Featured image: VSchagow, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marty McFly wears a black resin Casio calculator watch in Back to the Future, and according to the most detailed accounts it is a Casio CA-50 in the 1985 original and a Casio CA-53W in Parts II and III. If you want the Marty McFly watch today, the CA-53W is the model Casio still sells for about $25 to $30.
Quick answer Marty’s watch is a Casio calculator watch, with the CA-50 usually named for the first film and the CA-53W for the sequels. Casio’s own anniversary marketing simply calls it the CA-53, so the film-by-film split rests on collector and reference accounts and not on a Casio statement. Doc Brown wears a Seiko A826 Training Timer and a second, unidentified silver calculator watch in the first film.
Marty McFly’s watch: Casio CA-50 and CA-53W
The CA-53W is an 8-digit calculator watch that Casio introduced in 1988 as the successor to the CA-50. Both are black resin watches with a calculator keypad on the dial, which is why they look so alike. The two look very similar on screen, so they are easy to confuse.
| Spec | Casio CA-53W (current model) |
|---|---|
| Case size | 34mm |
| Case material | Black resin |
| Movement | Digital quartz, CR2016 battery |
| Functions | 8-digit calculator, 1/100-second stopwatch, daily alarm, hourly signal, dual time, calendar to 2099 |
| Water resistance | Water resistant (spec sheets cited at about 30 m; not for swimming) |
| Approx. price | About $25 to $30 new |
Where to buy
Compare the same watch on both sites: eBay for pre-owned and vintage pieces, Amazon for new stock.
Casio CA-53W-1
Casio CA-500WEBF-1A Back to the Future
Casio Vintage A168WA-1 Alternative
Prices and availability change; check the listing before you buy.
We have a full explainer on the same model in our Casio calculator watch (CA-53W) guide, which looks at it through Walter White’s use of it in Breaking Bad. This article covers the films.
Back to the Future (1985): the Casio CA-50
In the first film, Marty is a teenager in 1985 Hill Valley, and his watch is a Casio calculator watch. The Pocket Calculator Show, a collector site, identified it as the CA-50 with high confidence after checking the film and period catalogs. Wikipedia’s CA-53W entry and The Gadgeteer’s vintage Casio guide both say the same thing, that the CA-53W is commonly misidentified as the watch in the original film.
The detail matters because the CA-53W did not exist yet when the first film was shot. Casio introduced it in 1988, three years after the film’s release, and the sequels were made after that.
Why the model is disputed
Some sources treat the whole trilogy as one watch. Casio’s own page for its Back to the Future anniversary watch calls Marty’s original the CA-53, and Time and Tide says Marty wore the CA-50 and CA-53 across the trilogy without saying which film is which. A photo description on Wikimedia Commons states that the CA-53W was worn in all three films. WKOW follows the sources that separate the two models, but we could not find a Casio or studio statement that confirms the split film by film.
Parts II and III: the Casio CA-53W
For Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Part III (1990), the accounts we found say Marty switched to the newer CA-53W. That fits the timeline, since the CA-53W arrived in 1988 and replaced the CA-50 in Casio’s range, so the production would have been buying the current model.
On screen, the change is almost invisible. If you want a screen-accurate Marty watch for the sequels, the CA-53W is the one to buy, and it is the only version that is still in production.
Doc Brown’s watches
Doc Brown, played by Christopher Lloyd, is the other watch story in the first film. The sources we checked describe three timepieces: a Seiko A826 “Training Timer” on his right wrist, a silver calculator watch on his left, and a Seiko stopwatch worn around his neck. The Seiko A826 is a 1980s digital timer with split timing, and it suits a character who is always timing an experiment.
The silver calculator watch has never been identified. The Pocket Calculator Show suggests it could be an Armitron, a Nelsonic or an Advance but does not confirm any of them, and a reader comment naming an Armitron model is unverified, so we do not give a model. We also found no reliable identification of Doc’s watches in Part II or Part III, so we leave them out.
Why a Casio calculator watch suits Marty
Calculator watches were a familiar 1980s gadget, and on Marty it reads as an ordinary teenager’s cheap, practical digital watch. That sits in contrast to Doc’s custom-built experiments, though the filmmakers have not, to our knowledge, explained the choice.
That everyday quality is part of why the watch endures. It cost very little then and costs very little now, which makes it one of the most accessible film watches you can own. The same watch later reached a new audience through Walter White, and our Breaking Bad watch guide covers that side.
How to get Marty McFly’s watch today
The simplest option is the Casio CA-53W-1 at about $25 to $30, which is the watch Marty wears in the sequels. For something closer to a collector’s piece, Casio released the CA-500WEBF-1A in October 2025 for the film’s 40th anniversary. It is a limited edition in a chrome-plated resin case of about 34.4mm with a stainless steel bracelet, 50 meters of water resistance, a flux capacitor engraved on the caseback and the words “OUTATIME since 1985” on the shroud. It went on sale in Australia at A$299, and availability varies by market, so check Casio’s site.
CA-53W or the anniversary edition?
| Spec | Casio CA-53W-1 | Casio CA-500WEBF-1A (40th anniversary) |
|---|---|---|
| Case | Black resin, about 34mm | Chrome-plated resin, 34.4mm, steel caseback |
| Strap | Black resin strap | Stainless steel bracelet |
| Water resistance | Water resistant (about 30 m per spec sheets) | 50 m |
| Extras | None beyond the standard calculator functions | DeLorean-themed display, flux capacitor caseback, Back to the Future clasp logo |
| Approx. price | About $25 to $30 | A$299 in Australia; limited run |
For a screen-accurate Marty watch, the black resin CA-53W is the one that looks like the film. The anniversary edition is a tribute piece, with a polished silver case and bracelet that Marty never wore, so it suits fans who want a keepsake more than a replica of the prop.
If you only want a cheap retro digital, the Casio A168 is the more wearable everyday option, with the same plastic-and-LCD attitude. You can also browse our Casio hub for other models, or read what a different sci-fi hero wears in our Interstellar watch guide.
FAQ
What watch does Marty McFly wear in Back to the Future?
He wears a black resin Casio calculator watch, identified as a CA-50 in the 1985 film and as a CA-53W in Parts II and III by the most detailed accounts.
Is Marty McFly’s watch a Casio CA-53W?
In the sequels, yes according to the sources we found. In the first film it is usually identified as the older CA-50, and the CA-53W is commonly mistaken for it.
What watch does Doc Brown wear in Back to the Future?
Sources describe a Seiko A826 Training Timer on his right wrist, an unidentified silver calculator watch on his left wrist and a Seiko stopwatch around his neck.
How much is the Marty McFly Casio watch?
The CA-53W costs about $25 to $30 new. The limited-edition CA-500WEBF-1A Back to the Future model was A$299 in Australia and costs more than the standard watch.
Is there an official Back to the Future Casio watch?
Yes. Casio released the CA-500WEBF-1A in October 2025 for the trilogy’s 40th anniversary, as a limited edition with a DeLorean-themed design.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Casio CA-53W
- Pocket Calculator Show: Nerd Watch Fun, Part Two
- Oracle of Time: Movie Watch, Back to the Future
- The Gadgeteer: 8 Vintage Casio Watches Still Worth Buying in 2026
- Time+Tide: Casio x Back to the Future CA-500WEBF-1A
- Casio: CA-500WEBF Back to the Future limited edition