#43 Red & Bad

It is Halloween today. It is also the last day of the Fall vacation at school. While I thought I would have an ocean of time for writing one or more articles for 50 Gs, it appeared it has been even busier than at the last week at school.

I had not a real idea what to write when I started, but I searched for an orange model that has not been on 50 Gs before. I am afraid this model is the last orange model left. First I was thinking of buying a pumpkin, but I had no time left to search for one. Maybe next year.

So what’s up. It’s the DWX-100S-4V. For Casio this was an overseas model, that was sold in Europe and the US. While the Japanese version was released in 1998, this one was released in 1999.

I always found the name given by Casio Europe a bit funny. It’s called “Red & Bad”, but that’s probably because they couldn’t find a word rhyming with orange. So the watch is thus orange and it has gray accents. A total of 4 different models were released. There were also a black, blue and a gray model with yellow accents.

The watch was marketed as a model for water sports. While in Japan the DWX-100 was still released in the X-Treme series, this model is released as a G-Lide model. The G-Lide series are a special series in the G-Shock and Baby-G line-up, dedicated for “board sporters”. While other models were dedicated to snowboarders or skateboarders, this design is optimized for surfing (and other water sports of course).

The watch has a asymmetrical design, which theoretically gives the wrist more space to bend during extreme sports, but the DWX-100 is a relative small model. I think it’s also done to give the watch a more streamlined look.

The whole design has lining and holes that allow ventilation and drainage of water under the watch. It’s clearly a design of a water sports watch. Still there were special versions made (like the Steve Cabalero model) that were dedicated to skateboarders and snowboarders (Air+Style). These DWX-110 series models were less asymmetric and have a slightly different strap and a totally different button design.

While the DWX-100 was released in Japan with the 1978 module, this overseas model is equipped with the 2023 module, which has a totally different look. The eye is smaller and placed on the left side, while the day and date window is replaced by a seconds animation. The font of the time is a little bit smaller, because the day and date has been moved also to the lower section of the display. This doesn’t mean the time is unreadable. The display is very crisp and clear.

The fact this model is released as a G-Lide model has a nice advantage. While the X-treme models do not have a logo in the backlight, the G-Lide logo is present in this DWX-100S. Personally I prefer the G-Lide logo, as it represents the shape of a board. I think that is also the reason why the DWX-100 was the last of the X-Treme series. Later models dedicated to board sports were also in Japan released as G-Lide.

The main difference between the between the Japan Domestic DWX-100 and the DWX-100S is the “Surfing Timer”. This Surfing Timer is a 60 minute countdown timer with “Countdown Indicators”. We know these countdown indicators from G-Shock models with a Yacht Timer. On this model a 1 second audible alarm is heard every minute in the last 5 minutes of the countdown. With the alarm that indicates that there are 5 minutes to go, also the EL backlight lights up if the FLASH function is activated (default) and when the countdown is over the EL light flashes happily with 10 seconds with the alarm. The manual does not say there is a 3 seconds countdown to the last 5 minutes and does also not say the EL does not flash at the alarms when the Flash function is turned off, though the last is pretty logical.

The “Surftimer” can only be set in whole minutes. It doesn’t have to be entered into “Adjust Mode” to enter the countdown value. The upper right button functions as reset button and when the countdown is not running you can add minutes by pressing the same upper right button. A short push adds one minute, hold the button to add minutes fast.

 

In both Stopwatch Mode and Surfing Timer Mode the traditional 5th light button functions as Start-Stop button. The lower right button functions as light button. Personally I think it is a bit confusing, as in other modes the 5th button functions normally as a light button. The Stopwatch Function has by the way a 24 hour capacity.

 

The Alarm function is pretty basic. It can be set to 1 daily alarm and you can toggle the Hourly Chime on and off.

The “Red & Bad” was probably not a very popular model when released. It could be found for prices around DM 40.- (€20.-) easily when I started collecting. It might not be such a popular model because of its design. At the end of the 90’s G-Shocks became bigger and specially the DW-003, DW-004, DW-6900 and DW-90XX models became popular in street fashion. The DWX-100S does look much different from these models. It’s smaller and looks rather like a sports watch, like those were sold by popular sports brands like Adidas and Nike.

I can imagine G-Shock lovers and collectors are not very enthusiast about this model, but I think it is still a nice model. I do not own the gray-yellow variant, but also that model looks great. In Japan the orange and yellow X-Treme DWX-100 models looked great too. It would be nice if I ever walked upon one of these for a small price. It’s not a model that I would wear I think. First it’s relative small and I am used to the bigger G-Shocks. Secondly, I have noticed that the plastic buttons can break off relative easily when abused. I have no idea how people have managed to break them, because the case has quite a button protective design. It is a 13 year old model, so spare parts will not be available anymore. Don’t expect to pay much for a DW-100S. They do not pp up very often anymore, but if they do, expect them to find somewhere in the $30 - $50 range.