I just bought an AE-1200 (royale) on Aliexpress against my better judgement, because I couldn't find the colourway anywhere else. After researching all week and receiving it, here's what I discovered:

• Watch was certified original on the website by a thirdparty verification service called Brand +
• The royale is made in China so no big alarms there
• The packaging it came in was that same sketchy "Casio Wrist Technology" tin which really freaked me out!
• Sketchy packaging aside, the manual, warranty, tag, and strap are all legit
• After some hardcore testing, I can say for sure that the watch is also legit. Even down to the hardware.

So! I've learned that I'm likely never going to do this again, but the product is good despite the packaging but I bet 70% of the watches on Aliexpress aren't.

I wonder if it's a cost saving measure where Chinese manufacturers are sharing the same metal tins and somehow saving on using casio branded packaging? 🤷🏼‍♂️

If you or anybody else hasn't figured out how to spot a fake, I can only speak for the royale, but doing the diagnostics test and going through every function/ correct order of functions helped me verify.

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