MTG-1000G

My Favorite Analog G-Shock MTG-1000G

MTG-Metal Twisted G. I saw Casio's announcement of this Stainless Steel and Resin Hybrid G-Shock earlier this year, and I knew this was going to be on my wrist. It wasn't just the looks of this watch what caught me, Casio definitely did a great job with their marketing shots, but besides the looks, the advanced features of this model with the 5-motor design made this a must have.

I went on my hunt to find it at the best price, and a fellow member of Watchuseek forums who is a Japanese resident assisted me on purchasing this off Yahoo Auctions in Japan. (Thanks DJ). After bidding, winning, shipping to my friend, and shipping it to me, 2 weeks later I was excited to receive a package at my doorstep in a nice neat box. I opened it up, and removed the packing material. Inside was a nice shiny square black cardboard box with a silver G logo stamped on top. Opening that box revealed the Japanese written instructions rolled up in plastic wrap. I anxiously put them aside and opened the rest of the box to reveal a quality leatherette black box also stamped with the silver G logo. Carefully opening THAT box, I was excited to see this technological marvel sitting neatly wrapped around a white pillow as well as plastic affixed to the face assuring safe delivery. Casio has really impressed me with the packaging of their products.

When light hit it, the MTG-1000G sprung to life. All of it's hands, dials, and the date wheel instantly went into motion, rotating to the settings it was last at before it begun it's journey from Japan to my apartment in New Jersey, USA. Removing the watch from it's pillow, I carefully removed the plastic and labels and began my eager inspection of the looks and features.

Looking at this watch, I really appreciate the very detailed look on the face of the watch. Casio was really paying attention to their design and it shows. The gold accents are very strategically and carefully placed around the markers, the 6:00 dial, the hands, lettering, and the 4 screws on the Bezel. They even went out of their way to align the flathead notches of the screws symetrically with each other. The craftmanship of the design of this watch really impresses me. The accents are low key enough to not overwhelm you with "bling" but it changes the look of the face in different lighting and angles.

The face has the -grey Blue-ish solar color tone and looking closely, there are detailed textures around it. The long thin hand is can be mistaken for a seconds hand, but it actually works as a function hand. It ticks off when using the Stopwatch and CDT, and points to the yes/no area on the face to let you know if it synched with the tower or not when quickly pressing the adjust button. It also moves around the face in worldtime to point to the Country Timezone.

The 3:00 dial is multi-use. It displays the modes, when pressing the mode button, day of the week in timekeeping mode, and the 60 second stopwatch/CDT count on the inside of the dial.

The 6:00 Dial is also multi-use. It is used as the second hand in timekeeping mode, it also displays the 1/10th second display for the stopwatch.

The 9:00 Dial is for 24 hour display.

The Body of the MTG is just as detailed and impressive. It features a black resin bezel with gold painted letters above and below the face, and off-white painted lettering to the left and right side of the face. That black resin bezel sits atop two stainless steel pieces sandwiched around a resin inside casing, with the bracelet being screwed on, and the buttons are stainless steel.

The button at the 4:00 position is molded with a steel G logo.

The fastener features 2 pieces of resin to protect the steel from desk diving scratches and swirls.

The caseback is 4 screw design and stamps the G-shock Shock Resistance logo in the center and advertises the 5 band capability, water resistance of 200 Meters, the Model and Module number numbers, and shows the MTG is Made in Japan.

The Bracelet continues the theme of the Metal Twisted G, and was the look that spawned my initial interest in this watch. It features a solid steel fold over bracelet with push button clasp. The bracelet itself places bits of resin inserted between the steel links of the bracelet which leaves a very sharp look.

As mentioned in the opening, the technology of this watch is where it truly shines. the MTG-1000g is Tough Solar, this means the battery (CTL 1025) gets recharged by light so you never need to change it. It lasts approximately 5 months on a full charge without any exposure to light. The Power Saving Function assures that if the watch is not worn for a long time, the Battery does not use any power it does not need to. Like when I first got it, I enjoy watching the MTG spring to life when I haven't worn it for a few days. The novelty never wears off.

It features the 5-band Atomic Timekeeping which synchs with 5 towers around the world (US, UK, Germany, and 2 towers in Japan) to keep it dead on accurate. It also automatically keeps with Daylight Savings Time in the areas that use it and has a perpetual Calendar pre-programmed until 2099 so you don't have to worry about keeping up the setting with the short months and leap year.

In areas where Atomic Timekeeping does not work, the Quartz Accuracy is +/- 20 seconds a month. It also keeps World time with 29 Time Zones (27 Cities) so when moving through the time zones around the face of the watch, the time is displayed as you move from one to the next. The MTG sports a daily alarm as well.

Another big factor that I love about this watch is the 60 minute Countdown Timer. I have it on all of my digitals, but not on any of my analogs. When pressing the mode button, and setting the countdown in the 3:00 dial, the function hand rotates counter-clockwise, when the time is up, and audible alarm sounds.

The 60 second stopwatch moves the function hand clockwise to track seconds, the 3:00 dial displays the minutes, and the 6:00 dial displays 1/10 seconds.

The MTG has no crown, everything is set with the buttons, and the 5 motors move the hands automatically which is fun to watch. If the hands are moving in any of the modes, and you need to go to the time, those modes will stop what they are doing, and the watch will immediately move back to timekeeping mode.

In conclusion after 5 months of owning the MTG-1000G I love it. It is the most feature filled analog I own. It has a sporty yet professional look to it. You could wear it just about anywhere in just about any environment, and because it is a G-shock, you don't have to worry about it as much as you might with your other analogs. The technology is a HUGE advancement in Analog Timekeeping, but it comes at a pricetag of $400 MSRP, deals can be found, you just have to hunt for them. The 2 cons I would mention about on the MTG is I wish the function hand acted the seconds hand, sitting there you almost want to will it to tick off the seconds. The other con is the minute hand can cover the dials and date. Shortening it would had allowed full view of all functions at all times. These are just minor complaints if I were to nitpick it's shortcomings. I would definitely recommend this watch to anybody who is sitting on the fence about whether or not to purchase it.

I want to thank Sjors for the opportunity to write, I enjoyed doing so, and hope I did not disappoint. for a full video review of the MTG-1000G as well as other watches, please feel free to visit my youtube page at www.youtube.com/DougFNJ