{"id":101735,"date":"2019-06-08T21:00:34","date_gmt":"2019-06-08T13:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revolution.watch\/?p=101735"},"modified":"2024-04-16T13:13:16","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T05:13:16","slug":"why-did-it-take-casio-so-long-to-give-us-the-uber-cool-g-shock-full-metal-5000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revolutionwatch.com\/why-did-it-take-casio-so-long-to-give-us-the-uber-cool-g-shock-full-metal-5000\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Did It Take Casio So Long to Give Us the Uber-Cool G-Shock Full Metal 5000?"},"content":{"rendered":"

You would have to have been living under some sort of horological rock to not be aware of how massively smitten the collective watch collecting community has become with Casio\u2019s Full Metal 5000 series of G-Shock watches.<\/p>\n

Funny thing is, this isn\u2019t the first time a G-Shock has been made in all-metal. The first all-metal \u2014 all-steel to be specific \u2014\u00a0G-Shock was announced back in 1996. In fact, that same year there was also an all-titanium G-Shock. These did great for Casio, but reason why the 2018 all-metal G-Shocks have been such a runaway success for the Japanese watchmaker, can squarely be attributed to the fact that these are basically steel versions of Kikuo Ibe\u2019s 1983 original DW5000C G-Shock.<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The 1996 all steel G-Shock MRG-100<\/p><\/div><\/div>

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The 1996 all titanium G-Shock MRG-100T<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

G-Shock models designed in the silhouette of the original square DW5000C have a global cult following that\u2019s really in a league of its own. So, you\u2019d think that to take this robust and rugged\u00a0\u2014 and, not to mention, most successful \u2014 form of the G-Shock and give it an all-metal exoskeleton, would be a no brainer for the brand. It would, no doubt, be a really cool G-Shock and it would, no doubt, fly off the shelves. Then, why did it take Casio such a long time to give the world the G-Shock Full Metal 5000?<\/p>\n

The answer lies in the three defining principles that Mr Ibe-San set forth when he invented the G-Shock, better known as the “Triple 10” development concept. Every G-Shock has to have 10-bar (100 meter) water resistance, 10-year battery life and be able to withstand a 10-meter free-fall. So, in the 36 years that Casio has produced G-Shocks, not a single model was brought to market that did not meet all three of these prerequisites.<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Mr Kikuo Ibe, inventor of the G-Shock<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The IP coated gold G-SHOCK Full Metal GMW-B5000 (Image \u00a9 Revolution)<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

With the solar charging technology having become a common feature in more and more G-Shock models, the 10-year battery life has become a given. Water-resistance on the simplest G-Shock now goes all the way to 20-bar. But when considering new materials for the G-Shock, water-resistance and, most definitely, the 10-meter free-fall make for quiet the engineering challenge.<\/p>\n

What we have to remember is that the square case\u2019s design serves a very definite intention, which is to hold the time module in suspension and protect it from all measures of trauma. Meaning to say that the architecture of the case has as much engineering purpose on the outside as it does on the inside. Even with modern day micro engineering technologies, the laws of physics dictate that at such levels of precision milling, the economies of things and the mandated “Triple 10″ concept, don\u2019t always stand on agreeable grounds.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s also not forget that Casio no longer only requires that all new G-Shocks meet the \u201cTriple 10” development concept. There is now a battery of some 183 tests that are performed on new concept watches at their R&D facilities in Hamura, Tokyo. These tests range from horrific drops performed by machines that emulate 10-meter falls with a sling-shot like mechanism, to water and mud resistance tests that are performed while mechanical fingers incessantly press on the watch\u2019s buttons.<\/p>\n

Some of Casio’s G-Shock Prototype Torture Tests in Action<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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