G-Shock #8: Ocean Gray Gulfman

It’s already almost 5 years ago Casio started with series G-Shocks to celebrate their 25th anniversary. In total 5 special series were released, which started off in May 2007 with the Black Dawn series. I have no idea how Casio is going to celebrate their 30th anniversary in 2013, but I spoke to a G-Shock designer a year ago in Japan, who told me they were already busy with these models. I think we have to stay tuned this and next year for special 30th Anniversary products, as Casio has made it a tradition to bring out special editions and series every 5 year, since their 10th anniversary.

The Ocean Gray series were the 4th series to celebrate the 25th anniversary, preceded by the Dawn Black, Rising White and Master Blue series and succeeded by the Glorious Gold series. There were three Ocean Gray models, the AWG-525D-8JF, the DW-5025D-8JF and this GW-9125D-8JF. As far as I know the DW-5025D-8 was the only model that was also available outside Japan, though it did not hit the European market.

The most striking detail of the Ocean Gray models is the translucent resin. I have checked, the color Ocean Gray does exist, but frankly I didn’t know oceans were gray. I more thought they were sea green or bluish. The official description of Casio and my photo experience with this model explain a little more. The color scheme of the gray resin and the mirror display are inspired by the sun reflection in the ocean. Well, I can tell you that getting these Ocean Gray models natural on photo (I have the DW-5025D and this GW-9125D) is a pretty difficult thing.

Our eyes are capable to see so much contrasts difference, but a camera just registers the light. The mirror display reflects a lot of light, specially outside. Therefore it is often only possible to show the display, or only the translucent resin with a over-exposed display. Well, I see a challenge here (I am writing this article, without one photo being shot yet).

The 25th Anniversary series models came is special packages. In Japan this was a special grey box with a “Chest Box” in it. When it is opened you see the 25th anniversary logo, designed by Eric Haze printed in the box, next to your watch.

Trunk cases for the 25th Anniversary models.

Overseas models cam in a specially designed tin, also by Eric Haze. It’s pretty hard to decide which package appealed most actually. I think you are always unconsciously attracted to the package you can’t get in your region. Indeed, I think I like the chest box over the tin, but if I lived in Japan, I might probably have liked the tin more.

The 25th Anniversary box and tin for the overseas models.

I bought this Gulfman from the Sales Corner on WatchUSeek for a reasonable price. It’s actually in near mint order, there is not even an imprint of the buckle on the strap. As I like to wear my watches pretty snug, all the watches I wear show the imprint, where the buckle meets the strap, pretty well.

The history of the Gulfman dates back to may 1999. The classic Tough Solar DW-9700 followed up the DW-8600 Fisherman. Both models were from the Master of G series and were intend to for use at sea, hence their names. Typically, these models had a titanium back plate, to prevent rust. Also both these models had a Tidegraph. While most the original Master of G models were relative big (Frogman, Mudman, Gaussman, Codename, Riseman), the DW-9700 was relative small. In my opinion, the DW-9700 looked smaller than the then commonly DW-9000 models for instance.

The Gulfman was revived in 2007 in two versions, an Atomic model and an non-Atomic model, the GW-9100 and the G-9100. The difference between these models were more than only the Atomic time reception and that the Atomic model was Tough Solar and the G-9100 not. In my opinion the biggest difference between the two is that the GW-9100 does not have the Tidegraph, while the G-9100 still had this feature. I don’t know why Casio left out this feature on the GW-9100, but I think cosmetic reasons of the display would have take part of that decision. The GW-9100 has a very nice looking clean display in my opinion. I very much like the eye. In 2010 Casio released the GW-9110 with the Tidegraph and Moonlight function. Probably the improvement of the solar panels would have made it possible to make such a display, as the visible surface of these panes have been decreased significantly on the GW-9110.

All metal parts of the 25th anniversary models had gold tone metal parts, even the bezel screws. On the GW-9125D there is an exception. The metal (titanium) ring around the display is in silver tone. This is probably done to match the mirror display. Actually the Gulfman of the Master Blue series has a blue metal ring. As I am not a fan of blue colors, I have no models of this series. Not that I wasn’t happy Casio released the Master Blue series. The Dawn Black and Rising White series had burned a serious hole in my wallet already.

So what’s on board this Gulfman. It is driven by a 3089 module. The watch is Tough Solar and has a 5 Multiband receiver for atomic time signals transmitter in the world, 2 in Japan, two in Europe and one in the US. Nowadays a 6 Multiband receiver is used on newer Casio Waveceptor models, since China now also has a transmitter. I think the GW-9100 Gulfman was the first Multiband G-Shock model. Before this, you could only buy G-Shocks and other Casio Waveceptor models that could sync regional. The US had the advantage that they used the same frequency as one of the two Japanese transmitters, so US models could be used in Japan and Japanese models could be used in the US (except for the first Waveceptor model, the Antman, who could only receive signal from one of the two transmitters in Japan).

The watch has, like all newer solar models, a Power Save function. This means the display goes blank when the watch has been not moved in the dark for a few hours. The timekeeping on mine is excellent, even without Atomic time reception. When I took this one out of a box in my storage room, it had not synced since November 19th. After two and a half month, it was only 2 seconds fast compared to my Atomic Casio alarm clock at my work. I think one second per month or less off is very good. Casio handles an accuracy of 15 seconds per month when the Atomic signal is not received, where in my experience 8 to 10 seconds is normal.

The functionality on the Gulfman is basic, but good. It has a 48 cities Worldtime function, a 24 hour Countdown Timer and a 24 hour Stopwatch on board. Also the watch has an Alarm function, which can be set to 5 alarms and of course the Hourly Chime is present.

I very much like my Gulfman. Somehow I think the translucent gray color is not real look good on my wrist though. I think this color would look better on someone with a lighter skin tone than I have. On the other hand, I can come away very good with the bright color tones, which I also like.

Although the 25th Anniversary series were made in high volumes, they are getting hard to find now, specially outside Japan. The original recommended retail price was already pretty steep, ¥28500, though I think it would have been possible to buy one for around ¥20000 in 2008. There were two of them for sale on eBay when I checked, both in Japan. I think I paid around $200.- for this model, maybe less, because there is no box. Now you might expect to pay over $375.- for a new one. For that price you get the great looking cardboard box and chest box of course with it and free shipping from Japan.

G-Shock #22: Ninja!

I must have this watch. Not that I am fond of motorcycles. Nope, cars and motorcycles are not really my interest. As a small child I as mostly impressed by trains. When I finished middle school, I went to a Laboratory School, 30 kilometers from home. Every school day I made the 20 minutes train trip to school and back for 7 years. I never got bored of it.Actually it was a bummer that my school moved close to my home, for my last 2 years.

My brother however was born for wheels, specially motorcycles. If you had a problem with your bike, you went to the garage of our house and my brother would get your bike riding perfect again. We were never surprised as we went to school in the morning and had to step over a motorcycle that has been spread in pats all over the garage in the morning and was riding again in the evening.

One day my brother had bought a Kawasaki 500cc motorcycle. It was quite a fast machine for those days. My brother often took me or my sisters for a ride. Of course, riding with two is always more cozy than riding alone, but there was one better reason. With a contra weight on the back, you could make wheelies of a few hundred meters (yards) with no problem. Later my brother got an old BMW R60/5, which he upgraded to 900cc which he had for many years.

A few years ago I bought a box of “Taxi” movies. These are hilarious French comic movies about a taxi driver, who, even when he is driving “normal”, is faster than any rally car. Some police men are chasing him in the first movie, while yelling “Ninja!” every time. My son Bram, who loves fast cars, kept yelling “Ninja” since then and discovered there were motorcycles called “Ninja”. Every time Bram saw a poisonous green racing motorcycle, he yelled: “Ninja!”.

In October 2009 I attended the Barcelona leg of the “Shock The World Tour 2009”. This leg was held in the beautiful Casa Batlló, created by the famous architect Antoni Gaudí. When I was in the basement looking at the ice sculptures, with some friends of the Comando-G, I decided t go to the bar and get something to drink. While I was meandering through the crowd, somewhere in the middle of the hall, I almost walked upon a Japanese man. We both apologized deeply and I followed my way to the bar.

While a few people were waiting before me at the bar, I started looking around, noticing the same Japanese man was standing behind me. I felt a bit ashamed. That man also went to the bar and I blocked his way, I thought. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were also going to the bar”, I said. “No problem”, the man said and he smiled. “While we are both standing here at the bar, can I offer you a drink?”. “Yes, please, a cola”. I waited patiently for a free bartender, while obviously observing the red G-7700 models they were wearing. I thought, “I wish I was a bartender, I bet they got these from Casio”. I didn’t have to wait long and I gave the man his cola, while I enjoyed my ginger ale.

In the crowd was a lot to see. A lot of people were wearing newer G-Shock models, but I also noticed some vintage models. Also my eyes wandered off to the wrist of the Japanese man. “Excuse me sir, I noticed you are not wearing a G-Shock watch. Aren’t you a Casio representative?” , I asked. The man smiled: “no, I’m not. Do you know Kawasaki motorcycle?”. “Yes, my brother had a Kawasaki motorcycle and my son is fond of the Ninja motorcycles”. The smile on the man’s face became even bigger: “I am the director of the Kawasaki Motorcycle Factory in Japan, can I take a photo with you”.

I was stunned. This man is a director of a well known motorcycle company and he wants with me, the simple guy from the countryside in the Netherlands, on a photo. I think I don’t have to explain this was one of the greatest highs in my life. Of course I also gave my camera to one of the Comando-G boys, to have evidence this really happened. After taking photographs with me I was introduced to the whole Kawasaki team that was attending Shock The World. I’m not sure if this was a team from Europe or Spain, but, hey, this was awesome!

I have been lurking long at the G-300 Kawasaki Ninja models, that were for sale on eBay. I believe these were for sale since 2005. I kept saying to myself, if it only was red. Of course, most Kawasaki Ninja models that you will see are the poisonous green models. And frankly, I like the green/black color scheme too. Somehow I never bought one and now it’s simply too late. You don’t see those green Ninja G-Shocks anymore. Sometimes someone tries to make a profit out of his purchase, selling his for twice the usual price or higher.

In 2007 Casio released a lot of 25th Anniversary models. One of them is a collaboration model with Kawasaki Ninja. Guess what, this model is red. Also it isn’t the G-300 model. Not that I totally dislike that model, but I admire the DW-6900. This watch is awesome. Only problem… It could only be ordered directly in the Kawasaki on-line shop in Japan and it was only meant for the domestic market. Well, with the enormous 25th anniversary models coming out in 2007 and 2008, it was of course not a real disaster I couldn’t get this watch.(Check out my comment on this post on My G-Shock, I was already lurking 3 years ago)

A few months ago I saw a green Kawasaki motorcycle riding through the street. I thought, let’s do a search for a green Ninja G-Shock. To my surprise, there were no green Kawasaki G-Shock models for offered on eBay, but I found three red DW-6900 versions!

I wish I had more funds as I simply couldn’t afford those watches at that time, but I really wanted this model bad. Really bad. I tried to save up some money last month and also this month I tried to save some money. I was thinking about this model practically a few times a day. Around the beginning of the Golden Week (GW)I pulled the trigger. I knew if I bought this watch, I needed to be careful with how I spent the rest of my money for this month. The watch was located in Japan, so I expected I had to wait a little longer due to the GW, although I had paid instantly after the purchase. Finally I got a mail that the G-Shock was in process in the weekend after the GW and it was sent from Osaka to me on may 11th. The waiting begun, but like the Japanese EMS service, the watch was in no time in Amsterdam. [rant] On Friday May 13th, it arrived at the office of the Customs Commissioner. I knew what that meant. A Loooooong wait and a huge bill. I can understand that we have to pay taxes for important goods. The only thing I don’t understand is the extreme long waiting time on a Express Mail Service package (usually 4 to 5 working days) and an additional fees of €17.-. If I sent a package registered from one part to the other part of the Netherlands, I pay €7.50 and even for Europe I pay less than €17.-.. No, for carrying a package from one office to another near Amsterdam Airport, the TNT parcel service write out a bill of €17.- , no matter what the content is worth. Once I got a bill with a $20.- watch. I had to pay €4.- tax and €17.- fees. The fees were even more than the worth of the whole watch (less then €15.-). I was pretty annoyed that Eva threw away this bill, because I wanted to save it for reference. Maybe I could go with similar bills to a consumers program on television, because I still think this is a horrible money grabbing practice of the Dutch TNT.

Today I got a telephone call from Eva. Your package arrived. I almost fell of my chair when I heard the height of the bill. “How Much!”. “It was 53 Euro something”. Bad timing. My father was hospitalized last Monday and some idiots (I have no other words for these selfish managers) have thought out that it would be good to keep only one hospital (the smallest) for two (former) islands and of course that hospital is located in the least populated island, about 30 kilometers from where I live. Instead of taking my bicycle and ride to the hospital in Vlissingen I now have to ride daily 20 minutes to the hospital in Goes. I pretty much could have used that €53.- to fill my gas tank of the car.[/rant]

This afternoon I got home and saw the package on the table. I also found my envelope, where I had put in the money for the customs. Eva had left €5.- in it. I must have looked pretty sad at that bank note. I took a deep breath and took the package outside. The watch was well packed in several of layers bubble plastic. First I found a personal letter of the seller. I must say, this cheered me up a lot. He was very happy that I bought the watch and also made two origami Ninja stars for me. Bram immediately recognized them.

The watch itself is a bit packed as the Toyota Land Cruiser Mudman. The big red outer box has a graphic of a Kawasaki Ninja on it, and also the marks Kawasaki Ninja x G-Shock , G-Shock 25th Anniversary, Kawasaki Limited Edition and both the Kawasaki and G-Shock logo.

I think the inner “trunk box” is even more beautiful. I noticed that someone had bought a 25th anniversary model a few weeks ago and he was disappointed he didn’t get the 25th Anniversary tin by Eric Haze. Well, those tins are looking great, but the trunk cases are at least as nice as these tins too.

Inside the trunk case, you finally find the G-Shock. Of course well packed in another plastic bag. This watch is a DW-6900FS model, with the typical gold trim, as we are used from the 25th Anniversary models. The buttons and buckle are in a gold tone. Strangely the back of the watch is silver. It has the 25th Anniversary logo on it, designed by Eric Haze. Very cool on this model is the face plate. I always wanted to have a model with a red face plate. Above the eyes there is the Ninja logo in white. The Ninja logo also appears in the display as the backlight is activated.

 The straps have red racing stripes on them, which make them look pretty fast. For those who didn’t get it already, Ninja is the trademark for the Kawasaki sport bikes and have been around since 1984, only one year later than the first G-Shock.

This DW-6900FS model has the 1289 module. I see this article has become quite long, so I think I can best refer to other 50 Gs articles about DW-6900 models featuring the same 1289 module. In short, it is a pretty basic module, with the basic G-Shock functions , as you found them on G0Shock’s in the 90’s.

 This model was available in the Kawasaki Store for 14700 yen, which would be now around $180 or €125.-. I wish I could have bought it for this price, but I paid $260.- (€175.-) for this watch plus €53.50 tax and fees, raising the price to a sad €228.-($326.-). There are still some for sale on eBay. If you are handy with From Japan, you can also find a few for a good price on Yahoo Auctions Japan. Although I have paid a high price for this watch, I am very happy to have this one in my collection. If this watch was priced more reasonable, I probably would have tried to find a second to wear.