The trouble with G-Shocks

[tribe125]

This is the way I think about G-Shocks:

• Black rubbery things, chunky but not enormous.
  
  
• Suitable for bricklayers and soldiers.
  
  
• Pocket money prices, or nearly so.
  
  
• The basic ones are best, solar power and atomic sync are a mixed blessing.

G-Shocks were my entry-point to multiple watch ownership. They came and went with sufficient regularity that I was close to being an expert. As G-Shocks became fancier and more fashionable, I fretted about basic features being compromised to accommodate newer market-friendly features. Still, there were enough basic models for bricklayers, soldiers, and me.

Inevitably, the forums introduced me to the wider world of watches. I moved on, but without losing my affection for G-Shocks. Kikuo Ibe's radical creation was a phenomenon, and the breadth of its impact was unparalleled for a watch brand. Originally an exercise in utility, the G-Shock came to lead a double life in watchmaking and popular culture, which hadn't really happened before. Arguably, it's abandonment of traditional styling also paved the way for outré industrial design in conventional watchmaking. The G-Shock was a game changer, and some watch enthusiasts still have trouble coping with it.

My 'bricklayers and soldiers' perspective is narrow, and not a little fundamentalist. With me in charge, the G-Shock would not be a phenomenon. The basic models maintain the core concept, but it's the more flamboyant and specialist models that maintain the brand.

Periodically, I'm prompted to revisit the catalogue to see what I might buy today. A recent thread revealed that members don't count their G-Shocks when enumerating their collection. Well, in that case... I could buy a G-Shock! Just for fun, that is, and on the assumption that it was a cheap utility kind of G-Shock.

I went to a couple of websites and sorted the models on price. Most of my old favourites were gone. With one or two exceptions, G-Shock models are effectively limited editions. Mystifyingly, some that endure the longest are models that enthusiasts have never really liked. The G-2900, for example, refuses to die, while the G(W) 2310 is history. I was reminded of another eternal G-Shock truth - the perfect G-Shock, whatever your personal preference might be, never quite exists.

So what was there, starting with the cheapest and ending at £100?

[tribe125]

DW-5600E



The model that can't be dropped because it's a modified version of the original G-Shock. It would benefit from a cosmetic upgrade but Casio doesn't seem inclined to do that. A revered icon but misaligned modules can be annoying. Not officially available in the UK. I've had three or four and don't really want another one.



GW-M5600



The modern 5600 with solar power and atomic sync - both of which are better integrated on models that were designed that way. The display is a bit cramped and fussy. Atomic sync is nifty but comes with solar power which is as much a nuisance as a benefit. I had one, but not for long.



G-2900



Somebody must buy them. A half-hearted G-Shock that is neither workmanlike or sophisticated. It was a first generation 'atomic' and there were better watches with the same module. The 'sail' indicators and bezel ring don't help. Not oversized like newer models but terminally dull.



GD-X6900



Hello, the venerable DW-6900 got bigger, which it didn't need to do. Twenty years ago the DW-6900 was a big G-Shock. Doesn't seem to be available in a basic colour configuration. The DW-6900 is still around, but not in the UK, and mostly serves as a canvas for bright colours.



GD-350



My goodness, this is a serious one. Function reigns supreme with no atomic or solar distractions. Uncompromising looks in the finest Casio tradition. Hallelujah, this is a proper G-Shock, and then some. But... it's bulky, and it has those 'wings' on the back. Wonderful, but maybe too imposing.

[tribe125]

G-7710



I never liked this one and couldn't see the point of it. A blizzard of digits, a clumsy window, the week counter. Move on.



G-100



It wasn't the first ana-digi G-Shock but it can feel like it. I've had two, and when I bought the second I had forgotten that the hand setting is a bit of a nuisance. It's a loveable thing, and a nice size, but I don't want to be faffing about with the hands when jetting off to another time zone.



G-7900 & GW-7900



Perfectly acceptable but dominated by the tide-graph which I don't need. Move on.



AW-591



Distracting sub-displays. Separate time setting for analogue and digital. Move on.



GD-100



Close, but no cigar. Uncompromised functions and packed with G-Shock genes, but oversized and has a thumping great dividing thing across the middle.

[tribe125]

GD-400



Retro skateboarding model with bull bars. Should be a G-Lide really. Every inch a G-Shock, but doesn't come in standard black configuration. Youth market only.



G-8900



Not to be confused with the GR-8900 and GW-8900. The G-8900 is the non-solar and non-atomic model. In standard black it's a good, old-fashioned G-Shock on nandrolone. The bottom of the display is empty if you have 'Flash' and 'LT' disabled, which most probably will. Shame, that.



GA-400



Full marks for nuttiness, but no.



GA-100



Hugely popular by all accounts, but huge. Busts a gut to look like a cockpit display. Good functions (other than the spurious velocity indicator), good fun, good value. Overstyled if what you want is a watch.



GA-110



A close relative of the GA-100 with the same feature set. Hands hard to locate against a randomly organised digital display. Comes in a number of alarming colour combinations. Timekeeping not really the point.



GA-150



But this GA I like. Same size, same velocity thing, but handsome. Chiselled 3D depth. Matte black, gloss black, white. Swap home time with world time, hands move with digits. Analogue clarity with digital detail. Big size somehow appropriate like a Hublot. Modern, moody and very useful.


There's a few more, and the price band is flexible, depending on discounts, but that's about it.

[tribe125]

So what's the trouble with G-Shocks?

• You start out looking for simple utility and you end up being analytical and treating them like conventional watches.
  
  
• The good ones are too nice. You buy them as a beater but don't want to knock them about. You buy another one as a beater. Before you know it, you've got twelve.
  
  
• The new ones are too big, but sales figures probably say otherwise. Put on your watch before your shirt and your arm might not go through the sleeve. Most G-Shocks are too bulky for bricklayers.
  
  
• On the other hand, the display aperture of older G-Shocks was never that big. Make the aperture bigger and the watch gets bigger - and less useful. There's no answer to it.
  
  
• The DW-5600E is still the exemplar of the G-Shock concept and it goes back to 1996 - or 1983 if you include its direct antecedents. It's tired, and modern variants have been less useful than the original. A new basic and universal G-Shock is a decade overdue.

So will I splash some walking about money on a G-Shock? I'm tempted.

[mlcor]

So what's the trouble with G-Shocks?

• The new ones are too big, but sales figures probably say otherwise. Put on your watch before your shirt and your arm might not go through the sleeve. Most G-Shocks are too bulky for bricklayers.

This is why I've never bought one, even though the analog/digital ones are cool looking. I know I'd never wear it.

[synequano]

FYI,there's a black GD400 in the form of huf edition



My personal favorite is the 5000,the older mudman 9010 and the riseman 9200 as their size is still manageable

Anyone here has the $6000 Gshock??

[shameless]

i believe there are several thousand models so this could be a long critique Alan

[tribe125]

Let me throw in some pictures of the GA-150 taken by Maine on WUS. He's a good bloke and I don't think he'd mind.














Nice, eh?

[tribe125]

This isn't a bad argument in favour of the GD-350.