Casio’s flagship calculator incorporates traditional Japanese lacquer work

Craft elevates an object. It’s no longer uncommon to find extreme examples of marquetry, embroidery, or lacquer work embedded within a high-end car interior (with prices to match for the additional legwork), and the audio world is also in on the act, via tailored programmes like Bang & Olufsen’s Atelier series and unique editions such as the marquetry-topped R810 MiE Radiogram from Ruark Audio.

This is the Casio S100X-JC1-U, the ‘Japanese Lacquer Edition’ that elevates what the Japanese electronics giant already calls its ‘Premium Luxury calculator’, the standard S100X. But while a standard example of this hefty desktop tabulator will set you back $350, this is one level above.

Casio has sold over a billion calculators since the 1950s, when they were objects the size of desks. The first desktop device didn’t come until 1965 with the 001 and LCD displays were introduced a decade later in the Casio Pocket-LC. The calculator you see here is a form factor that’s been essentially unchanged since the JS-20 model was introduced in 1983.

What sets the S100X Japanese Lacquer Edition apart is the use of traditional Japanese craft. Casio has enlisted master artisans from Yamakyu Japanware in Sabae, Fukui Prefecture, to create new cases for the calculators using layers lacquer.

The process involves tapping and filtering sap from Toxicodendron vernicifluum, the lacquer tree, which is then built up into solid form through the application of layer upon layer of the urishiol-rich sap, which hardens (polymerises) as it dries. Yamakyu has more than 95 years of working with the material, but this was the first time it’s been applied to an industrial product, with black lacquer finished off with red edging.

These high levels of precision pair with Casio’s attention to detail, from the machined aluminium fascia to the mix of subtly convex and concave-faced buttons depending on their function. The hardware itself is made at Yamagata Casio, the facility dedicated to Casio’s most premium products. Other details include laser-engraved serial numbers and a premium foil-stamped presentation box.

Craft is a way of transforming the expected into something fantastic, whether it’s a Smythson Laptop sleeve or an Hermès strap for your Apple Watch Series 11. With the Casio S100X-JC1-U, an executive staple just became a new status symbol.

S100X-JC1-U Japanese Lacquer Edition, Casio.com. The limited edition is sold out and, no surprise, already surfacing on Ebay.