#28 Titanium MR-G for the Toyota Cup.

In 1960 the UEFA and CONMEBOL (the European and South American tootball organizations) organized the Intercontinatel Cup for the first time in Spain. The winners of the UEFA Champions League and the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores met eachother in the end of November or begin of December.

 Tokyo National Stadium

The matches were hosted in rotation in Europe and South America. Since 1980 the match was held on neutral ground in Japan. From 1980 to 2001 in Tokyo National Stadium, in the last three years in the International Stadium in Yokohama. The Intercontinental Cup became then better known for it's head sponsor, the Toyota Cup.

In 1990 the Toyota Cup was held for the 20th time. For this occasion a special MR-G model was made. I think someone made a small calculation mistake, because it was called the 20th Anniversary model for the Toyota Cup, but it was in 1999 actually the 19th Anniversary (you start counting from the first match, so the second match is at the first anniversary...). They meant the 20th Toyota Cup match.

I found this beautiful watch on eBay, not long after I had bought two other very special MR-G models. The title of the auction mentioned it was an MR-G and a Toyota Cupo model. Still I won this auction for a very good price. I think I paid around €100 for this model.

This special edition is based on the MRG-200T-8. If it was ever for sale, it should have cost between 57000 and 60000 yen. This model can't be found in the G-Shock Perfect Search. If you search for this model, you can probably only find my model. The text above the logo on the box "Many Thanks!" also suggest this watch was made as a gift. Since the MRG-200T was a high end G-Shock model, I guess this watch was given to staff members of the Toyota Cup.

I was very happy when I got this model. The seller was also happy the watch went to a real G-Shock enthusiast. He included a program of the 20th Toyota Cup. All matches can be found on the cover. The 20th match was between Manchester United (England) and Palmeiras (Brazil). The Toyota Cup 1999 was won by Manchester United with 1-0.

The classic metal MR-G models of the late 90's came in a beautiful leather covered box. On this box the logo of the 20th Anniversary Toyota Cup is printed on the cover. The MR-G logo is etched in a small metal plate at the bottom of the box.

As the model number already suggests, the watch is made of Titanium. The bracelet seems to been made of solid links. It seems that the links are chained by screws, instead of springbars or split pins.If you have pretty big wrists, you still might fit this model. The bracelet can be adjusted pretty good, because you can adjust at 1/3 of a link. Most G-Shock can only be adjusted at 1/2 link. .

The titanium used on this watch is dark gray. Not very dark, but much darker than stainless steel. It seems not pure gray, I spot a little brown hue in it, very beautiful. The watch itself is quite light for a MR-G. It's maybe not very light, but a stainless steel MR-G is pretty heavy.

 

The MRG-200T dates from 1997. The serial number tells us the watch was assebled in October 1997. The normal titanium version cost back in 1997 55000 yen. The Toyota Cup model does only have a special box and a engraved clasp. I think Casio picked these MRG-200T models from their warehouse and engraved the clasp. That might explain the relative long time between assembly and release (October 1997 - Noveber 1999).

MR-G is the top line of G-Shock (it was in the 90's and it still is with the recent models). The late 90's models were completely made of metal and divide themselves with that from the other G-Shock models. Also the look is somewhat different, thought the raised rim around the display and the screws on the front give these models a tough and sturdy appearance.

The module (1673) has some different functions, than what you normally find on a G-Shock.

First mode is Contact Mode. Here you can store up to 20 data sets, like telephone numbers. It shares the memory Identification Mode. In Identification Mode you also can store up to 20 data sets. You can input here data like  passport numbers, credit card numbers and licence numbrs. I somehow can't recommend you to store credit card numbers here. A funny detail, the 1673 module can input both alphanumeric characters as katakana characters (98 characters in total).

 

Next mode is Vital Statistics mode. In Vital Statistics you can input your name, blood type and birth date. It is always good to input this data. Unfortunately I do not think that medical people will check your watch in case of emergency. It won't be a bad thing if this mode would be a common function on many watches.

Further the watch has the casual Alarm function and a stopwatch on board. MR-G models do not have a loud alarm. This is probably caused by the thick metal case.

 The watch has a beautiful EL backlight. The color is a kind of soft green. I always liked the clear look of the EL of the MR-G models.

If you really are looking for this specific model, I'm afraid it will be a hard search. A MRG-200T can probably easier be found, though it is not a model you see often. I found an old sales post for one sold at $100.-, which is a steal. I think a good price for this oldie would be around $150 - $200 for the basic 200T model. It is hard to give value this model, just because you don't see it often.