At a brainstorming meeting in the early 1980's, the team at Casio was presented a proposal to create a watch that wouldn't break even if it fell onto a hard surface. The simple idea seemed far-fetched at the time, however, a three-man team led by Kikuo Ibe embarked on the seemingly impossible challenge. Prior to spearheading his ambitious endeavor, Ibe was the engineer-in-charge of external design for Casio watches. The team’s early attempts at creating an unbreakable watch were futile. They first tried encasing the watch with a soft, rubber material to cushion the falls, but because of the amount of soft material necessary to prevent breakage, the watch became gigantic.
The team was relentless in their quest and eventually resolved the size issue of the watch by figuring a way to isolate and cushion the internal workings of the watch. But once they figured out one aspect, another component would break due the stress of falling from the 10m-high drop test. It was a frustrating process of trial and error that even had Kikuo Ibe considering resigning from his position if he couldn’t devise a solution. He ultimately persevered and found the answer by fate when he walked outside of the testing facility and saw a child playing with rubber ball. It suddenly came to him-- if he could suspend the internal mechanisms of the watch inside the hollow ball, it would experience far less impact than the exterior of the ball.
The solution for the shock resistant watch was born. Air needed to surround the heart of the watch inside the rubber case with minimal touch points. These few touch points had to be cushioned by shock absorbent gel materials. Soon after this revelation, Ibe's work continued and the first G- Shock DW-5000C was officially launched by Casio in 1983.
G-Shock, from this point forward, forged its position as the ultimate tough watch. Guided by a "Triple-10" development concept, the original design teams sought a watch with 10-meter free-fall endurance, 10-bar water resistance and a 10-year battery life.
Because of this toughness, water resistance and unique look, G-Shock watches gained immense popularity in the 1990's with extreme sport athletes, first responders, military personnel and various outdoorsmen. It was around this same period that Casio launched the Baby G collection for women in a smaller size. By 1998, Casio announced that it had sold 19 million G-Shock watches worldwide and today that number has grown to over 100 million watches sold.
The brand has developed a cult following and many of their limited edition and vintage G-Shock watches are selling above retail. The release of the digital G Shock Full Metal 5000, in early 2018, was a huge hit with both the stainless steel and gold models selling out within days.
G-Shock by Casio continues to innovate with its recent models, like the Rangeman. This watch should be part of any adventurer’s survival kit. Its dual wireless and solar charging systems support being off the grid. Its GPS navigation provides you with necessary data in real-time while en route to your destination. The Casio G-Shock Rangeman also features a digital compass, barometer, altimeter, thermometer and plenty of other state-of-the-art technology.
Keep your eyes peeled even more new releases online at JRDunn.com for G Shock in 2020.
