Heir to the DW-5000 and AW-500’s conceptual design frameworks, it leveraged the latest technologies to capture the essence of their identities in a new physical form. This meant nothing short of creating a new standard-bearer for G-SHOCK, re-envisioned from the vantage point of the brand’s beginnings, now some 30 years after the AW-500’s debut. G-SHOCK have always embraced the spirit of challenge in their untiring pursuit of the ultimate toughness.
I really love it if it have the seconds hand on the Analog portion of the watch . Casio Mudmaster is an accurate and bullet proof watch. With pride in its unchanging form, the G-SHOCK mission baby g shock is one of continuous advancement, always transcending the times, conventional wisdom, and the limits of imagination. With a toughness emblematic of the new era, the GA-2100 has arrived.
The carbon-reinforced stainless steel GM-2100 case is 44.4mm wide, 11,8mm thick, and 49.3mm from lug-to-lug. Behind that mineral crystal, you will find an LED light, luminous hour and minute hands and markers, a pointer day indicator, and a digital screen. That digital screen features a 1/100 stopwatch function , a 12/24-hour display, a timer (up to 24-hours), a world timer function, an automatic calendar, and an alarm function . You can move the hands out of the way of the digital display with a simple push of a button. Delivered on a resin strap with a metal buckle, the watch is water-resistant to 200 meters and gives the impression of being so.
In the Golden Halls of Fratello HQ, there is one man whose opinion on Casio counts for more than anyone else’s. Gerard, G2, G-Pops — call him what you like, he is the Godfather of G-Shock, or, perhaps better, the G-Father. And so I told him my feelings about metal G-Shocks in advance of starting this review. Graciously, he let me borrow his recently purchased limited edition G-Shock in titanium (reference GMW-B5000TB-1).
This meant nothing short of creating a new standard-bearer for G-SHOCK, re-envisioned from the vintage point of the brand’s beginnings, now some 30 years after the AW500’s debut. G-SHOCK has always embraced the spirit of challenge in it’s untiring pursuit of the ultimate toughness. It was 1982 when the resolve to build a watch that would never break produced the very first G-SHOCK — the DW5000. Not much later, in 1989, the AW500 arrived, offering the same shock resistance but in an analog watch.
Enter the Casio G-SHOCK GA-2100 or “Casioak” as it has come to be known. This very wearable G-SHOCK was a huge hit last year, and it didn’t take long for the modding community to fill in a pretty apparent gap in the Casioak line up. The GA-2100 series of watches was such a hit at points last year that supply couldn’t keep up, and these were trading hands for well over the RRP of £99.
By far the most distinguishing feature for the CasiOak is the octagon-shaped bezel. It’s done in a soft way that’s not too angular or awkward. The GA-2100SU-A1JF is my favorite variation with a screen-printed camouflage pattern on top of the bezel. Fueled by the hashtag, the GA A1 quickly snowballed in social media popularity. By the time that hype-train rolled to a stop, they were all sold out.
In the grand scheme of things, the Casioak is a relatively new model for the brand. It earned its cutesy nickname because of its resemblance to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. When I say “resemblance” I mean that if you happened to walk into a poorly lit room and spot a watch on the wrist of someone standing ten yards away, you might be able to mistake one model for the other. All jokes aside, there is certainly a whiff of inspiration about the Casioak that is, in my opinion, a self-/industry-aware nod to a gap in the market that Casio eventually got around to filling.
Complaints must be sure to describe as accurate and detailed as possible, what is wrong with the product. I truly believe one of the best partners in exploration and adventure is a fine watch. Over 30 years of collecting, my fascination with the technical capabilities of both vintage and modern timepieces has never abated and it is a privilege to be able to share this passion through writing. If it is more important to flash the brand name in a smaller, lighter package then the CasiOaks may be just the watch for you. I was excited to review two new G-Shocks and have left the process feeling rather let down by Casio. Had they rebranded the GA and GMA models as the G-Shock-X or some other alternate name I would have been fine, accepting them as G’s in name only.
They are aimed at women but will also appeal to anyone who wants a less bulky, beach-ready watch . One of the occasional hazards of writing about watches is desperately wanting to buy any and every timepiece that excites you. A slide lever makes it easy to attach and remove the band — a very handy feature for cleaning and other maintenance.