Thai PM's $57 Casio watches are the new status symbol

A 1,900 baht (US$57) Casio engraved with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's name has become a badge of closeness to power among his ministers, senior officials and political allies.

The model, the Casio AE1200WH, is a retro digital watch with a world-map display that collectors nickname the "Casio Royale." Those wearing the prime minister's gift have been dubbed the "Casio Connection."

Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat told Bloomberg he received his after a recent cabinet meeting and has worn it almost every day since. "The value of what we wear isn't just in its price. For me, it's in the person who gives it," he said.

Siripong said Anutin buys the watches at small shops and markets during his travels and site visits around Bangkok, then has his name engraved on them before giving them away. He joked that he has all but stopped wearing his luxury watches worth tens of thousands of dollars. Recipients have even begun comparing whether they got a metal or a resin band.

Government spokesman Ekkapob Pianpises played down suggestions that the gifts mark out an exclusive inner circle, saying Anutin simply likes the watch for its practicality and wants to share it with others. "It's not a signal of anything political," he said.

Each watch carries Anutin's name and title in Thai and his name in English on the back, Thai PBS reported. The public broadcaster listed three deputy interior ministers and the Interior Ministry's permanent secretary, its top civil servant, among the recipients.

Thai politicians have a long history with statement watches. In 2017, then-Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan faced an anti-graft investigation after photographs showed him wearing a string of expensive timepieces.

Investigators examined 22 watches worth more than $1 million, which Prawit said he had borrowed from a wealthy friend since deceased, and cleared him of wrongdoing the following year.

A Casio AE1200 watch, the model Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has engraved with his name and given to ministers and allies. Illustration photo by Unsplash/Aditya Sethia

Anutin himself declared 22 luxury watches worth 60.5 million baht ($1.8 million) in an asset filing the National Anti-Corruption Commission published in February. He was photographed earlier this month wearing a Rolex Day-Date 40 at a birthday celebration for Newin Chidchob, the influential patriarch of Bhumjaithai, Anutin's ruling party, Bloomberg reported. Newin wore a Richard Mille RM 30-01.

As personal gifts from the prime minister, the Casios can carry their own political weight, said Napon Jatusripitak, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. "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," he told Bloomberg.

The most politically significant recipient is Thamanat Prompow, an influential power broker whose Kla Tham Party has been positioning itself to join Anutin's ruling coalition. His appearance with an engraved Casio fueled speculation about a budding alliance, particularly after his party's secretary-general suggested the watch had come directly off Anutin's wrist.

Thamanat received the watch on Aug. 13 and was first photographed wearing it on Aug. 24 during a flood relief visit to Nan province, Thai PBS reported.

Kla Tham, which holds 58 House seats, sits outside the coalition, but its MPs broke ranks with the opposition in September to vote for the government's budget bill. Anutin told Thai PBS on Sept. 30 that his government was "stable as ever" and hinted at a possible Cabinet reshuffle that could bring Kla Tham in, saying any posts for the party would come from Bhumjaithai's quota.

Kla Tham had already left the opposition's whip group and stayed out of the no-confidence motion the opposition brought this month against Anutin and 17 other Bhumjaithai ministers, The Nation reported.

"With those watches," Napon said, "Anutin is definitely building friends, followers and factions."