G-Shock #48: Dee and Ricky 2

In July 2010 Casio released a collaboration model with the designer duo and twins Dee and Ricky Jackson. About a year ago I have written an article about this GA-110DR-1ACR model. In July or August I was confidently informed by Casio that a new white Dee and Ricky collaboration model was coming up. In September this news leaked out early on a Hong Kong based weblog. From that time on, there were a lot of speculations. Was it really coming? Will it be as popular as the first Dee and Ricky? Well, the watch is officially about two or three weeks out now, so it might be premature to say anything about that.

What I noticed is that the first models that were offered on internet auction sites were priced 2 to 3 times the retail price. When I tried to get one, two of these were sold in front of my nose at a sneaker shop, while I was trying to order one. At the same time I saw them for sale at $400.- in my country, ready to ship worldwide, shipping not included. I think it’s a shame that people do not buy this watch for their love, but just to make easy money and so also create an artificial rareness, by buying complete stocks of departments stores and fashion shops.

I was a bit late noticing that this model was already out in The Netherlands. On November 21stI called I Love Sneakerz for the Parra model and en passant asked if they knew about the Dee and Ricky release date. They told this watch was already out for a week. Although 6 were ordered, they only got 2. One had already been sold. Unfortunately the last one was just sold before, I could buy it, on-line when they checked the inventory. The shop owner told me they wanted more of this model on stock, so they might get a 2nd delivery.

A second batch of the Dee and Ricky model was delivered at stores last Friday (December 2). This probably means that Casio made more than enough of this model for everyone who loves this model and want to buy it for the retail. The retail price of €130 in Europe is quite fair, while the retail price in Japan is much higher, ¥18000 (somewhere around €160 - €170). This week the US retail price has been shown on the website of Casio US, it’s $130 (€100).

Also with this release a Dee and Ricky G-Shock commercial was released. No Lego this time. The commercial was shot in Paris. A classic Roman statue creates the illusion it’s shot in the Louvre, but I don’t think the Parisians would have been happy with the end. Luckily a G-Shock isn’t easily destroyed.

While it looks like Dee and Ricky have left their Lego designs of the past and have been designing other colorful accessories, the color scheme seem still taken from the famous color scheme of Lego bricks, and why shouldn’t they. Lego seems to be still growing in popularity for both kids and grownups. Actually Lego has the past years been actively promoting themselves for adults with exclusive sets. A lot of dads discover their love for Lego again as their children start playing with the bricks. There is even a term for adults with a love for Lego bricks, AFOL, the abbreviation of Adult Fan Of Lego. I don’t want to admit to loud, as my primal love is at G-Shock, but I consider myself a small AFOL as well.

The big difference between the last years Dee and Ricky model is the strap and bezel color, which is now white instead of black. Actually all black parts on the first model are now replaced by white parts. The yellow, blue, green and red details of the watch are not really changed. Even the lettering on the bezel have the same color scheme. It was hard for me to find a real difference in colors, but I actually can only find one. On the small Speed Dial of the Tachymeter on the 9 o´clock position, the center is now blue, instead of yellow. Now I have found that difference, I think yellow would have been better, as blue is pretty dominant on the dial.

The Dee and Ricky G-Shock is based on the analog GA-110 models, which together with the GD-100, GA-100 and the GA-120 models are considered the X-Large models of G-Shocks. It looks like these X-Large models are pretty popular. Even in The Netherlands these models show up in the streets and even students of me ask where they can get these models, or as a student a few days ago said: “Sorry, I don’t want a digital one like you have, but a big analog one”.

The GA-111DR is equipped with a 5146 module. The watch does not only have analog time, but two of the three parts on the dial are digital displays. The upper display is a normal (positive) display, the lower display is a negative display. The dial itself a design with several layers, which creates depth in the watch. The parts between the hour markers look a little bit like the studded Lego bricks, although they have only 3 studs diagonal on them. The combination of the white resin of the bezel and the blue accents somehow gives the watch, in my opinion, a somewhat marine look, like the Middle Sea Race Raysman. Of course there are also the yellow and red accents, but blue is in definitively in the majority.

The hands and the Speed dial have an industrial design. They seem to have been miniaturized from the cog wheels of Modern Times (1936) or derived from the “Made In Detroit” logo, which could be found on late 80’s and early ‘90s Techno 12”-es from the capital of Techno music. This industrial look give boost the tough look of this G-Shock model.

Like the first Dee and Ricky model, the buttons are in red and blue, giving a playful edge on the watch. The Dee and Ricky text logo is printed on the strap, while the heads logo is engraved on the back. There is a small difference in the heads logo with the first release. It appears that Ricky now has a moustache.

The GA-110DR has the more or less the basic functions on board. A 24 hours Stopwatch, a 24 hour Countdown Timer, 48 cities World Time function and an Alarm function with 4 normal daily alarms, a snooze alarm and a hourly signal. Personally I miss the button beeps. The only sound you can get out of the watch are alarm sounds. Even the Stopwatch operates in complete silence.

Special is the Speed function in Stopwatch mode. You can specify a distance between 1.0 and 99.0 units. It does not really matter what these units are. Speed is expressed in units per hour. So, if you set a distance of “1” and measure 60 seconds, it shows a speed of 60 units per hour. If a unit is a Kilometer, than it is in kmph, if it is one mile, than it is in mph, etc. The Speed Dial can show up to a speed of 100. Indicators in the top display show 100 units and there is even a 1000 units indicator. You can measure speed up to 1998 (units per hour). It all seems not that simple and actually after reading the manual, I still think it’s not easy, but if you need this function, I think you can work with it. I think this function might be good for car racing and other speed sports.

Since the news of the second Dee and Ricky model was out, it was a lot discussed on the G-Shock forum on WatchUSeek and on Facebook. A lot of people contacted me where to get one from and where I got mine. Well, I got one from the I Love Sneakerz, the on-line store of Unknown in Alkmaar, and another one confidential source (was it an early Saint Nicolas present?). I know the shop I bout one in still has another one, but several other shops in The Netherlands like Ace, Gorilli and Concrete probably have this watch in stock. This probably means you might find them in similar stores in Europe too.

The watch is also already out in Japan. My friend FUMI had bought two on November 12. An official party with Dee and Ricky is on December 5 somewhere in Tokyo. Coming week they will promote this watch in Paris (according their twitter accounts). In the UK the watch will be presented on December 16 (G-Shock East), so if you are in London, you might go to the release party (starts at 16:00). For the US there is not a release date yet, but it might be soon known, as it is scheduled for mid or end December. The watch might not be for everyone, but white straps and bezel makes the watch stand out great. The bright colored accents make this watch look very playful. Maybe not a watch for serious work meetings, but great for going out to a party, bar or club, holidays or visiting art exhibitions, etcetera, etcetera.