In July 2011 Casio released a series of 4 DW-6900SN models, under the name Mat Dial series. They came in 4 color ways, in black, white, turquoise and this model in pink. Compared with earlier pink 6900 models, this model ass a bit more paler pink.
Normally new models are first released outside Japan in East Asia, but this time Casio distributed this watch directly in the US and Europe after the release. Actually, this which seems to be hard to find in Hong Kong and Singapore, suggesting it wasn’t officially released there or only in small numbers.
Normally I try to find a good bargain to obtain a model, but for this model I had to look in my own country. The prices I could find on-line started from €89.- in the US (retail price in Japan is ¥12000, which is about €110). In Europe I could find this watch for €99.- excluding shipping, which is the suggested retail price here. An on-line sneaker store in The Netherlands had this watch for €99.- including shipping. Although in the US this model was cheaper, the risk of being taxed by the customs is very high. Not only the 20% tax would make it quite more expensive, also the unreasonable standard TNT charge of €17.- for handling costs and holding it for 4 to 5 days makes it very unattractive to buy this watch in the US. No need to say, I checked all options and just found that it was best to order from the sneaker store. Best thing is that my G-Shock arrived a day later.
When this series were announced, I was thinking about buying the whole series, as I sometimes like to have a complete set in my collection if I like a series. Normally I am not too fond of blue tones, but the turquoise model looks pretty good. The white model looks very special, because the white face plate has a red circle on the outside, making this watch look a bit the outsider of this series, but looks very good. Maybe only the black models looks a bit dull, just because it’s black with a negative display. Well, the lemon green G-SHOCK lettering is pretty cool. It would match well with my mountain bike.
I am curious why this series was called Mat Dial series. First of all, it’s a digital model, so actually there is no dial, but simply a face plate and the displays. More specific, there is one display and a faceplate that covers some parts of the display. I think with dial Casio means the face plate. It has indeed a matte finish, but this is usual for DW-6900 models. I looks deeper black than a standard DW-6900, but the solar panels on the G-6900 and GW-6900 are also deep black.
The dial is the similar plum red as found on earlier Crazy Colors models and GW-6900F I reviewed here a few weeks ago. As the watch draws attention, I showed the watch yesterday to one of my students. She very much liked the color (she has a fraction darker skin tone than I have and the watch looked indeed great on her wrist), but she commented on the display. It has a great color, but it’s pretty hard reading time.
While on the outside the watch looks like a typical model in the huge DW-6900 range, there were two things that draw my attention on the back of this watch. First of all there is a new module number. Instead of the classic 1289 module, this watch comes with the new 3230 module. At first glance there is no difference between the classic 1289 module and this 3230 module. The difference is in the programming of the date. The classic 1289 module was programmed until December 31 2039. This sounded very far away in 1994, but it’s now “only” 28 years to go. The new calendar is programmed until December 31, 2099. Well, maybe Casio will update that module again in about 70 years. A good chance I won’t experience that.
Another interesting thing found on the back is that the watch is assembled in China DH. Well, there are a lot more DW-6600’s and DW-6900 made in China, but I have never heard of a production plant called DH. Actually it is the first time I see that a production plant is marked with two letters, instead of one.
It seems pink is not a color for everyone. I must say I very much like the color tone of this watch. It made me even think in finding a second pink Riseman, which is in a similar tone. Sometimes pink is regarded as a non masculine color in Western culture, but in fact, in history pink was THE masculine color (baby-blue was considered feminine). Personally I think this watch is a good uni-sex model. Wearing this pink model as a man probably consciously or unconsciously show you are a strong personality, as some men don’t like to wear pink because they are afraid what other people think of them, while I think who you are is more important to what people think of you.
This model is released in Japan as the Mat Dial series, but in Europe and the US it was part of the basic models of the 2011 Autumn/Winter Collection. I think and hope that this series will be available for a longer time as they look pretty good. In availability I think this model is produced in similar numbers as the Crazy Colors series and the Metallic Colors series. As mentioned above, it’s hard to find a bargain outside the US. Prices vary around €99.- in Europe to €130 in East Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore). My Facebook friend Louis bought this model is a store in Puerto Rice for around $60.- in a US webshop, which only shops to the US and Puerto Rico. If it’s worth buying for you is something you have to decide for yourself. I am pretty content with this watch and plan to wear it quite often. I hope my article and photo’s might help you if you are interested in purchasing this model or another model of this series.
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