#37 Jam'in Muddy Waters

Probably the most remarkable come-back in the G-Shock line was the release of the G-5500 in 2006. The DW-5500 from 1985 was the first G-shock model that broke with the standard basic square design. The case was wider and with the text G-Shock II written on the bezel, Casio suggests G-Shock entered a new era. The DW-5500 was nicknamed "Mudman" and was part of a new group of models: "Master of G".
Well, the suggestion was a bit premature, in 1987 Casio prolonged the classic G-Shock design with the DW-5600C. Finally in 1989 Casio came with other designs.
I always was attracted to the DW-5500C. Since this model is very rare and almost always has damaged bezels (no button covers), I had to do it with photo's.
You can imagine I was pretty excited Casio came with a new 5500 in June 2006. The first G-5500 had the same color scheme as the DW-5500C, black case, red buttons. Also the first new Mudman (G-9000) tributes the DW-5500C with this color scheme.
In October 2006 this model, G-5500MC-5JF was released. It was part of the 2nd "Jam'in Color" series. Besides this G-5500, there was an other G-5500 and two G-9000 Mudman models.
The coolest thing of the "Jam'in Color" series is the fact there are no two watches the same. During the production process two color of resin meet in the mold. This results in a somewhat camouflage pattern. The colors create a new composition every time, like jamming musicians.
The colors used in this jam are pretty unusual. There are not many brown G-Shocks. I think it's a good combo. Since the G-5500 has a Mud Resist construction, this model looks like a mud camo model. About two years ago I made a photo with this watch in an undeep mud pool. It indeed blended great with the background. Since it rained a lot a two weeks ago (when I made these photo's), I tried to make similar photo's, but unfortunately there was not much mud left and the only place I could create my mud pool was used as toilet by local dogs.
The case of this watch looks pretty tough. The raised protective rim of the bezel is pretty high, higher than a basic square model.
The covered buttons are probably the most eye catching feature on this watch. These covers are the secret of the mud resist structure. These covers look like the buttons itself, but are softer compound resin that are molded into the bezel. This process, found on all mud resist models, is actually pretty special. It's not easy to process two different resins on different places into one mold.
The buttons on a mud resist model are usually harder to push, though the buttons on the G-5500 are relative not very stiff compared with the g-9000 Mudman. On the other hand, what's the problem with stiff buttons. G-Shock owners are no sissies. I hope that these stiffer buttons also mean a longer life than the old ones. Almost all photo's I have seen of the old DW-5500C missed the red buttons.
The solar panels are prominent present around the gold tone display. The lay-out of the display is like the classic squares. The small rectangle above right shows the date or day in time mode and the mode name in other modes. A pity for those who like to see time in every mode.
So what modes does this model have. First of all, and the most important function, time keeping. In nice bold digits it shows time. You can toggle between the day of the week and date by push the adjust button.
A nice surprise is the worldtime mode. With 48 city codes, there is always a timezone matching yours.
5 alarm (one is a snooze alarm) and a hourly chime. I rarely use the alarm functions. I only use the hourly chime.
Of course there are also a countdown timer and a stopwatch. The down side is that they are both have a maximum of 60 minutes. I rather would have seen 24 hour versions. The countdown timer is only programmable in whole minutes and does not have a repeat.
The display is very clear and good readable, even at dim light conditions. If it is too dark to read, you can also use the clear greenish backlight. The duration of the EL backlight can be set 1.5 and 3 seconds. I must confess that 1.5 seconds is very short to read time and 3 seconds is more than enough.
Well, the short timers is not a reason to leave this watch at home. The watch looks pretty special and the wide strap (with double buckle ) is very comfortable. I think I paid around $90, which is a reasonable price for a Tough Solar model.

#30 Jam'in Art of Camouflage

When you set a goal of making 50 G-Shock articles, you know it can be tough bringing up models that did not appear here. Well, life can be tough too. I just returned from the jaw surgeon (a nice guy and father of a gifted student on our school) where I had a wisdom tooth extracted. My dentist was right. I did not feel a thing, but now, two hours later, despite intensive cooling, my left cheek is swollen as if I have hidden half an apple...
I have taken a pain killer and dropped down in bed. People who write exist, or as a math teacher once said: "2B or not 2B, that's the hypotenusa". I write to forget. Music of "O Yuki Conjugate" to get me in a writing mood (this iHome iP99 Clock Radio with iPod and iPhone mount is a great invention). May this article turn out a bit weird, blame it on the painkillers.
I make it easy for me on this time. This week I feature a reprise of my green/yellow Jam'in Colors.
Casio released this model in May 2006. There were 4 color variations of the DW-6900MC version. Also two G-5500MC's and two G-9000MC's were released. Later two G-5500JC's models and even later also two DW-6900JC's were added.
The overseas model was easy to obtain in south-east Asia and the US. Overseas models have a black ribbed light button, while the domestic (JP) models have a light button with a colored G.
What for me makes the Jam'in Colors series interesting is the concept. Although I haven't touched an instrument for a quite a while, I have been a very active musician for a long time. Jamming, playing improvised intuitive music, was for me always an important inspiration of writing new songs.
For the Jam'in Colors series Casio let the colors jam when molding the resin parts of these series (except for the Mudman bezels). During this process two colors of resin are pressed in the mold. The colors do not mix, but end up in an unique composition for every molded part. This also means that every Jam'in Color G-Shock is unique. Even if they have the same complete model number. There are no two the same. All different songs!
Without a doubt I find the yellow/green variant the best of the DW-6900 models. The other models of the first release looked a bit like camouflage. I associate the bright green and yellow colors more to spring, happyness and joyful life. No need to hide, I'm here.
No doubt I deep up this watch when the first warm days of the year manifest. This is the watch I wear with a giant smile on my face.
Since these series were by many considered as camo models, I have always have camouflage ideas in my head for watches that are not quite camouflaged. Last week I even made my M.I.Y. Frogman camouflaged at school.
So white and black is called snow camo, blue and black is marine camo. The red and black version get lost in the strawberry fields forever. What makes green and yellow? Exact, Lawnmower camouflage.

Intermezzo #11: I got to run!!!

Even in a hurry you can post a message on your weblog. I saw this Emergency Exit sign in front of my office and thought it looked nice with my Jam'in Color DW-6900MC-3.This is a great watch for summer, with the bright green and yellow tones. If I wear this watch, I must be very happy. Back to my experiments!

#18 Jammin' dans le soleil

In the following 4 weeks I will publish articles I have written on my vacation in Cadenet in south France. Of course I (and occasionally Bram and Eva) have shot photo’s on location. Probably some photo's will not be as sharp or clear as I wished, but I think they captured the feeling of the moment. The first article puts a spot on my Jammin’ DW-6900.

It's 19:30 in the evening. I am sitting with a Pelforth Brune before the caravan. This says it must be holiday in France. Bram is playing football (for American readers, that’s the game you supposed to play a ball with your feet into your opponent's goal).My brother Paul sms-ed me that Queen's Day yesterday was very wet. Here in Cadenet (South France, near Aix en Provence) it was a very hot day. When we went to the city castle, the car thermometer told us it was 29°C in the shade around 16:00 (04:00 p.m.).

Summer days need summer watches. Fortunately I have brought some nice G-Shock's with me.
The Jam'in Color DW-6900MC-3VER is such watch. The jolly green colors shout out joy. I remember that my girlfriend Eva said she liked this colors. She does not often comment me on my watches. In the mean time my arms (and legs) are showing red. Too much sun I think.

The Jam'in Color series were released in 2006. This green version was of the first DW-6900MC models. While the red, white and blue versions were "jams" with black, the green model is a jam with yellow.

In the manufacturing process, the two colors are blended in the mold. Each bezel and watchband is different, so no 2 watches are the same.

In 2007 a second series DW-6900's were released. In this release the green and orange versions were blend with white resin. In my opinion a less successful combination.

I think of the first series, the white/black versions was by far the most popular. Often the patterns are called camouflage. Although it looks similar, camouflage patterns are printed or painted spots, while on the Jam'in Color models the colors are blended. Probably this model is not for everyone. The colors are bright and don't stay unnoticed. Maybe not a good model for in a formal office situation, but a nice sporty watch for summertime.

I have always loved the DW-6900 with 1289 module. For me the three eyes, ticking down the seconds above the main display, is one of the most attractive designs. It also looks impressive when illuminated.

On a Japanese website I once read that it's creator called the DW-6900 (with 1289 module) the "Triple Eye Devil". I always thought that was a good name. Although this is the most known DW-6900, there are also models fitted with a different module. The 1289 module is also found in some DW-002 models and the classic DW-8400 Mudman.

The basic DW-6900 was featured in the movie Mission Impossible II. The DW-6900 is therefore sometimes called MI:2, but it's not as much used as MI for the DW-5300 or Speed for the DW-5600C. In a close-up you can see that the lettering was removed and a fictive module (probably a virtually computer image) was used.