Intermezzo #65: Prelude to the "Resist Black" Trilogy.

In March 2013 Casio announced the third series to celebrate their 30th Anniversary, The RESIST BLACK series. It would be released in April 19, the exact date of G-Shock's 30th anniversary.

There have been many models and 2 series of watches celebrating G-Shock's 30th anniversary, but frankly I, and I guess a lot of G-Shock enthusiasts and collectors too, have waited for the, now, iconic Anniversary "Project Team Tough" model. Casio decided not only to release a DW-5000 model, but choose two other classic G-Shock designs to go along with it.

The production of these models were limited, but not very. 10,500 pieces were made of each model, so it must be pretty easy to get one of those. For the record, of the DW-5025SP were 2008 pieces made and a fast search learned me that at the moment there are still 3 on auction in Japan. 

When I received my set, I noticed that my co-author Doug had bought the DW-5030C-1JR and co-author Chris (a.k.a. Chrisek. writing here as Christofono) had also bought a complete set. While chatting or FaceTiming with Doug, we came to the idea to do a "Triple Feature" together. Chris immediately was enthusiast too. I think he was even the first author to complete his article.

So here is where you find these three articles:

Doug: DW-5030C-1JR

Chrisek: GW-5530C-1JR

Sjors: DW-6930C-1JR

Now, that's a lot to read and a lot of eye candy. To keep the stories as authentic as possible, we did not discuss or talk about these models on beforehand. This might of course lead that things are mentioned double in the articles, but on the other hand, these articles must also be possible to read as single articles, outside the triple feature concept. I like to thank my fellow writers Doug and Chris for the cooperation and the fun of making this happen. It took a lot of time, but I think it shows of and it was fully worth it.

G-Shock 28: The 30th Anniversary GW-5530C-1JR

The GW-5530c is an oddball within the Rising Black Series for a few reasons. First and maybe most obvious is how it even fits in, because it never should have made it! “Preposterous!” No, not exactly. When you look at the 5000 series, it was the original G-Shock, pure function. It has gone on for 30 years for that very reason, updated and refined, but the shape hasn’t changed.

The 6900 series has gone on to be the modern re-interpretation. While the exact numbers are unknown it is either the #1 or #2 best selling G-Shock of all time, with the 5000 series being the “other”.

So, where does that leave the 5500 series? In that 1st decade there were various stylistic variations of the 5000 which the 5500 was one of. The 5500 is very “80’s”. From the ridges on top of the buttons (Ferrari Testarossa anybody?) to the aesthetically “logical” building block design (makes me think of the original Tron movie). Many varieties fell by the wayside over the decades, why did this one survive? It is hard to pinpoint, but I would suggest the almost universal praise of comfort. While it is sized bigger than the 5000’s it still isn’t anywhere near today’s bigger watches it is still similarly low profile (important for fitting under cuffs of shirts and jackets) but with the weight spread out on the wider straps and module means it’s grams per square centimeter come into play.

There is also some history involved which I don’t wish to undervalue. Did you know in 1985 this “G-Shock II” was the original Master of G? The buttons are the first (within G-Shocks) to be “Mud Resist”. That term is used when the metal buttons are hooded by a larger resin button, making it difficult for mud to enter directly through the button hole. While it obviously didn’t replace the original it has been in and out of production over the years and obviously has a soft spot within Casio and G-Shock aficianados worldwide. I hope this all helps the “How did we get here?”.

That isn’t the only way it sticks out among these 3: if you’ve noticed, the other 2 are “DW”s or very basic modules. This one is a GW or MultiBand 6 as well as solar. How did that happen? Of these 3 it is the one not making it to the world market, but is a Japan market release (with a few headed to Singapore from what I understand). Very odd, and succinctly showing where the true love of the 5500’s are.

As it is the Rising Black series it is meant to be a rustic colorway and it turned out pretty amazing in person. From the faint gold lettering on the black band and bezel to the Ion Plated buckle and case back to the gold screen with light gold/brown lettering around it is understated in a very nice way. Most of the 30th Anniversary models wear the same keepers (metal, etched with 3 stars and the verbage “SINCE 1983”) in different colors. On these it is more of a rose gold and came out in an attractive way that goes well with the overall coloring and theme.

When you hear about Casio’s Ion Plating on metal bracelets (GW-3000D, GW-4000D, GW-A1000D, etc) it quickly devolves into two camps. Because the plating is all that good at protecting from scratches, wear shows. Some people love this “patina” and others simply cannot stand it. Being on the caseback (next to skin and hair) I expect it to wear a little differently over the years and should be a pretty cool effect! One of my friends recently scratched his buckle (and quickly cursed himself) and while mad at first, I believe he will eventually come to terms with the “wear marks” that I find characterful on G’s. We shall see.

With the light weight and the wider bands this watch is unusually comfortable, and because of its overall size is actually quite versatile on wrist sizes (mine happens to be a flat-top 7.5” wrist for visualizing). The straps also have a nice visual touch of hiding the break between the straps and the bezel. When looking at the topside, it is very hard to distinguish. When looking underneath you can see the jigsaw of interlocking pieces and the hidden springbar. While looking at said jigsaw you also notice the button arrangement and everything else.

G-Shock #27: Can you Resist a Triple Eyed Devil in Black? DW-6930C-1JR

I had been waiting for these series for a long time. I had been fishing last year at several people at Casio if they knew anything of a 30th Anniversary DW-5000 model and all feedback I got was to look out around the celebration month, April 2013, the month G-Shock really exists 30 years. To my surprise, not just one, but three models were selected for this occasion in a series called Resist Black.

Of course the DW-5000C was honored with the DW-5030C-1JR Project Team “Tough” model, but Casio also honored two other iconic G-Shock models, the DW-5500C with the GW-5530C-1JR and the DW-6900 with the DW-6930C-1JR. Do you notice that Casio actually timed this Anniversary release perfectly, so these model numbers will end with the also iconic “C”, as found on the first classic screwback G-Shocks?

My part of this Resist Black trilogy is to highlight the DW-6930C. Casio carefully choose the models for this series well, although the GW-5530C might look as stranger in this ménage à trois. Still the original DW-5500C is one of the most sought after classic G-Shock and probably the first G-Shock that could be considered different from the classic square (DW-5000C) and round (DW-5400C) designs.

The DW-6900 model was introduced in May 1995 and soon became the popular base model for countless special series and collaboration models. Many new models had been introduced and gone again, but the DW-5600 (direct descendant of the first DW-5000C) and the DW-6900 have always been hugely popular.

Although Casio has equipped the DW-6900 case with several modules, the simple “Three Eyed Devil” 1289 module has ever been the most popular version. If you are a bit new to G-Shock, you might look a bit surprised. The 1298 module? Yes, the 1289 module has been replaced in 2011 ago with the 3230 module. The DW-6900SN Mat Dial Series were the first models equipped with this module. From the outside the module looks exactly the same. The only difference is the internal calendar. The 1289 module had a calendar that stops in December 2039, the new 3230 module stops in December 2099.

Back in 1995 the DW-6900 was the second model equipped with Electro Luminescent backlight, after the other basic round model of the 90’s, the DW-6600. This EL backlight was called in Japan FOX FIRE, highly probably named after the jet fighter in the movie Firefox, which had a bright backlit cockpit. Opinions about whether the DW-6600 or the DW-6900 was the best basic model are widely divided, and depend most on personal preference. Although produced for a long time and used for quite time, the last official new DW-6600 model (actually a DW-6695D) was presented back in 1995. In the end it was the DW-6900 which became overwhelming adopted by many designers and seen mostly in street fashion.

The “Three Eyed Devil” was a nickname given to the DW-6900 models with the 1289 modules on one or more big Japanese fan websites. As I thought it was a very proper name to describe these models, I pretty soon adapted this name and from time to time I still refer to these models by this name. Unfortunately, it has been more than 10 years ago I found this and these websites are probably all gone for many years. I might be the only one trying to keep this nickname alive after many years.

So, here it is, the special 30th Anniversary model DW-6930C, to commemorate that this model has been an iconic G-Shock for 18 years. The watch comes in a special box designed by G-Shock’s house designer Eric Haze. To give you that special feel, the usual hard white of Eric Haze has been replaced by an aged hue. It makes the box look like it has been there for 30 years already. A very nice idea. Also the box is quite different from other cardboard boxed by Casio. I pretty much like this design, which is also probably more environment friendly too. I would like to see more of these cardboard boxes instead of the oversized tins you get with your G-Shock sometimes. Probably more a collectors point of view, as these smaller boxes are easier to store.

I own all three models of this series. Frankly, I was at first somewhat disappointed at the design of this DW-6930C. The DW-5030C was unique with the Project Team “Tough” print and the screwback, the GW-5530C is only the 6th GW-5500 model released so far and looks very nice with the gold lettering and display. In the box the DW-6930C looked to me like what I expect to see if I got a DW-6900B-9 in my hands, the “gold” version of the basic DW-6900. As you might know, Casio often produces a “silver” and a “gold” version of a basic model. A “silver” model has the usual basic look, black resin, a gray display, G-Shock in red and the rest of the lettering mostly in white, some in blue. A “gold” version has also black resin, but the lettering is mostly in yellow and the display has a gold or amber taint. While “silver” versions are mostly popular in the US and Europe, the “gold” versions are more popular in Asia. Sometimes the “gold” versions were also sold in Europe and the US, but then in about 10% of the number of “silver” versions.

When I started the idea about writing this article, I was still somewhat disappointed at the look of the watch, but then I took it out of the box to the beach for some photo’s. It’s not really the display that catch your immediate attention. We have seen DW-6900’s before many times. It are the bronze details that make the difference. Of course the bronze metal keeper is an eye catcher. It shows three starts, each of every 10 years, and “Since 1983”, referring to the birth year of G-Shock. Metal keepers are not really new. We saw them on the 2003 20th Anniversary models, as the DW-5000ML, reviewed here recently and also an I.C.E.R.C. release in the ‘90s had great ones. As strap keepers are actually the first thing that break off a G-Shocks (normally after many, many years of use though), I would like to see these metal keepers more often on G-Shocks. The buttons of this watch are also finished in bronze metal. It’s a pity the bezel screws were not in black or bronze, specially if you see that the buckle and backplate screws are also in black. The watch has very clear amber display. The colors scheme of this watch has been chosen this way to make the watch look like an old vintage model.

A place you normally not see on a wristwatch is the back. The backplate of this watch is very beautifully black coated. I can’t find which technique is used, but I think it’s a durable IP coating. Instead of a basic G-Shock logo, the 30th Anniversary logo is etched on it.

In the end, the watch grew on my. Somehow I would have like it if there was some sore of reference to the 30th Anniversary, like the Project Team “Tough” text on the DW-5030C, but the bronze details look pretty nice in daylight and actually does the whole watch look good.

As I wasn’t for sure what would be released outside Japan, I ordered the complete set in Japan from Katsu higuchi-san at Higuchi-Inc. Like Seiya Japan, Katsu Higuchi-san provides great service and fast shipping. Now it seems the GW-5530C-1JR was a JP only release, while the DW-5030C and the DW-6930C are now released also in Europe and the US as “Vintage Colorway Timepieces”. The retail prices for this model are ¥15000,$130 and €129, which are usual prices for special editions like these.