G-Shock has created a new hybrid metal-resin version of its iconic (circa 1983) DW5000-based square model.
The G-Shock GW5000U-1 features a 42.8 mm x 13.5 mm (48.9 mm) resin case, overtop of a black DLC-treated stainless steel case middle, and DLC-treated stainless steel screw-in caseback. Like the so-called “bezel” which is a term Casio uses to describe the entire bezel, top, and sides of the case, the strap is also made of resin. In this instance, it’s a soft resin that will wear very comfortably.
Speaking of comfort, the GW5000U-1 weighs in at just 74 grams thanks to the hybrid steel and resin case design — which some consumers call “half-metal” and fittingly it weighs around half of what a “full-metal” G-Shock case and bracelet tend to weigh — resulting in enhanced ergonomics. Light, durable watches like this are great daily wearers.
A majority of new G-Shock watches that are offered in this price range, come with Bluetooth connectivity and automatic solar-powered recharging of the battery. However, the GW5000U-1 comes with only the former, so it will conveniently recharge itself with both ambient and natural light. Time syncing is left to radio-controlled atomic technology (or setting the watch manually). Casio’s industry-leading atomic radio-controlled time-syncing technology ensures nearly the same level of precision as Bluetooth-synced watches but without a need to connect to a phone.
This seems like a design choice made to appeal to those who want fewer mobile apps to manage but still desire the high level of precision that Casio offers. Or perhaps for those that want to disconnect, yet still know precisely what time it is.
A traditional “positive” dark-on-light display is standard and is often touted as the best all-around visibility compared to light-on-dark (though it’s worth noting that negative light-on-dark displays tend to perform best in bright sunlit conditions). For less complicated readouts like this one, the fonts are larger and thus easier to read than displays that cram too much information into tight space, requiring smaller fonts.
An armored mineral crystal protects the dial, and the GW5000U-1 is water-resistant to 200 meters. The GW5000U-1 offers a world time function, countdown timers, a 1/100ths of a second stopwatch, 5 daily alarms, a defeatable audible hourly time signal, a 12/24 format option, date/month display swapping, a white LED. Regular timekeeping displays the hour, minute, second, pm, month, date, day and is accurate -15/+15 seconds per month even when no reception of atomic radio signal is available.
The retail price is $300. Learn more at G-Shock.
Photos by G-Shock.
