"Limited to 650 units. Sold Out"
https://www.casio.com/jp/basic-calculators/product.S100X-JC1...
I would buy it instantly, if it would be a scientific calculator, ideally with RPN.
Oh and i would have used a LCD with amber on black.
Urushi is transformed by curing in a warm and humid environment to something that is food safe and not toxic - for example Japanese rice bowls. Then there are they myriad decorative techniques such as Rankaku - using quail egg shells for decoration.
I've recently seen the word "entanglement" in a completely different context. But Urushi entangles you in nature and your environment in way that is utterly breath taking. For example: https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2019/modern-masters-...
[edit for grammar and clarity]
Utility-wise for the cost, it's not outstanding compared to regular calculators. If you spend enough time with S100X for the cost to be justified, then you are wealthy or you are spending way too much time at the calculator and should reconsider your workflow, e.g. using a spreadsheet or Python script instead, and those things are cheaper than this calculator.
Nothing wrong if anyone wants to buy it. But technically there is nothing special here, just the physical appearance/build.
A Grand Seiko could be an apt comparison, this is hand finished rather than mass produced on a production line. Also, by a Japanese craftsperson using a prized skill (lacquer vs zaratsu).
>> vanity item
Who covets a calculator? The attraction here is surely celebrating the craftsmanship and the story / history behind the product and firm that produced it.
I have this for wine. I can tell an objectively disgusting wine but other than that I find most wines (I’m in Europe so it’s different) pretty decent. I’m working hard to keep it that way. I have friends who are almost always disappointed in their wine and have to pay a fortune for a bottle they’ll find decent. No thanks.
I was never more unpopular at school than the day we had an exam and I was learning RPN on a calculator that beeped every time you hit the wrong key.
Some people here will be rushing to buy the latter because the former is no longer available, even though they don't need a very average calculator in a premium case. (And if they did need a useful premium calculator, they'd buy an HP.)
I grew up playing in woods thick with the stuff and never had a problem. Then I had a hell of a reaction to it in high school, and it’s been cruel to me since then.
Revealing. I'll bet plenty still can't tell the difference (or don't care). I'm one. I've always used low-end laptops, mobiles, clothes, vehicles, anything else you can think of. I care that it functions (so I buy good brands and new) but everything else except price is a very secondary. When I read things like "rich, vivid colors" in a description of a screen, for example, or "clear, deep bass" for some earbuds, my eyes glaze over. Whatever. Does it work and will it last?, is what I want to know. I also don't care about (or even really notice) the taste of tap water. Water is water. All this must be related and I can't be the only one.
When you spending $75,000 on a new suit, the tailor shouldn't be using a Dollar Store calculator.
https://www.wsj.com/style/eat-poison-ivy-oak-immunity-3207ec...
They're very base people who go through life seeing only price tags, and tallying worth only in dollar figures. They act like life is a video game and money is the score.
It's a shallow life, devoid of the appreciation of all the wonderful things available, and in my estimation, barely living. It's just existing as a robot does.
Why spend vacation in Fiji when there are sunsets in Fresno, too?
I think it cuts both ways though — there are those who will exaggerate or outright fabricate subtle differences in order to justify their expensive purchases, and also those that will deny real differences because they think everyone is just doing the first thing.