G-Shock #25: Dolphin & Whale Research Network 2004

It's the 25th G-Shock article this week. Half way my goal of this year. Today’s G-Shock is a model I wanted to have for a long time. I recently finally acquired it in May. It’s the I.C.E.R.C. Frogman of 2004.

Casio releases since 1994 special models to support international dolphin and whale research. I normally associate blue, aqua, white and light gray with the sea and oceans, but the first I.C.E.R.C. release (DW-6100DW-9) was also in this yellow/black color scheme. This color scheme also returned on the 1999 Gulfman and the 2009 Gulfman. Although I do not see the link to the sea or the I.C.E.R.C. it is a pretty cool color scheme. With this model Casio honors this is the 10 annual Dolphin and Whale model. I’m already looking forward to the 2014 model, as I suspect I already know the color scheme.

I.C.E.R.C. stands for International Cetacean Education and Research Centers. This non-profit organization was founded in Australia in 1988 and has departments all over the world. During their existence they have tried to study these four goals:

1 ¬ The study of dolphins and whales in their natural environment

In a practical manner, what can we learn from dolphins and whales? Watching the cetaceans' daily life in their natural habitat is a quasi-inexhaustible source of learning. If women and men of this planet were inspired even remotely by the way of life of their marine cousins, this would speed up their evolution towards a really human being.

2 ¬ Tribes of the Earth "Stories and legends"

Memories of certain ancient tribes can bring us some missing pieces from the puzzle formed by the great mysteries of the creation. Atlantis Lemurians Are these stories true? Or are we faced with legends? Make your choice!

3 ¬ The importance of the recognition, the study and the integration by western culture of the "energetic" dimensions of the existence
 

The vibrating level of the vital energy of a person increases during a meeting with a dolphin or a whale. Then the human finds himself in a sort of Meditation State that is extremely beneficial for his health, his well being and the evolution of his conscious... Our marine cousins are in this state 90 % of their time. It seems that this state permits cetaceans to use all of their brainpower. What do cetaceans use their intelligence for? Why do women and men today only use 5 to 10 % of their brain? What could they use the remaining 90 % for? What is the vital energy ?

4 ¬ The dolphin awakes in us a desire for a greater liberty

How could the human race speed up their evolution towards these beings free, autonomous and independent?

A lot of activities organized by these Educational and Research centers consist of observing cetaceans in their natural habitat. A funny coincidence is that lately humpback whales are spotted at the Dutch Coast. This might be a good sign, as in the far past whales were spotted more often in the Dutch waters.

The whale featured on this GW-204K-9DR (overseas model of the GW-204K-9JR) is a sperm whale. This mysterious whale has a big head. The animal thanks his name to its spermaceti organ, which gives this whale it’s characteristic shape of its head.

The spermaceti organ contains a wax like substance. This spermaceti-oil was in the past a very valuable product. It was used to make candles, soap, cosmetics and machine oil. A full grown sperm whale can have up to 3000 kilograms of this oil in its head. In the past this substance was mistaken for the whale’s sperm, hence the name. The function of this wax like oil is not really known, but scientist think that the whale can regulate the temperature of the spermaceti organ. At the start of a dive, the blood flow to the spermaceti organ stops, so the substance turns cold and solid. This gives the whale a relative high specific density, making a fast decent possible. At great depths the whale can restore the blood flow, so the substance liquidities. It makes the whale’s specific density lower, making it easier for the whale to go to the surface.

The sperm whale has a blood volume of about 3000 liters, giving the whale the opportunity to store enough oxygen for up to 2 hours. A sperm whale dives to 3000 meter depths and can easy stay 90 minutes under water. The spermaceti organ probably also plays a role in the sonar system that the whale uses to locate its prey, squid.

Back to the watch. Normally an I.C.E.R.C. model is released in a special printed cardboard G-Shock show box, but the box for this model is different. I somehow see this show box as a kind of aquarium. This cube shaped box has on 5 sides round show windows. In three of them there is the I.C.E.R.C. motto : “All As One” and “The 4th Dolphine & Whale Eco-Research Network” written around the window. The one on top also shows a sperm whale. On the two sides there is the image, which we also find on many I.C.E.R.C. models etched on the back.

 (for better reading, of the I.C.E.R.C. leaflet, which is inclided in the box with this Frogman, right click on image and open in an other tab or window)

The Frogman is placed in a clear plastic inner box. I am always very careful with these boxes. I have several late 90’s models, which came in show boxes, made of similar plastic. If there is any damage, the material tears easily further. Next to the Frogman there is a small button with the colored I.C.E.R.C. logo. Very cool, I didn’t know this was included in the box.

The GW-204K-4DR is a special edition of the Tough Solar GW-200 Frogman with the usual 2422 module. Every Frogman is ISO certified 20 bar water resist (equivalent to a 200 meter water column).

What’s on board of the 2422 module… It starts with a 10 dive sites Site Mode. It’s a bit stripped World Time function. The main time is locked to one of the site’s time zone. Standard it is locked on the Japan time zone. Best way to set your Frogman is to change one of the dive sites (except when you live at one of these sites, of course) to your location and then lock the main time to your time zone.

Next is the Identification Mode. Standard it stores your credit card number, passport number and blood type, but you can also store information as your scuba license number. I’m not sure if it’s wise to store information like your credit card number on your watch.

The last three mode are a 24 hour Stopwatch, a 24 hour Countdown timer and an Alarm function with three alarms and a hourly chime.

One special function is hidden. If you press the MODE button for about three seconds, you enter the Dive Time Measurement Mode. Well, the name of this mode says enough. It’s a kind of special Stopwatch function that records your dive time. If you start diving, it shows the current time, the time your dive started and the time you spend diving.

Back in 2004 it was relative easy to get one of these Frogman models. The retail price of this watch was 27000 yen in Japan and if I remember correct, it was sold outside Japan for around $250.- (which was a lot of money for a GW-200 Frogman in 2004). The US$ was quite high compared to the Euro. I think it was somewhere around €220 - €230 around that time.

For this watch I have paid quite a lot. It cost me €350.-, which makes this watch one of my most expensive G-Shocks. Is it worth it? I have been wanting to have this watch since it was released. The only problem was that I had no funds. At the end of 2003 and beginning 2004 the GW-203KK-4JR was very easy to find. I had bought two of those in a short time span, so I couldn’t afford to buy this Frogman. I very much like the yellow color and the black yellow color scheme on this watch. A friend and “former” G-Shock Collector offered this watch to me a few months ago. He could hold it for me, so I could save up the money for this Frog. Well, I have it in my collection now, that counts. I always say, “if you like it and you can afford it, then buy it”. Finally I have it.

Intermezzo #39: Renegade Master.

It does really exists!

 The D4 Damager, with the Ill Behaviour.

Power to the People!

G-Shock #24: The "Krink"

Today's article is a Guest article. I'm very excited and proud to write here that Maine wrote this article about the "Krink". I have this model myself too, but the way Maine portrait this model in words and photo's on WatchUSeek is really fantastic. I could have written a "Krink" article, but it would, in my experience, always be a watered down version of Maine's words.

I have to say, I didn’t have an instant attraction to this watch. Like many of the collaboration G-Shock designs which Casio releases, I was unfamiliar with the name “Krink”, so that didn’t mean anything to me. When I first saw it, I was still pretty sure that my next purchase would be a GW-3500. I noted on the Watchuseek G-Shock forum that the Krink was receiving positive comments, and then I forgot about it.It was only after reading a particular 3-word phrase, that I suddenly understood what it was all about. (Actually, I misread it, but the effect was the same.) As a linguistically conservative chap, I don’t use the word “sick” to mean anything other than “ill”. So the phrase that entered my head when browsing a thread about the Krink was actually, “slick, minimalist piece”. But it did the trick anyway. Thanks, TraseUno :-)The Krink G-Shock, or more precisely the DW-6900KR-8, is certainly a work of art. It has made my opinion of the DW-6900 do a complete u-turn. A couple of years ago, when I started to appreciate Gs again, the first modern G that I bought was the GW-6900. Thanks to this very site and Sjors’ article, my old DW-5600C finally had a companion. I liked the way that the three “eyes” were displaying useful information, and not just taking up space on the face. I didn’t think I’d ever buy a DW-6900 using module 1289, which I thought was simply outdated and unattractive.But then I noticed the details which seem unique amongst Gs. The Krink has none of the writing around the inner bezel. The face is completely devoid of writing except for the Krink and Casio logos, and like the LCD is coated with a mirror layer. The legibility is really excellent – the digits themselves are black and not silvered, so I have no problem reading it from any angle.The silvered theme continues with the bezel and strap, which are a sparkly silver resin printed with the Krink logo, and a nice touch is the transparent strap keeper, with the same logo but with reversed colours compared to the strap itself.The logo is etched in to the caseback. All these little design details have a consistency which ensures that the whole watch is well-balanced, and a significant artistic step up from some of the really lazy collaboration designs which so frequently seem to appear. It has genuine design value. And as the icing on the cake, I was delighted to discover that it has a negative backlight, i.e. when the light button is pressed, only the digits themselves illuminate, not the whole LCD. I always love that.The build quality is excellent as is to be expected, and I was particularly impressed by the alignment of the mirrored face and the LCD below it. They appear to be completely parallel, so that reflections of objects seamlessly match on both layers. If you can’t believe that a mirrored LCD can be so easy to read, do try and see one in real life for yourself. I am very picky about the legibility of my watches, to the point where I sold my MIMB Riseman, despite it being the coolest watch I’d ever seen. I couldn’t read it at a glance, so I never wore it. Trust me, this Krink is one legible watch.So, who or what is Krink? After some quick research, I discovered that it is the brand name of an art supply company based in the USA. Founded by Craig Costello (known as “KR”) in New York, the company grew out of producing ink for himself and other graffiti artists, and the products now include inks and markers for both graffiti writers and other artists.Significantly, Costello was known for using a home-made sparkly silver ink, from where the Krink G-Shock gets it unique look. The products are packaged and marketed in a very minimalist style, which further explains the style of the watch. And I must not forget to mention the Krink’s box and tin, both of which maintain the sparkly, silvered theme.I have realised that I don’t usually compare G-Shocks to any artistic school or movement. I barely even compare them to other non-G watches, considering that they define a genre and form of watch which is unique. I have certain favourites, and of course there are others which don’t appeal to me so much, but that’s about it. Then when I read that fateful phrase, it suddenly hit me. Why couldn’t a G-Shock be minimalist? Other watches can be designed with influences from an artistic movement, for example, the Antea by Stowa – the epitome of a Bauhaus-styled watch.I have always preferred Minimalist art. Whenever I visit a city for the first time, I head straight for its contemporary art galleries and museums. My favourite artists are Callum Innes, Mark Rothko, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, and so on. I like art to be a catalyst for my thoughts, not to shout its ideas into my head. So the minimalist style of the DW-6900KR is perfect for me. It’s my favourite G as a result.