SINGAPORE (July 16): Created in 1983 by famed engineer Kikuo Ibe, Casio’s first G-Shock watch is still an admired invention that prioritises toughness and shock resistance. Celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, the G-Shock series has evolved to include sophisticated technological advancements and striking aesthetic additions.
“Casio has started focusing on smartphone link watches. We want people to carry their smartphone and wear their wristwatch at the same time. By combining them, their lives will be more convenient and even more enriched,” Ibe tells Options.
He explains how beneficial a watch still is, especially for certain sports such as swimming where your smartphone is not as helpful. “You could measure the time of your laps and in the locker room, send the data from your smartwatch to your smartphone, so you will have updated information.”
Fond of his original design, Ibe admits that he wears the DW5600 model for all occasions and still keeps the first G-Shock in his drawer at home. “From the new collection, I think the highlight is the full metal G-Shock,” he says
The GMW-B5000 is the first model in the series to have a full metal construction. Keeping the iconic square shape of the original G-Shock, it is constructed entirely of stainless steel, further reinforced by the addition of a highly durable fine resin insert between the case and the bezel that acts like a cushion to absorb shocks.
Equipped with the Connected Engine module, the watch is linked to a time server via a paired smartphone and receives radio wave time-calibration signals to keep accurate time anywhere in the world. With the G-Shock Connected, smartphone users can easily change their settings and daylight savings time is automatically updated.
There are numerous customisable functions, including the ability to change the display of the day of the week to any of the six available languages. You can also choose the date format, pick the world time from about 300 cities and add additional cities and time zones. The watch can be programmed to set up to five reminders and with the press of a button, records the current date, time and longitude/latitude coordinates to be viewed later on a map in the G-Shock app.
Lakshmi Sekhar is a writer for Options at The Edge Malaysia
