G9200-1DR: The Dragon and the Serpent

It has been a Casio tradition to create mascots for each one of its Master of G series models. Those animal cartoons that identify themselves with the watch's main functions or attributes are well-known by G-Shock enthusiasts all over the world. So we have the frog and the diver's Frogman, the mole and the Mudman's classic mud resistant design, the turtle and its Titanium rust resistant Gulfman, and very recently the Riseman and its flying squirrel.

Nevertheless, for the new Riseman Casio decided to create two mascots: the Flying Squirrel for its Japanese market Multiband 6 version, the GW9200-1JF, and the Oriental Dragon for the export version of this same model, the GW9200-1. This dragon also appears in the solar/non-atomic version of the Riseman, the G9200-1DR.

The difference among these versions is the capacity to read altitude, barometric pressure, and temperature in Imperial or Metric units of the GW9200-1 and the G9200-1DR, against the GW9200-1JF Metric units only sensor programming. The G9200-1DR can't sync itself to atomic clocks. This one is the Riseman version destined primarily for markets out of reach of the atomic transmitters in Japan, China, the US, and Europe, like Southeast and Central Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

GW9200-1JF (Flying Squirrel):

G9200-1DR (Oriental Dragon):

Dragons in the Far East are an old and important mythological presence. Even though they are flying creatures too, Oriental dragons don't have wings like their European counterparts. Dragons arrived in Japanese culture through Chinese, Korean, and Indian stories and cultural influence. Japanese dragons were usually water deities, related to the rain and to water bodies in general; they are gigantic creatures with reptilian heads, serpent bodies, and large claws.

When this new version of the Riseman appeared (G9200-1DR), I, as Mexican, immediately associated its dragon mascot with one of the most important deities in the ancient Mexican Aztec and Mayan cultures. Quetzalcoátl, that means Feathered Serpent in English (Kukulcán for the Mayas), was at the same time a god and an ancient ruler. As a god it was related to the sky, the wind, knowledge, and priesthood. He was also associated to Venus, the first star that appears in the evening sky and the last one to disappear before the sun rises. As a ruler, he was related to an age of peace, harmony and cultural advance in Mesoamerica.

In Mexico, Quetzalcóatl can be found today in old pyramids, stone engravings, clay figures, rests of paintings, and codex images. He is always a feathered serpent or a man with elaborated symbols of bird and serpent. As those creatures represented the sky and the earth, Quetzalcóatl was considered too a symbol of all the creation.

Quetzalcóatl was, notwithstanding his fierce appearance, a god of good, and in the absence of the Sun he held a duel of balances with Teztcatlipoca, the jaguar with skin like the starry night sky.

Quetzalcóatl has inspired many Mexican artists since the prehispanic days to our times. But for me the resemblance between he and the Oriental Dragon of the Riseman solar version, was evident at first sight.

The G9200-1DR is the newest version of the Riseman. It has all the functions of the solar/Multiband ones, but the atomic syncing: altimeter, barometer, thermometer, world time, 24 hours chrono, 24 hours timer, 5 alarms, and a recording mode for altitude. It is, without doubt, a fine alternative for all those who want a Riseman but live out of the reach of the atomic clocks, or also for those who want an affordable version of the Riseman without compromising any of the its quality and performance.

But for me, firstly and foremost, the new solar G9200-1DR is its mascot and the resemblance this Oriental dragon has with the Mexican Feathered Serpent.