As a surfer, it has always been difficult for me to choose a tough watch that would accompany me in conquering the mightiest waves throughout the world. In my quest to find the perfect watch, I suffered multiple heartbreaks when my expensive watches became the victims of ferocious waves. Finally, I decided to test the G Shock watches, which had often been suggested by my fellow athletes.
What is so special about G Shock watches and why are they so popular? G Shock watches are the pioneers of shock resistance in watches. They have a high tolerance against electric shock, water, gravity, vibration and low-temperature. The vision behind their creation was “creating a watch that never breaks”. Their toughness won them the title of the “toughest watches of all time”.
Now, most of you would be wondering, watches belonging to this series, for sure, have a high price tag attached to them. However, it is quite the opposite; G-Shock is one of the most affordable well-known watch series ever released. Now, is shock resistance the only good thing about them? Keep reading to discover more features of this gem of a watch.
Who Makes G Shock Watches?
Mr Kikou Ibe – Designer of G-Shock’s Shock-Resistant
Gravitational Shock, abbreviated as G-Shock, is a watch line produced by Casio, a Japanese electronics company. This shock-resistant watch was designed and developed by Kikuo Ibe. It is manufactured in the Yamagata Prefecture, Tōhoku, Northern Japan. Ibe aimed to make an unbreakable watch, which wouldn’t break, even if dropped. Casio launched the first watch of this series, DW-5000C, in 1983.
Now, let’s learn the design story of the world’s toughest watch:
- G-Shock’s concept was born when Kikuo Ibe set his eyes on a goal centered around the development of an unbreakable watch. It all started when Ibe lost his beloved watch, which was gifted by his father, in an accident.
- This idea was first discussed in a meeting held around 35 years ago. In this meeting, the company’s higher-ups composed a three-men team headed by Kikuo Ibe and placed the responsibility of the unbreakable watch’s design and development on their shoulders.
- The first design was based on the assumption that coating the watch with a soft material would reduce the impact on falling. They choose a shock-absorbent rubber for this experiment. However, no matter how many layers they used, the watch failed to sustain the shock. Furthermore, the multiple rubber coatings made it look like a softball.
- To counter the size issue, they developed a 5-step-shock-absorbent structure. This innovation reduced the watch’s size but increased its electronic parts’ vulnerability.
- Finally, the miracle moment arrived. Kikuo Ibe decided that he would dedicate one week, both day and night, to his research and at the end, if he wouldn’t succeed, then he’ll resign. A decision, which proved to be a ground-breaker in the development of world’s first shock-resistant wristwatch.
- It was almost the end of Kikuo’s final week, he stepped out of his office to relax for a moment and observed a small child playing with a rubber ball. At that moment, an idea struck his mind. He thought of a structure in which the module would float inside a tunnel in the case and in this way, it won’t feel the impact.
- His idea was successful, and Casio developed, DW-5000C, the first shock-resistant watch of the world.
Now,
I’ll end the story with an interesting fact related to the testing procedure. Kikuo Ibe’s team wasn’t using any high-tech testing apparatus. They were throwing the watches from their office’s windows, which was on the 3rd floor, at the height of 10 meters.
Are G Shock Watches Any Good?
G Shock watches are the best in terms of utility and toughness among their counterparts in the same price range. They have a superior electric shock, water, gravity, vibration, shock and low-temperature resistance. They are highly regarded by sportsmen and military personnel.
However, they are bulkier in comparison with other watches; therefore, they aren’t suitable for people who prefer smaller designs.
Casio G-Shock’s toughness has been measured numerous times by subjecting it to various loads and dropping it from high altitudes. However, the most intensive one amongst them was conducted by the Guinness World Record on December 12, 2017.
In this test, the Casio G-Shock DW5600E-1 was placed under a driving truck, weighing 24.97 tons. It was successful in sustaining the load and won the world’s toughest watch’s spot in the Guinness World Record book.
Now, some of you would be wondering, is toughness the only worthy feature of G Shock watches? No, it has multiple other specifications, which distinguish it from its competitors in a similar price range.
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Some of them are listed below:
- The light function of G Shock watches isn’t limited to a miniature light bulb like the others. It has an extra light, termed as EL backlight, which provides extra luminous. You can utilize this function by slightly tilting your hand to one side.
- These watches won’t bother you to change their batteries after every few months. They have a solar-charging system for capturing and converting light into electric power, which is then used by the battery to operate their multiple high-tech features.
- G shock watches are well-known among the watch enthusiasts for their accuracy. They sync time with different time zones throughout the world with the help of Multiband 6 technology. It is a system that allows them to receive signals from 6 broadcasting stations located in Japan, China, United States, United Kingdom and Germany.
- Each watch from the G-Shock series has unique functions suitable for sports activities. The common ones found in almost every watch belonging to this collection include stopwatch and tide graphs. These two features are specifically handy for soccer and fishing, respectively.
- G Shock watches won’t leave your side in extreme weather, as they can function in temperatures as low as -20°C.
- As I mentioned earlier, G Shock watches have exceptional accuracy. However, if due to any reason, your watch fails to display the correct time, you can connect it with your smartphone via the Bluetooth to sync time.