Chance Favors the Prepared Mind

The three experts who made up Team Tough had only one job: To make a quartz-powered watch with “Triple 10” resistance. The Triple 10 criteria dictated a water resistance of at least 10 bar, the ability to withstand a drop of 10 meters (33 feet), and a battery life of 10 years.

After more than a year and over 200 prototypes, the team still couldn’t meet the criteria for what would eventually be called a G-SHOCK (an abbreviation of Gravitational Shock). Then one day, after a visit to a playground with family, Ibe had an aha moment. He discerned that the center of a rubber ball isn’t as affected by shocks when bounced and took this realization back to Team Tough as a new strategy. By 1983, the first G-SHOCK model, the DW-5000C, was unveiled to the world.

Tried and Tested

The revolutionary watch had 10 layers of materials, including urethane rubber, protecting the floating quartz module inside. The push-buttons and LCD (liquid crystal display) module were attached with flexible cables that had leeway when shocked. In fact, the watch was chocked full of so many incredible advancements that the entire piece, including the strap, withstood the Triple 10 toughness tests and stunned the world.

Time and again, the watch silenced naysayers who doubted its claims of durability. Unsurprisingly, G-SHOCK fast became known as one of the toughest watch brands in the world. Sales soared globally.

By the early 1990s, G-SHOCK had sparked another wave of excitement when it unveiled its first smaller-sized watches, the Baby-G and G-SHOCK Mini. These collections garnered a cult-like following and further propelled the brand to the forefront. By the fall of 2017, Casio celebrated its 100 millionth shipment of G-SHOCK watches.

Now, almost 40 years after its arrival on the market, G-SHOCK continues to meet tough customer demands. To this day, its watches still adhere to the brand’s Triple 10 philosophy, and some are even certified for space travel. And the G-SHOCK customer base ranges broadly, from special military forces and extreme explorers and adventurers to everyday people who want a rugged but super cool watch.

New Releases

The G-SHOCK catalog includes digital, analog, and ana-digi hybrid models packed with relevant functions like the chronograph, world timer, count-down timer, alarm, compass, thermometer, barometer, and so much more. Some of the more recent watches even have atomic clock synchronization, boast solar-powered technology, Bluetooth connectivity, and more.

This year, G-SHOCK releases a host of new watches, including a additions to the Full Metal series, Mini CasiOaks, a collaboration with the Royal Navy, and a new line that pays homage to NASA and the Space Shuttle.

The brand also embraces the rainbow for the new titanium alloy GMWB5000TR-9 and releases the rose gold-hued GMWB5000GD-4. With its combination of strength, dynamic looks, radical functions, and precision (as well as price), G-SHOCK continues to take the world by storm.