G-Shock #10: Flipping Coins on a Playful Futuristic Design

I want to do this month a special of a bunch of "Techno" models. This term was actually only applied on the DW-8140 and DW-8150 models. Somehow the name of this series has been long gone in history. Like what almost happened with the "Master of G" series, you can't find this name unfortunately anywhere, except on my collection website G-Peopeland and maybe some directions from Riley's My G-Shock. As I want to do more than only the DW-81XX models, I have put a bunch of similar looking watches on a bunch and write about one every week. The main features of all these watches are that they  are big, square and have a combination of metal and resin in the bezel. We stat off with an exception of the rule, as this model is relative smaller and has only a resin bezel. Because it has a module that can be found in a Techno model , I consider this watch also a Techno model, but more based on functions and looks.

Photo by Bram

Today’s G-Shock is not really a model with all kinds of bells and whistles on it. It’s the DW-8040 from the DW-80XX series. In this series the XX stands for 2 ciphers, in this case 40, but there were a lot of varieties. The DW-8040 is an overseas model of the DW-8010 model.

The DW-80XX watches were in Japan all released in August 1995. The watch looks like a they have been taken from the props of the old Battlestar Galactica science fiction series.

Maybe not a bad comparison, on board of the Battlestar Galactica the people liked to play games. The DW-80XX models were intend to be seen as playful. All of these models have a kind of game on board. This model, with module1431, has a coin flipping game. When the EL backlight is pressed, a fast rotating G appears in the upper part of the display. After about 2.5 seconds you see the result. The results can be a “G”, a mirrored “G” and “Lost”. The intention the makers had of this game was that of a coin flipping game. A coin could fall on it’s head, “G”, on it’s tail “mirrored “G” or fall of the table and everybody has “Lost”.

With the DW-8040 there was also the DW-8050 released. This watch has the 1433 module. The DW-8050 is probably the overseas equivalent of the Japanese DW-8020. The 1430 module (DW-8000, DW-8030) have a slot game instead of the coin flipping game. On that module you need to get three Gs n a row. There is also a 1431 module. This watch shows several expressions like “Rave”, Cool! and “Mega” when the EL button is hit.

Maybe the Coin Flipping might be the only game you can really use on a G-Shock. The slot game is just fun to watch, though, if you push several times, you’ll probably will see three Gs in a row. Somehow it is not possible to get three hearts, sevens or bells in a row.

I found out that the game on my DW-8140 can also be played without EL Backlight. If you push and hold the lower right button, you see a mark disappear in the upper right corner of the display. Now you can play without draining the battery. If you want to turn the EL on, just repeat the procedure and the mark will appear again.

Personally the DW-80XX models are not my favorite style, though I very much love the bold DW-81XX models. I guess Casio released these models on purpose around the same time. The DW-81XX models are pretty big. On most Japanese and East Asian wrists, these models would look extreme big. Not everyone loves big watches, so Casio released these smaller, playful, but less striking models with no metal parts in the bezel. Ans actually, the watch is still sized like a DW-6900, so not that small.

Remarkable is the text “SHOCK” and “RESISTANT” prominent on the bezel. On this version this text is not colored, but on the Japanese models they are mostly white. I’m not sure about the straps on this watch. The text says “Water Resistant 20BAR”. On overseas models normally 200M was used (since a few years also overseas models have the 20 bar instead of the 200 meter notification).

The use of white, red, yellow and blue markings around the display do look a bit busy, but indeed add the playful looks of the watch. It doesn’t really bother me. It just adds more to my Battlestar Galactica feeling.  

There is more remarkable on the bezel. The light button is actually under the bezel. By just pushing on the G, the EL light will turn on. The DW-80XX models only have three buttons on the side. The upper right button is left out.

The DW-8040 has just basic G-Shock functions on board. It has an Alarm function with a Hourly Chime, a 24 hour Countdown Timer and a 24 Hour Stopwatch. The stopwatch is operated with the lower right button (Start/Stop) and the upper left button (Split/Reset).

These watches are already more than 15 years old, but were released in big numbers worldwide. The Japanese DW-8000, DW-8010, and DW-8060 have a background design, only the DW-8020 didn’t have it. These models are overseas much harder to find than the DW-8030, DW-8040 and DW-8050 models that were released worldwide. These watches are not really the wanted models on the G-Shock collectors market, but they look funny enough to have at least have one in your collection. Although released in big numbers, it will not really easy to find one, but it should also not be too hard. Prices are a bit like the DW-003 and DW-004 watches, probably varying between €30 and €70.-, depending on the state and version. The Japanese models might be more expensive, specially the “Endless Summer” model (DW-8060D-1). In Japan the original recommended retail price was ¥12000 for the normal models and ¥13000 for the Endless Summer edition.