons. Matarazzo, who rose to prominence playing the endearing, inventive Dustin, wears the watch in character — and its unpretentious utility suits Henderson perfectly.

On the secondary market, the F-91W barely registers a premium. New old stock examples and limited colorways occasionally attract modest collector interest, but the standard black reference remains available at retail for roughly $13 to $18 USD worldwide. Its value is cultural, not financial — which may be exactly why it endures.