The Casio AE1200WH, widely nicknamed the “Casio Royale” for its retro-futuristic design and distinctive world-map display, is increasingly appearing on the wrists of cabinet ministers, senior bureaucrats and political allies. Recipients of the engraved watches have earned the informal moniker “Casio Connection”, reflecting the personal relationships surrounding Anutin’s political network.
The watches offer a glimpse into the relationships that have helped Anutin build one of Thailand’s most stable governments in decades. A seasoned political dealmaker, he has forged alliances across the country’s fragmented political landscape, ranging from influential provincial families within his ruling Bhumjaithai Party to senior officials in the powerful Interior Ministry.
“The value of what we wear isn't just in its price. For me, it's in the person who gives it,” Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat, one of the recipients, said in an interview.
Siripong received his watch from Anutin after a recent cabinet meeting and has worn it almost every day since. He joked that he had virtually stopped wearing luxury watches worth tens of thousands of dollars.
According to Siripong, Anutin purchases the Casio watches from small shops and markets during his travels and site visits around Bangkok. He then has his name engraved on them before distributing them as gifts. Siripong said he had to wait for some time to receive his watch. Recipients have even started comparing details of their gifts, including whether they came with metal or resin bands.
The understated Casios reflect a broader global trend in how status and social access are displayed. In some circles, inexpensive or discreet items can communicate wealth, taste or privileged connections to those who recognise their significance. From quiet-luxury accessories to ordinary tote bags bearing the names of elite modelling agencies, such insider markers can signal membership of a select group.
Government spokesman Ekkapob Pianpises rejected suggestions that the watches identify an exclusive political inner circle. He said Anutin simply appreciates the watch for its practicality and wants to share it with others.
“It's not a signal of anything political,” Ekkapob said.
The gifts have nevertheless attracted attention against the backdrop of Thailand’s long history of politicians displaying expensive timepieces.
One of the most prominent controversies emerged in 2017, when then-Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan faced an anti-graft investigation after photographs showed him wearing a succession of expensive watches. Investigators examined 22 watches valued at more than $1 million. Prawit said he had borrowed the timepieces from a wealthy friend who later died, and investigators cleared him of wrongdoing the following year.
Anutin has himself declared 22 luxury watches worth more than 60 million baht ($1.8 million). More recently, he was photographed wearing a Rolex Day-Date 40 at a birthday celebration for Newin Chidchob, Bhumjaithai’s influential patriarch, who wore a Richard Mille RM 30-01.
Compared with those luxury timepieces, Anutin’s Casios cost only a fraction of the price. However, their significance may extend beyond their monetary value because they are personal gifts from the prime minister.
Napon Jatusripitak, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said the watches could carry political implications by encouraging recipients to reciprocate the gesture.
“They potentially create an obligation to return the favour and may cultivate a sense of loyalty in the recipient to follow, to abide and to obey,” Napon said.
Among the politically significant recipients is Thamanat Prompow, an influential power broker whose Kla Tham Party has been positioning itself for a possible entry into Anutin’s ruling coalition. Thamanat’s appearance wearing an engraved Casio fuelled speculation about a developing political alliance, particularly after his party’s secretary-general suggested that the watch had come directly off Anutin’s wrist.
The episode has drawn attention to how a modest personal gift can become a subject of political interpretation in a country where luxury watches have previously sparked controversy over public officials’ wealth and personal connections.
“With those watches,” Napon said, “Anutin is definitely building friends, followers and factions.”
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