DW-6630-B9

Here we have the DW-6630-B9, a classic G-Shock design and the G that introduced me to the WUS/G-Shock forum.. It all started by me remembering a bright coloured G-Shock I'd seen in a shop window many years ago, and now I earn my own income I wanted to track down this vintage watch.. but how? I had no idea what year it was produced in, or even the model number... So, it was up to Google and its special powers!! I Googled 'G-Shock' which led me to the wonderful WUS forum. I registered straight away and posted my rather vague question... I got replies quickly and although the first replies led me to the DW-6900WCJ, I knew I was on the right track.
Sjors posted and hit the nail right on the head! So, I had the model number, but just had to find a G that was long out of production. Off to eBay I headed, and after a fairly short wait, I secured one (NIB) from Germany! After a bit of a delay the watch finally arrived and looked stunning, I think the yellow G in the backlight just tops of a great watch (some other G's have a red/orange coloured G which doesn't look as good, the DW-6600C-1V for instance). From the pictures, you'll see there is 5 green arrows and a red bar, the green arrows count the seconds and when it gets to 10, a block of the red bar lights up, these graphics also work when the stopwatch and CDT are used, and one can spend too much time just gazing at them! Although this is a basic G by todays standards (no atomic/solar/multiple alarms/etc) it is one of the favourites in my collection, obviously, as now I have two of this particular model! I would like to thank Sjors for giving me the chance to write this article it was great fun. I hope to share more of my classic G's with you. Thanks for reading,

Lee172.

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

#39: American Dragonz

This weekend I have to company the last runner of the Coastal Marathon. Therefore I will not have time to write an article for 50 Gs. Also I caught a great G-Shock reviewer to write an article about a special G-Shock around Sunday. I am also trying an other guest review soon on another G-Shock I would like to have, but don't have.

I decided to do a short review on the watch that has been on my wrist for the past few days and which you probably already would have noticed in my former article, the DW-9550HB-4T. Lets end this intro, before it gets longer than the actual article. Enjoy!
Sometimes it is a bit difficult to describe a series as a series has no name. When I started G-Peopleland I called these "Black Models", because of the dark appearance and the reversed display. Maybe I should change it into the "American Dragons". Even G-Shock Perfect Search does not help me here. All models are described as Nexax Foxfire, a name used for many more models.
These series came in three models, the DW-002US, DW-056US and DW-069US. All models have three color variations. They were released in July 1999. The Double velcro models have USV behind the model number, the versions with a lether belt have USB. The model featured here is the DW-069USV-3T. I also have a DW-069USV-1T. That one is called "Street Arts". It might be that this is the unofficial name for this series.
Besides the reversed display (black background, green or blue digits), they also have in common that a G shaped dragon is near the case on the watchband or strap adapter.
I did probably not pay very much for it. It is pretty much used. I found this watch in Germany, the country where I found several watches of this series. There are some scratches on the dragon strap adapter. Actually I noticed it when I was taking pictures outside with flash, which might have emphasized it.
The versions with a double Vlecro strap, like this one, have an unique type of straps. The upper band is ribbed and relative thick. It goves the watch a strong and sturdy look.
Casio let them inspire by the American street culture of that time. The dark tones marks the individuality and simplicity, things that were probably part of the late 90's street fashion.
To me I would rather think this watch is inspired by the army look. The olive drab color and the grey lettering makes this watch pretty camouflaged. The EL backlight is pretty cool, because the digits light up, instead of the display.

#38: Hip Hop G-Shock L.A. Style!

"It's the B side!"

In the early winter 2001, my Casio service center and jeweler stopped selling G-Shocks. A lot of late 90's models went into sale. Off course I visited the shop frequently, to see if there was something interesting for me.
One of the watches was a deep blue watch with a special watchband. There was some kind of rope dangling under it and it made me curious.
The jeweler showed me the watch. It had a cool BPM function (that I already knew from my DW-003TL).
He demonstrated the closure mechanism, that looked pretty complicated. He told me it was a special strap, so you could wear it over your snow board outfit.It sounded plausible, but in spite of the close out action, the tag showed a hefty price. If I recall right, it was f240.- (€110.-), about normal price of a basic G-Shock, without discount. The original retail price was about €140.-, which was a lot of money at it's release date, July 1998. Also the color blue was not my thing. That month I bought 2 G-Shock's and a Baby-G for my son Bram for the same price as this Snowboard watch...About a year later we hired a house for a weekend in the Ardennes. While we were looking for a terrace in the beautiful small town of Rochefort, there was a jeweler that had a wide range of G-Shock's. It was Sunday, so the shop was closed, but somewhere on the top of the display I noticed a green variation of this watch. This time with a price tag with the full retail price (ooof!).
Again this special strap was getting my attention. Also the deep green color looked very nice.

Finally, on December 5th 2003, I obtained this orange version. I have no idea what I paid for it, but I guess it would have been for something around €30.-. The watch had significant signs of wear, but somehow it also looked very sturdy.

Give me a beat!

I strapped it on and immediately noticed how comfortable this strap was. With the cord you can regulate the tightness. The free hanging cords are looking great, but they are frankly not always very handy. I work at a wet lab, so that means a lot of liquid chemicals and also I wash my hands often. Furthermore, I like to cook. With these kind of activities these cords can easily become wet or come into a frying pan. Therefore I sometimes take this watch off, to prevent it becoming dirty, fat or burnt. On the other hand, this watch is made for clubbing. I'm sure this is a real good looker!Luckily I found a new replacement strap at Tiktox. It might have been the first time I did business with these them, which would probably have been a great experience, since I have been coming back to them since many times for spare parts and G-Shocks.Since orange is our national color, I often wear this watch at Queensday or when there is a special sport event, like the Dutch football team playing an important match.
Is this watch a snowboard watch? Nope, it isn't. Actually, in spite of the pretty large straps, I do not think you can get this watch strapped over your snowboard outfit. Actually the text Tough Label is the giveaway. This name is used for the overseas models with a music theme. Hence the (for snowboarders pretty useless) BPM counter.
In Japan this model, DW-9550, is released under the name G'Mix and is part of the Groove Tune series. Note that if you look at G-ShockPerfect Search you don't find the green variant. Probably this model is only released overseas as a Tough Label model.
The DW-9550 came in two styles. The first style with a two tone double Velcro strap and silver accents in the cloth represents the N.Y. style, the versions with the cord closure strap is called the L.A. Style. This is not related to the rave act by Wessel van Diepen (Vengaboys) who recorded "James Brown is Dead" in 1991. No, Casio was more thinking of West Coast Hip Hop. Sorry Casio, I am writing this article with the inspiring music of one of Philly's finest musicians, DJ Josh Wink (Hear Hear).

"I love these shots..."

Probably the coolest functionon on bord of this DW-9550HB is the BPM counter. A BPM counter can be used to determine the tempo of music. It works pretty simple. In BPM mode you press the light button on the beat of the music. If you press the button 5 times, you get the (avarage) BPM displayed. I have used it many times to sync my MIDI set-up with a sampled loop. Within 4 bars (1.8 secs at 130 BPM), a 1 BPM variance is often tolerable.

Photo: Eva

Actually it is not a very good BPM counter. The increments are 5 BPM, which is to big for using it in a studio. I have several DW-9501HH's (released February 1999) with a BPM counter that has 1 BPM increments.

Photo: Bernard Vercouteren

A stopwatch, an alarm and hourly chime are the other functions found on this watch. Maybe you would expect more form a 18000 yen watch (€116.-), but on the other hand, if you own one, you have quite an unique G-Shock.

Photo: Eva
"This was a great yoghurt ice. Only once a year with fresh picked black berries!"