In September 2010 Casio released the latest collaboration G-Shock with Subcrew. Subcrew is an urban fashion brand, based in Hong Kong. The first 100 models were named “Shark Marine” and were numbered individually. A vinyl shark accompanied the G-Shock.
The first 100 were sold out fast. The watch became also available as a “normal” limited edition, but without a number on the back and without the “Sharkmarine”. I got this set from a friend from Kaliber 2010 (the Dutch watch forum on WatchUSeek). He bought a separate Subcrew shark of Special Edition collection of 2009 to complement his Subscrew G-Shock.
Subcrew is a Hong Kong based urban clothing brand that was founded in 2003 by Creative Director Sam Lee (1975). He is a famous actor in Hong Kong. He has played in about 70 movies from 1997 until now. Beside his acting career he is also known as DJ BecarefulLee. He is quite a busy guy, as he is also an occasionally a rapper in the metal-hip hop band LMF.
Not quite surprising, the name Subcrew is derived from the words “Submarine” and “Crew”. A cool way of showing you all stand behind the brand and follow its course against the odds. While Subcrew started as a Hong Kong based brand, now their clothing is sold in official stores in Taiwan, China, Macau, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada and New Zealand. Luckily there is also an on-line store, so you can buy their products too in Europe and the US.
This G-Shock is not the first collaboration with G-Shock. In 2008 a special version of the basic black DW-5600E model was released and in 2009 a special version of the DW-5600CS-9JF was released. Both these models were not very special collaboration models. The straps had an extra print. That’s all.
For the collaboration with G-Shock in 2010, Subcrew packed out differently. The dark green color is very unique and in the backlight there is a shark. The” sharkmarine” returns in the funny colorful packaging. These are the collaborations we (the G-Shock Collectors) like to see.
The fun of this watch already starts at the box. When you open the box for the first time, it looks like a friendly yellow shark (“Fish are friends, not food”) is opening his mouth and that the watch is lying on his tongue.
This “Subcrew” G-Shock has a very special color. It is called “Deep Forest Green”, a very dark shade of green, almost grey in some light conditions. The shark teeth pattern from the box returns on the strap. The eyes of the shark return on the strap keeper.
The metal parts of the watch are in a light gold tone. It’s a remarkable tone, as it is lighter than the usual tones, as you find on the 25th Anniversary models and you wouldn’t expect it on a gray/green color scheme. It looks right though, although silver would have looked OK too.
The Subscrew logo is etched big on the back. The first 100 models had a number, but I have one of the later production. At that time (September 2010) I was saving money for my Men In Yellow tribute Frogman. You can’t have them all.
If you thought you have seen it all, you should turn on the EL. The “Sharkmarine” is swimming in the backlight. I love it as a Collaboration model has a logo or other graphics in the backlight. I think this makes the watch stand out of the standard ones.
This watch was probably only available in Hong Kong. I can only find 4 of them on eBay right now, all without serial number, with a starting price of around $170.-. I think it would be almost impossible to find the complete numbered “Sharkmarine” set. Not only G-Shocks are popular in Hong Kong, also these vinyl figures are very popular (see also the G-Shock by Michael Lau). If you like the shark, you can order the shark, I have with this watch at Subscrew for around HK$450 (€45.-). I have paid a bit more for mine, but I haven’t calculated the shipping costs of the watch and the shark above. I think this watch is a very nice collaboration model, which would find a happy place in a G-Shock collection. If I have the spare money for a second one, I would like to have one to wear. I think its quite a looker.
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