Accuracy and durability are the reasons behind so many of the exotic techniques, material use, and “innovation” that enchant fans of horology and mechanical watches. But everyone knows that mechanical watches cannot even compete in those areas with Casio G-Shock’s nearly indestructible quartz-and-plastic wonder watch that costs a fraction of the price to make. That is an achievement worth taking note of, and just like many high-end watchmakers, Casio can’t resist the allure of an anniversary that is in some multiple of five. So, with 2018 marking the 35th anniversary of the first G-Shock born in 1983 naturally comes a collection of special edition watches with the Casio G-Shock 35th Anniversary collection.
No fewer than five of them, each from different product lines, all in a matte black theme. Casio replica watches say that the special black coating used is particularly light-absorbing. In addition to the color and texture treatment, each is relatively subtly marked with “since 1983” in red text – the only pop of color on the otherwise monochromatic dials. A gold-plated keeper for the strap will also be engraved with “since 1983,” and the caseback is gold-colored with the G-Shock 35th Anniversary logo (the 30th anniversary edition watches also had a gold theme, I seem to recall).
Four of the Casio G-Shock 35th Anniversary Collection watches (definitely not called “Big Bang Black” as Casio had originally intended) are based on existing models, with the GA800 series model GA-835A-1A being an all new design. Unless you are an expert on G-Shocks and up to date with all their multitudinous offerings, you would be forgiven for not realizing it is new. With all the variations of ana-digi (a very Japanese portmanteau of analog + digital) watch dials with large buttons and bulbous plastic cases, it could very much get lost in a sea of G-Shocks. The Casio G-Shock case measures a large but light 54.1mm by 48.6mm, and 15.5mm thick.
The new Casio GA-835A-1A series replica watches share features similar to the other Casio G-Shock 35th Anniversary watches, and in fact many other G-Shocks, such as its famous shock-resistance, 200m water-resistance, stopwatch functions, alarms, etc. All feature mineral crystals and the “resin” case that helps its shock-resistance. (See the full list of specs for each of the watches on Casio’s website.) G-Shock watches often have small variations between models in regards to some of their technical functions that, let’s be honest, most people don’t use very often if at all. It is cool knowing all that your watch can do and that it is virtually indestructible – even if you never use those functions or get close to destroying it.
I will say that the white hands against the matte black treatment of the Casio G-Shock GA-835A-1A in particular look to be very legible for reading the analog time. Negative LCD screens, on the other hand, which all of the Casio G-Shock 35th Anniversary use (meaning light numbers on a dark background) are not very legible. A positive display is kind of a cardinal G-Shock rule of mine, but if the analog time is easy to read it gets a pass.
Comments are closed.