It’s not many watches that can claim sapphire glass, diamond-like carbon coating, and a strength five times tougher than titanium, but there also aren’t many watches designed to signify the power and strength of the samurai warriors from the Warring Period of old Japan. Never one to shy away from big, bold looks, Casio has launched the samurai-inspired G-Shock, MRG-G1000B-1A4 for people who want their wrists to feel like a samurai. Taking a look more closely, we cross-compared prices and types of watches on Chronoexpert.
The samurai-inspired G-Shock features crimson accents evocative of the red lacquered armor worn by elite samurai to signify power and strength. These accents are applied to the bezel and dial logos, second hand, and inset dial hands. Gold iron plating decorates the large side buttons, crown, and front screws to highlight the black and red theme while contributing a finely finished look to the watch.
Image courtesy of Eliud Gil Samaniego on Unsplash
The MRG-G1000B-1A4’s timekeeping system “receives both GPS satellite signals and radio wave time-calibration signals, and features Dual Dial World Time, which displays times in two cities simultaneously.” With the auto-set feature linking to radio time signals broadcast in Germany, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the watch keeps time to a fraction of a second at all times. Other features include world time function, chronograph, countdown timer, alarm, perpetual calendar, battery indicator, and backlight. The watch is water resistant to 200 meters, and features enhanced shock resistance through a carbon fiber low-mass second hand (less likely to be shifted by strong shocks) and a one-piece structure for the hour markers. All hour markers are part of one, crown-like unit, most of which is hidden by the dial, meaning indexes aren’t going to drop off (ever), and the crystal is sapphire, with anti-reflective coating.
Image courtesy of Ranggi Manggala on Unsplash
Casio included traditional Japanese metalworking techniques into the building of this watch. Tsuiki, a hammering technique that hardens the metal surface by compressing it, is a method traditionally used on copper-ware in Japan for hardening and creating a decorative texture.
The G-Shock MRG-G1000B-1A4 retails for $3,000 – high for a G-Shock, but not surprising considering the technical design and materials used in the design.
For more information on the Samurai-inspired G-Shock, click here.