Casio S100X Urushi Edition Calculator - Otherwise known as the Special One

It's difficult to imagine spending £500.00 on a calculator, considering it's been a feature of every mobile phone for over 20 years.  However, Casio have produced a special edition of their flagship S100X model.  Do you doubt it's a special edition?  They even call it the "special one".

The features are pretty irrelevant, because it's a calculator.  If you need a feature list for a calculator then you are a very particular type of audience.  Probably you're an accountant.  What's more interesting to the man on the Clapham Omnibus is that while the standard line on this is how stratospherically expensive it is, it actually isn't.  For the price to be properly estimated, the non special-edition model needs consideration.  Its price is £350.00 to £400.00.

So what does the additional £100.00 to £150.00 get you?  A calculator cast with a Japanese Urushi lacquer technique by a master craftsman, Ryuji Umeda.  This utilises layering lacquer tree's filtered sap on the calculators miles aluminium housing, and achieving a sense of depth with repeated applications.  This process takes around a month for each model, and a good example of how much an average Urushi lacquer item costs can be found by a quick google search.  This shows average models, such as a small box from less skilled craftsmen, cost £50.00 to £100.00.

So then what we have is, contrary to the popular view, not an extortionately expensive calculator. But rather an already expensive calculator in a handcrafted housing, which all signs point to consumers being charged cost price for.

The re-sale market however is another thing altogether.  These are listed on eBay and other resale sites for £1,500.00 - £2,000.00.