In Thai politics, where luxury watches are a familiar status symbol, the latest must-have costs less than $60 and comes from the prime minister.

The Casio AE1200WH, engraved with Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s name, is turning up on the wrists of cabinet ministers, senior bureaucrats and political allies.

Nicknamed the “Casio Royale,” the retro-futuristic digital watch with a distinctive world-map display has become a badge of proximity to power, earning its wearers the moniker the “Casio Connection.”

The watches offer a glimpse into the personal relationships that have helped Anutin build one of the country’s most stable governments in decades. A consummate political dealmaker, he has forged alliances across Thailand’s fractious political landscape, from influential provincial families in his ruling Bhumjaithai Party to senior officials at 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 Casio recipients, said in an interview. He received his from Anutin after a recent cabinet meeting and has worn it almost every day since, joking that he has all but stopped wearing luxury watches worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Anutin buys the Casios from small shops and markets during his travels and site visits around Bangkok, then has his name engraved on them before giving them away, according to Siripong, who said he had to wait a while for his. Recipients have even begun comparing notes on whether they received metal or resin bands.

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