#35 Seeing Red with S-Kool G-5500C-4

First off, I would like to thank Sjors for giving me the great honor of writing an article for 50 G’s.

I’ve enjoyed reading the articles written by him, as well as those who have been invited to contribute, for years, that I’d never imagine myself being a contributor.

What I enjoy most about these articles, are the great pictures taken and stories behind the acquisition of the watches, on top of the usual reviews and discussing its features. I figure I could never write like that, or even be interesting enough to have a story. So I offer my apologies in advance to readers if you fall asleep halfway reading this article. I hope I can make up for it by taking beautiful pics.

Red: Passion, blood, fire, rage, beauty, revolution.

I absolutely love red among all colors. Not that I’m obsessed with it, but I feel that this particular color evokes the most variable kinds of emotions when applied to different subjects. I use red a lot in my art too.

It’s a different theory however, when it comes to watches. I prefer my watches black, silver or gray. Most of my watches in other colors barely got their deserved wrist time.  So what got me  hunting for this red piece? I honestly don’t know, but this article will probably help churn up some "excuses".

I was on a break from acquiring G-Shocks for a while, for about 2 months (seems damn long) due to my busy work schedule, and the fact that I had gone broke from an almost monthly G-Spree. It was a couple of days from the final stage of the FIFA World Cup 2010. Teams have been narrowed down to two; Netherlands and Spain. Not that I’m a fan of soccer, but just because this was one of the biggest sporting events watched all over the world, I ended up watching it too. I never had a favorite team to support to begin with, but as the matches passed and teams got eliminated, I fell in love with Spain’s performance. Powerful, precise, and perfect.

Photo: www.watchshock.com

Probably driven by the bold colors represented by both teams, I felt the urge to look for a  G-Shock of either Orange or Red. So my hunt was narrowed down to two; a used but in great condition red S-Kool series G-5500C-4 from an online forum, and the orange Summer Gradation series DW-5600LC-4, which I found mint in a local store. Both models were released in 2007. Both models look great, and it sure was a tough choice to make, even though I know I’d pick a red watch over an orange watch anytime. So first I did a visual comparison of the two, then weighed in the features and my vote quickly veered towards the G-5500C-4.

Then there was this much-hyped octopus named Paul in Germany that made accurate predictions of the World Cup match winners. For the final match, Paul "The Oracle" had chosen Spain as the winner. So I decided, “Ok, let’s go with Paul’s decision. With this purchase, I’ll bet that Spain will win the final.”

Photo: AP/Roberto Pfeil

Well we all know who won!

I didn't receive the watch until about a week after the finals, so I missed the chance to celebrate together. When i saw this watch in person for the first time, I think I would have believed if Casio said this was a G-Shock X España Collaboration.

G-5500C-4 Vivid color/ S-Kool series

The G-5500C-4 was released in November 2007 along with 2 other colors, G-5500C-3 in green and G-5500C-7 in white. As described by their title, all 3 colors are vividly strong and really pack a presence when worn on the wrist. I think this series makes for a great summer watch. A quick search online for this series showed that it was released under 2 names, 1 for the Japan Domestic Market, the other for worldwide release. While it was released as vivid color series worldwide, the Japanese market released the same models as S-Kool series. S for Stylish, Smart, Sporty. Kool was added to complete the idea of the influence G-Shock has had among the popular youth culture, the "cool" people. S-Kool also reads skool or school to indicate this model was adapted from its 'Old Skool' model from the mid eighties, the G-Shock II DW-5500. It has since been given a new "engine" and solar charging technology.

What I like about 55xx series is the construction of the bezel and band. Unlike other models, the part where the bezel and band meets are perfectly flushed you would be convinced it was constructed as a single piece. The first of the G-55xx model I owned is the Solar Atomic 25th anniversary GW-5525A. I had to take it apart to feed my curiosity as to whether the bezel and band are a single piece or not.

Putting them back together was no easy task as well. The 55xx bands have an extra securing loop just near the screw holes that you need to be aware of when replacing the band so as not to snap the side, which I find it looks pretty fragile when it's taken out.

I also found out the button covers were not constructed with the bezel as a single piece, but the way the covers flushed so well with the bezel, just like how it is with the bezel and band, made the whole resin look unified.

The well covered buttons are pretty hard to press at times, that's evident in most mud-resist models (the DW-5500 was regarded as the first mud-resistant G-Shock) , but it's a relief to know that no dirt will get in between the buttons. Its raised bezel is also much higher than any other square models, giving the crystal extra protection.

Here you can see the difference in legibility among different 55xx models.

While taking photos for this article I found out the LCD display of the G-5500C-4 is one of the hardest to take photos of. Legibility is harder indoors but once it's outdoors the screen is sharp as a knife. The lay-out of the display is close to the other squares, e.g DW-56xx, except for the day and date feature. On this 3062 module to toggle between day of the week and date you have to press the adjust button.

The black solar panel compliments the black buttons well and it makes a cool proportional contrast against the overpowering red. It would be interesting though if solar panels can be created in different colors.

I find it a major plus too that the digits can be adjusted in a forward and reverse manner. On the older modules when you're setting the time for example, if you missed a digit you have to continue pressing the forward button until it goes full circle to the digit that you want.

I really like the 2-holed wide bands and the brushed metal buckle with the G-Shock text embedded into it. These 2-holed bands and buckles are also found used the the latest GA-100,110 series, my current favorite series. It makes the watch look visually stronger and less worried about scratching them as opposed to the shiny normal-looking buckles on other models. The buckles on the frogman models are superbly done as well.

The usual modes are found on this module; Time keeping, World Time, 5 daily alarms, stopwatch and timer. Too bad though the timer can only be set up to 60 mins, so does the stopwatch that can only record up to 60 mins. It would be better if both could go up to 24 hours.

I have a 6 1/2 inch wrist so this watch looks big on my wrist. Actually almost all the other G-Shocks look big on my wrist. But I like big chunky watches and that was one of the reasons i fell in love with G-Shocks in the first place.

Blue/green EL Backlight

Probably another reason why i'm passionate about red. Red is a color that is found in my country's flag, SINGAPURA.

On the 9th of August we celebrated our 45th year of Independence. On this day, most of us will be seen wearing red and the city hall will be packed with people trying to watch the National Day parade. The parade will be filled with spectators dressed in red or white. I didn't attend the parade, but I managed to catch the military contingents preparing while I was on my way to work. Because of space constrains, access into the parade ground is limited, so the crowds gather around the area to watch aerial displays and fireworks, a favorite hobby of Singaporeans.

~TR853-1™~

#10 Military Inspired Mat black with red third Eye

The year couldn't have started better. Early January Reznor reported Casio developed a new series. The funny thing was that there was not yet one name for this series. The series were expected for release in February.The first name was Military Concept, but later the name "G-Force: Military Inspired" was given for this series. A little later the name was finally changed into Military Inspired series, rumors say because G-Force was a protected name. A bit strange in my view. G-Force is the term for the free-fall velocity that gives a certain body an acceleration of 9.81 meters per second squared here on earth. I never heard thatLorentz force is a protected name.A few days later (on January 20th) Kastu Higuchi-San announced the new series, though under another name. The Master of G models were released under the Men In Rusty Black (MIRB) series, the DW-6900MS and DW-5600MS were released as the Mat Black Red Eye (MBRE) series. A great addition to the line-up was given. Above the Military Concept models there was also a Riseman added to the line up.
I contacted Katsu-San if he was able to get the whole line up for me. Since the release was expected at the end of February 2009, it was a long wait of several weeks, but then I got both great and bad news. Katsu-San had gotten a compete series for me, but the Frogman isn't in this series. Due to a problem with silicon grease found on some backs of the MIRB Frogman, all Frogman were called back to the factory. The good thing was that all other 4 models were waiting to be shipped to me. Yesterday I was very lucky. I was about to go to the Zythos Beer Festival in Sint Niklaas in Belgium, while the van of the parcel service TNT was rushing to our house. The chauffeur saw me already standing next to the car in front of my house. I had no time to open the package, but at least I had it in my house waiting for me to come back.The festival was a big succes. I have even tasted the first gray beer in the world, which was very remarkable. I think I must try to get some bottles of this beer, but that's another story.The Dutch customs are unfortunately pretty catchy on parcels. Often the fees and duties are equal to the tax I have to pay. To spread the risk of a very big bill I always let my parcels come in parcels with maximal 2 watches. Special G-Shocks are already expensive enough for me.When I got home I took the package and carefully opened it. It seems that Casio has developed a new packaging box. It's a bit smaller than the big square boxes. That would make storing these boxes a lot easier I think.When I opened the boxes I saw the DW-6900MS and the Riseman looking at me. Immediately it occured to me the amber display of the DW-6900MS is very dark. It was getting evening and the display was getting a bit hard to read. On the other hand, the watch looked very deep back. The gray lettering on the display is not screaming bright. Also the red eye is not as bright as it looks on these photo's. It's actually pretty dark. The bezel has no paint in the letttering. A lot of people have tried to stealth their DW-6900's and other G's, but this one is stealth already. On the strap the module number, 1298, is printed in a military font. This emphasizes the Military Inspired look of this watch. The buckle and buttons is very cool. The metal parts are finished with a black coating, like on the Master Blue series.One thing that puzzels me is the EL backlight. It's blueish green. Actually I had hoped for an amber backlight.
The MIRB and MBRE models are not pretty cheap. Except for the Riseman the models are available in Japan and the US. I think soon the models will be available in East Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore) too. It would be great if they were released in Europe too, but that's always a big question. The best prices at the moment are on www.g-shock.com if you live in the US or Canada. I got Friday a mail from Keith at tiktox, that they were expecting a small number of DW-6900-MS models, like this one. For other elsewhere try Seiya San and Katsu-San.