Kikuo Ibe’s revolutionary concept of the Casio G Shock watch set benchmarks within the watch industry. Ibe had a goal to develop a wristwatch that would withstand the shock caused by gravity, a concept that had never been addressed before in all of Casio’s three decade history by this point. The origins of the Casio G Shock watch began in 1981. The watch had to meet the standards of Ibe and his team of three engineers’ triple ten rules. It needed to withstand a 10 meter drops, needed to sustain a battery life of 10 years and needed to survive 10 atmospheres of water pressure. The Casio G Shock would pass all three standards with flying colours.
two years Ibe’s team worked relentlessly, subjecting their prototypes to extreme conditions. 200 prototypes were exposed to these limiting factors until Team Tough finally produced a hollow watch case structure that would support the core module. The first G Shock was born, the DW 5000C. Its square, chunky case was not met with the success initially anticipated, however, and the G Shock watch was a slow starter. It was not until 1994 when a hockey advert in America showcased the next iteration of the G Shock line, the DW5 200C, that the design finally became popular with outdoor explorers, sportsmen, firefighters and police officers. Its ultra hard design went beyond resisting the normal knocks and bumps associated with normal daily life and would prove itself as the ultimate affordable wristwatch for surviving the rigours of the more demanding job roles.
In 1990, Casio launched the G Shock DW 5900C, complete with a Tri graph liquid crystal display. After proving itself a huge success in America, Japan became interested in the innovative, resilient design of the G Shock. The digital wristwatch was also available in an analogue design. In 2002 the G Shock was equipped with radio controlled and solar powered technology in the form of the GW 300, followed by the 2008 models with calibration radio signals from six stations worldwide, with the design of the GW 9200. Over the years the structure and aesthetic of the G Shock have evolved. In the late 1990s the Frogman combined the strong casing of the G Shock with a 200 meter water resistance. An upscale metal case version revealed itself in 1996, followed by a solar powered version in the early 2000s.
Casio G Shock watches, time never seems to stand still. The company has developed more recent models like the G Shock GPW 2000 Gravitymaster with a Connected Engine 3 Way module that receives GPS satellite calibration signals and radio waves in one. The timepiece can also be paired with Smartphone devices. The Tough Solar watches from G Shock’s Frogman dive collection come in vibrant colours and also remain a popular model to own, as well as case variations in titanium. Whatever the G Shock line evolves into, affordable, robust and reliable designs are a guarantee, as is Casio’s forward approach to industry leading cutting edge technology.
