For a collector, or anyone who looks down at a watch box with more than one or two choices in it each day, sometimes you just need a watch break you out of your comfort zone. The GA-2100 does that in spades, and at a price point where this small luxury won’t be painful. So what we’re left with in terms of real world use on the dial is a pretty functional two-hander. The sword shaped hour and minute hands are the only components of the GA-2100 that are not red, thanks to some lume that could be stronger, so they stand out quite well.
Nor can you help but read the Royal Oak’s integrated bracelet into the way that the CasiOak’s strap meets its case. But this G-Shock also has a host of features that tap into broader notions of good taste that prevail within the watch world. It’s slim for its ilk – at 11.8mm, it’s the most slender that G-Shock currently makes. It’s also a predominantly analogue piece, with two hands and a physical day indicator.
The GA-2100’s slimmer case profile is matched by a strap that has been streamlined to match the rest of the watch’s proportions. This, in one sense, is a subtle difference, but changing up anything on a watch that has direct contact with your body will tend to have major consequences when it comes to real world wearability. What we have here is functionally a time only G-Shock – I have almost zero interest in becoming more comfortable with the little screen.
I wanted another G-shock Casio, but not one with buttons sticking out all around, and not too big and fat. Had a couple of Casios in the past 30 years, no problems with them. This button opens a dialog that displays additional images for this product with the option to zoom in or out. Select a color by clicking on a colored square located at the left to display all the watches matching that color. The hands of this model have a luminous layer that glows in the dark. You can measure the amount of time between two events using this watch.
This is not a tactical watch and I’m not recommending it as a tool, I’m recommending it solely and exclusively as a design object. The GA-2100 has already been dubbed the “CasiOak” all over the watch internet, and other similar mashup nicknames are out there as well. But Casio has been making watches in loud colors in this general shape for years, so why does the GA-2100 suddenly seem to have claimed the mantle of Royal Oak on a hot dog budget? The answer, I think, is in how this watch wears, which is really unlike any other G-Shock I’ve strapped to my wrist. Unfortunately, most of the affordable analog G-Shock watches do not have the seconds hand, but the more expensive ones do. The GA-2100SU-1A with camo bezel and the green and black GA-2110SU-3A are new releases in the U.S. and are available at several retailers.