Casio G-Shock – Failed Battery = New Watch

How did I come to offer this humble review of a G-SHOCK?  I coach my daughter’s softball team.  Call me silly, but I do not want to wear my daily watch, a Seamaster Professional Diver 300M while coaching.

This should not be a problem for a watch guy, right?  Wear something else.  My first problem is that the battery in my preferred Timex Ironman Triathlon died.  I have not gotten around to replacing it.

My next problem is that I never replaced the original battery in another Ironman I picked up long ago while stuck on a prolonged out-of-town work assignment.  For the first couple softball practices, my body’s internal clock was operating at Superlative METAS Geneva Sealed 1000 hours of control chronometer standard.  Everyone was happy.  At the third practice this week, I kept the girls about 30 minutes late.  It was supposed to be an hour practice.  Oops.  On the ride home, my wife told me I need to wear a watch so I do not keep the girls and families waiting.  A wiser man would have heard subtle encouragement to replace a battery or two.  I heard authorization to fill an obvious gap in my watch collection.  I needed a G-SHOCK.

I am studious. I researched my Seamaster for what seemed an eternity before purchasing.  My G-SHOCK purchase was barely more than an impulse buy.  My “mandate” as I understood it, was to get a watch before the next practice.  With hardly any research, I stopped by a local retailer.  I had a vague idea I wanted an analog-digital module.  My budget goal was keeping it under $200.

Scottish Watches and TOCKR Watches

The store offered an impressive collection across the G-SHOCK range.  The orange band on the GA-2000E-4DR in the case caught my eye.  I liked it, but wondered how versatile it would be long-term.  Erroneously, I initially kept my thoughts to myself.  The sales associate was showing me some of the sibling GA-2000 models with more modest band colors.  I was about to settle on one for $130, when I casually blurted out how much I liked the orange but would not want to wear it all the time.  The associate eyes lit up; he knew he had a pleasant surprise.  I soon learned that the GA-2000E-4DR was a limited edition set that included two additional straps–black resin and green nylon.  The nylon is the most comfortable.  This was the retailer’s last of four of this edition.  The list price was $160.  The sales associate surprised me again with a 10% discount without my even asking.

Having spent a few days with the watch, I am impressed.  The watch uses what Casio refers to as the Carbon Core Guard.  The case is primarily constructed of carbon fiber materials.  Although the watch is large, 48.7 mm diameter with at lug-to-lug length of 51.2 mm, it weighs approximately 65 grams.  I have seen reports that it is among the lightest watches in the G-SHOCK series.

With the round case shape, it wears closer to how I am accustomed.  Casio also uses a more traditional lug design than I see on other G-SHOCKS.  I expect the watch to accommodate most 24 mm straps.  On the topic of straps, all three straps in the set use quick release spring-bars, so changing is a tool-free operation.  The GA-2000 line uses the Casio 5590 module.  It has five modes:  time, world time, stopwatch, alarm, and countdown timer.  I learned the basic operation quickly.  I especially like the indicator wheel at 9 o’clock that cycles to show the active mode.  Digital displays at 3 and 6 o’clock show a variety of information.  In standard time mode, the running seconds are at 6 o’clock.  The 3 o’clock can show either the day, month and date, or a digital clock.

My expectations were reasonable, so I do not have any serious criticism of the watch.  I will say I have gained an appreciation for the legibility of my Seamaster (not a common point of praise for the model).  The G-SHOCK’s two easy to see, and lumed, sword hands provide a quick approximation of the time in a glance.  I lose the black indices in a sea of black, so I have to focus a bit longer to get a precise read on the time.  Some might criticize that this is not a solar watch, but it does not have the accompanying price tag of a solar watch.  It uses two batteries to power the module.  Casio estimates they provide three years of power under normal use.  The batteries do not bother me.  In my experience, a failed battery leads to a new watch.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *