Forget Rolex, Thailand's power players want a $60 Casio watch from their PM

In Thailand, where expensive watches have long been linked with wealth and influence, an unlikely accessory is gaining attention among the country's power brokers. It costs less than USD 60, displays a map of the world and carries the name of the country's prime minister on its back.

According to Bloomberg, a Casio AE1200WH watch has been gifted by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to cabinet ministers, senior bureaucrats and allies. The inexpensive digital timepiece has become an informal marker of closeness to the prime minister, with its wearers acquiring the nickname "Casio Connection".

Popularly known among watch enthusiasts as the "Casio Royale", the model features a retro design and a distinctive world-map display. But in Thailand's political circles, its significance is well beyond its functions or price tag.

The engraved watches offer a glimpse into how Anutin maintains relationships across the country's often-fractious political landscape, from influential provincial families within his ruling Bhumjaithai Party to senior officials in the powerful Interior Ministry.

A WATCH THAT MONEY ALONE CANNOT BUY

For those receiving one of Anutin's watches, the appeal lies less in its price than in the identity of the person giving it.

Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat, one of the recipients, said he received his watch from Anutin after a recent cabinet meeting. He has worn it almost every day since, joking that he has largely stopped wearing luxury watches worth tens of thousands of dollars.

"The value of what we wear isn't just in its price. For me, it's in the person who gives it," Siripong said in an interview. According to Siripong, Anutin buys the watches from small shops and markets during his travels and site visits around Bangkok. He then has his name engraved on them before handing them out to people around him.

The gifts have become sufficiently recognisable that recipients have begun comparing details, including whether their watches came with metal or resin straps. Siripong said he also had to wait some time before receiving his own.

Government spokesman Ekkapob Pianpises, however, rejected suggestions that the watches were intended to identify an exclusive political circle. He said Anutin liked the watch because it was practical and wanted to share it with others. "It's not a signal of anything political," Ekkapob said.

CAN A $60 WATCH HELP BUILD POLITICAL LOYALTY?

The watches have drawn attention not because they are expensive, but because they come directly from the head of government. Napon Jatusripitak, a visiting fellow at Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said personal gifts from a powerful political figure could create expectations of loyalty or reciprocity.

"They potentially create an obligation to return the favor and may cultivate a sense of loyalty in the recipient to follow, to abide and to obey," Napon said, as per Bloomberg.

Anutin has built his political position by cultivating relationships across Thailand's divided political landscape. His network includes provincial power brokers, party figures and senior officials whose support can matter when the government seeks to maintain its parliamentary backing.

In that context, a watch engraved with the prime minister's name can serve as a personal reminder of the close relationship between its giver and recipient. Napon summed up the political significance of the gifts by saying: "With those watches, Anutin is definitely building friends, followers and factions."

THAILAND'S HISTORY OF WATCH CONTROVERSIES

Watches have previously become a source of controversy in Thailand, where luxury timepieces can attract scrutiny over the wealth and connections of public officials. One of the most prominent cases involved Prawit Wongsuwan, who was deputy prime minister in 2017. Photographs of Prawit wearing a succession of expensive watches triggered an anti-corruption investigation.

Investigators examined 22 watches valued at more than USD 1 million in total. Prawit said he had borrowed the timepieces from a wealthy friend who later died. He was cleared of wrongdoing the following year.

Anutin himself has declared owning 22 luxury watches worth more than 60 million baht, or about USD 1.8 million. He was also recently photographed wearing a Rolex Day-Date 40 at a birthday celebration for Newin Chidchob, the influential figure regarded as Bhumjaithai's patriarch. Newin wore a Richard Mille RM 30-01 at the event.

Against that backdrop, Anutin's inexpensive Casio gifts stand out. They cost a fraction of the luxury watches associated with Thailand's political elite, yet their personal connection to the prime minister gives them a significance that their retail price cannot explain.

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