G-Shock #49: The beauty…

It’s G-Shock number 49 of this year. It was not an easy year for me to find a new subject every week, but again I managed to find 50 G-Shocks for the fourth year in row. The last two articles this year can be seen as twin articles. The title already indicates there will be a follow up and I think these two watches have both similarities, but are also a bit the opposite of each other. This week part 1: "The Beauty..." Of course, beauty is a personal thing. Still I think that most readers here will consider today’s special G-Shock model as a very elegant and tough watch.

The MR-G series appeared on the market on July 1996. The first MRG-1 had a titanium case with a resin bezel. This quite unique G-Shock style returned in 1998 in the stainless steel DW-9200K I.C.E.R.C. models. The first full metal MR-G model appeared in November 1996. These MRG-100 and MRG-110 were the start of full metal MR-G models range. Although different designs, the MRG line was very recognizable. G-Shock had, until July 1996, an all resin look. Even the vintage DW-5000C to DW-5600C, which all have a stainless steel case, looked “plastic”, because of the resin bezel. Probably due to the fact that the case is also the bezel on these models, these MR-G models were slightly smaller than the average ‘90s G-Shock. Most models have a part of the bezel screwed into the case at the front side. I’m not sure if this is only cosmetic, but it gives the watch a rugged tough look, though the metal case and bracelet make the watch also look elegant enough for daily use at the office and formal meetings. An exceptions in this design are the MRG-1100 Frogman and the MRG-1200 Revman. Both these models miss the 4 screws on the front.

When I started collecting, the MR-G series looked too expensive for me. Also I was more interested in the bigger resin late ‘90s models, like the DW-003 and DW-004. My first MR-G was a MRG-121. It’s still one of my all time favorites, due to the fact it’s completely complementary to most G-Shock’s that I have. It can only show analog time and the only extra is an electroluminescent backlight. Around 2003 some MRG-1200 Revman models were on eBay. The price was a firm $250 BIN. That price was back in those days incredible high. I had bought the GW-203K-4 models for around $200.- each, which was at that time about the maximum I could afford on a watch. If you would compare it with present prices, it’s a bit like the new Frogman models. They are just above my G-Shock budget, while maybe in 10 years $700 or higher are suddenly affordable for these higher end models. In 2001 the MR-G line was stopped, but in November 2003 Casio started a completely new MR-G line in the high segment of G-Shock, with ditto prices. Still new models in the MR-G line are released.

Today’s article is about probably the most elegant model of the MR-G series. Several times someone offered me this model, but I knew I couldn’t afford it. They were just too expensive for me. Suddenly at the end of the summer vacation (2011) I was chatting a bit with my good friend Neil in Chicago about watches and prices. He told me he was thinking of selling his Frogman. Good thing was that he wasn’t in a hurry, so I could save up money. I got this Frogman for a great friend’s price, because I bought also another G-Shock (and later even the Men In Yellow Frogman, as featured about a month ago).

The MR-G Frogman is not only a different in design to the regular MR-G models, it is in fact the only Master of G model in the MR-G line. It was released in June 1999. The official suggested retail price was quite hefty, ¥70000, instead of the usual ¥23000 for a Frogman. Even most MR-G models were under ¥50000.

The MR-G Frogman has the 2036 module, which has the same functions as the 2016 module, which you find on the DW-9900 Frogman and DW-9950 Seaman.

Like the regular Frogman models, it has an asymmetric shape, where the case is attached shifted to the right of the center on the bracelet. According the description of the watch, this is done to provide more comfort and easier access to the buttons with gloves under water. The clasp has a special expansion piece, which, when deployed gives you an extra 20 mm length of the strap, so that it will easy fit over a wet suit.

The difference between the DW-9900 and MRG-1100 is the way the displays are divided. While the DW-9900 has the day and date in the upper display, the MRG-1100 has only the day in the upper display, while the date is above the time in the lower display, like on the GW-200 Frogman. A difference between the regular Frogman models and this MR-G Frogman is that the displays are not separated with square angles, but with more organic formed shapes. Actually that makes this watch look different than most G-Shock models (curved shapes in the display are also found on some G-Lide models). The eye in the upper right part of the display acts as a kind of hour hand, like on most Frogman models. Only on the new GWF-1000, GF-1000 and GF-8250 models, the eye functions like on most G-Shock models, as a seconds hand.

Pretty unique is also the location of the text of the button functions. Normally you find the functions on the button guards, but on the MRG-1100 the text is edged in the upper protection ring around the display. Unique is that the order of the modes is also printed o this protection ring.Under this protection ring there is a blue ring. It looks like this ring can screwed out of the bezel with a special tool, as there are 5 notches, a bit similar to the 6 notches you’ll find on the back of the watch. The notches on the screwback are larger and deeper than on usual Frogman models. On the back of the watch a diving Frog is engraved. The frog is holding something in his hands, but I can’t really make out what it is.  Maybe it’s a kind of diver’s transport device.

 

So, what’s on board this MR-G Frogman. While pushing the mode button you find the following modes: Time Keeping Mode, Site Mode, Identification Mode, Alarm Mode, Countdown Mode and Stopwatch Mode. This watch is designed for diving, so there is a Dive Time Measurement on board too. You can reach this mode by press and hold the Mode button. This Mode shows you the dive start time, the current time and the dive time. You have to start and stop this timer manually. When stopped you can view your dive data in the Log Data. To view the Log Data you have to return to Time Keeping mode and press and hold the lower right button. This log shows the time your dive started, the dive duration and the elapsed time after the dive . The log can only show the data of the latest dive. A new dive will automatically overwrite the old Log Data.

Some old G-Shock models had the possibility to program a second time (sometimes completely independent of the first time). Most new models have a World Time functions with over 40 cities. This MR-G Frogman has a Site Mode, which is better than a second time, but not as good as a World Time. Default it has10 Diving Sites programmed and Japan is (of course) set as Home Site (GMT +9). Of course the thought is great. I live near a popular diving site, the Easter Scheldt (Oosterschelde), but you won’t find that site on the watch. Well, if I live near a dive site, there must be lots of popular dive sites on this globe. I think a normal World Time would have been better, than 10 dive sites. What you have to do if your time zone is not in the list of the 10 dive sites, you have to choose one of these sites and reprogram that site. It’s quiet funny, as you can input your own sit, hometown, or even your name. If you have changed the site to the site or city you desire, you have to set that site as Home Site when programming Time Keeping Mode.A Home Site can't be changed, but you can choose one of the 10 sites as Home Site.

The Identification Mode is a kind of small emergency notebook. It can store our name, credit card number, emergency number, passport number and blood type. Personal I do not know if it is wise to store your credit card number in your watch memory, but your name, emergency number and your blood type might be valuable information. Now hope when you are in an emergency, rescue workers notice you wear such a watch. You can input 16 characters in the upper display (Text Area) and 10 ciphers in the number area. Inputting characters is quite “hard core old school” as my students probably would say. You have to scroll through all the letters, numbers and symbols for each text area space. That’s quite different from the modern touch screen age.

About the other functions I can be much shorter. The Alarm Mode has three alarms and a hourly chime, which all can be turned on and off of course. The Stopwatch Mode and the Countdown Timer are both the 24 hour type. Nothing wrong with that. The Countdown Timer also has an Auto Repeat function.

The MR-GFrogman has the nice greenish color backlight, not the typical blue backlight which is typical of this MR-G Generation line (1996-2001). The watch has an Auto Light Switch on board. When you have activated this function, the electroluminescent backlight lights up when your arm is, when hold parallel to the ground, twisted towards you for about 40 degrees. This means in practice the movement you make when looking at the time. Of course the Auto Backlight function can drain a lot of battery power. To avoid too much loss of battery energy, the Auto Backlight function is turned off automatically after six hours.

I think the MR-G Frogman was in 1999 the best G-Shock possible, combining both a high end series and the most prestigious Master of G model into a elegant total titanium watch. I do not know the numbers this watch was made in, but about a year ago I heard from Spanish G-Shock Friends that they had bought several MRG-1100’s in a shop in Andorra for a good price, more than 10 years after the release. Maybe the number produced wasn’t that high, but the price would have made this watch a pretty exclusive G-Shock item. It might probably not surprise you that the price I paid, although it was a good friend’s price, was still quite hefty. This watch is nowadays pretty hard to find. If you want one, expect to pay around $450 - $550 for one in a good condition.

G-Shock #48: Dee and Ricky 2

In July 2010 Casio released a collaboration model with the designer duo and twins Dee and Ricky Jackson. About a year ago I have written an article about this GA-110DR-1ACR model. In July or August I was confidently informed by Casio that a new white Dee and Ricky collaboration model was coming up. In September this news leaked out early on a Hong Kong based weblog. From that time on, there were a lot of speculations. Was it really coming? Will it be as popular as the first Dee and Ricky? Well, the watch is officially about two or three weeks out now, so it might be premature to say anything about that.

What I noticed is that the first models that were offered on internet auction sites were priced 2 to 3 times the retail price. When I tried to get one, two of these were sold in front of my nose at a sneaker shop, while I was trying to order one. At the same time I saw them for sale at $400.- in my country, ready to ship worldwide, shipping not included. I think it’s a shame that people do not buy this watch for their love, but just to make easy money and so also create an artificial rareness, by buying complete stocks of departments stores and fashion shops.

I was a bit late noticing that this model was already out in The Netherlands. On November 21stI called I Love Sneakerz for the Parra model and en passant asked if they knew about the Dee and Ricky release date. They told this watch was already out for a week. Although 6 were ordered, they only got 2. One had already been sold. Unfortunately the last one was just sold before, I could buy it, on-line when they checked the inventory. The shop owner told me they wanted more of this model on stock, so they might get a 2nd delivery.

A second batch of the Dee and Ricky model was delivered at stores last Friday (December 2). This probably means that Casio made more than enough of this model for everyone who loves this model and want to buy it for the retail. The retail price of €130 in Europe is quite fair, while the retail price in Japan is much higher, ¥18000 (somewhere around €160 - €170). This week the US retail price has been shown on the website of Casio US, it’s $130 (€100).

Also with this release a Dee and Ricky G-Shock commercial was released. No Lego this time. The commercial was shot in Paris. A classic Roman statue creates the illusion it’s shot in the Louvre, but I don’t think the Parisians would have been happy with the end. Luckily a G-Shock isn’t easily destroyed.

While it looks like Dee and Ricky have left their Lego designs of the past and have been designing other colorful accessories, the color scheme seem still taken from the famous color scheme of Lego bricks, and why shouldn’t they. Lego seems to be still growing in popularity for both kids and grownups. Actually Lego has the past years been actively promoting themselves for adults with exclusive sets. A lot of dads discover their love for Lego again as their children start playing with the bricks. There is even a term for adults with a love for Lego bricks, AFOL, the abbreviation of Adult Fan Of Lego. I don’t want to admit to loud, as my primal love is at G-Shock, but I consider myself a small AFOL as well.

The big difference between the last years Dee and Ricky model is the strap and bezel color, which is now white instead of black. Actually all black parts on the first model are now replaced by white parts. The yellow, blue, green and red details of the watch are not really changed. Even the lettering on the bezel have the same color scheme. It was hard for me to find a real difference in colors, but I actually can only find one. On the small Speed Dial of the Tachymeter on the 9 o´clock position, the center is now blue, instead of yellow. Now I have found that difference, I think yellow would have been better, as blue is pretty dominant on the dial.

The Dee and Ricky G-Shock is based on the analog GA-110 models, which together with the GD-100, GA-100 and the GA-120 models are considered the X-Large models of G-Shocks. It looks like these X-Large models are pretty popular. Even in The Netherlands these models show up in the streets and even students of me ask where they can get these models, or as a student a few days ago said: “Sorry, I don’t want a digital one like you have, but a big analog one”.

The GA-111DR is equipped with a 5146 module. The watch does not only have analog time, but two of the three parts on the dial are digital displays. The upper display is a normal (positive) display, the lower display is a negative display. The dial itself a design with several layers, which creates depth in the watch. The parts between the hour markers look a little bit like the studded Lego bricks, although they have only 3 studs diagonal on them. The combination of the white resin of the bezel and the blue accents somehow gives the watch, in my opinion, a somewhat marine look, like the Middle Sea Race Raysman. Of course there are also the yellow and red accents, but blue is in definitively in the majority.

The hands and the Speed dial have an industrial design. They seem to have been miniaturized from the cog wheels of Modern Times (1936) or derived from the “Made In Detroit” logo, which could be found on late 80’s and early ‘90s Techno 12”-es from the capital of Techno music. This industrial look give boost the tough look of this G-Shock model.

Like the first Dee and Ricky model, the buttons are in red and blue, giving a playful edge on the watch. The Dee and Ricky text logo is printed on the strap, while the heads logo is engraved on the back. There is a small difference in the heads logo with the first release. It appears that Ricky now has a moustache.

The GA-110DR has the more or less the basic functions on board. A 24 hours Stopwatch, a 24 hour Countdown Timer, 48 cities World Time function and an Alarm function with 4 normal daily alarms, a snooze alarm and a hourly signal. Personally I miss the button beeps. The only sound you can get out of the watch are alarm sounds. Even the Stopwatch operates in complete silence.

Special is the Speed function in Stopwatch mode. You can specify a distance between 1.0 and 99.0 units. It does not really matter what these units are. Speed is expressed in units per hour. So, if you set a distance of “1” and measure 60 seconds, it shows a speed of 60 units per hour. If a unit is a Kilometer, than it is in kmph, if it is one mile, than it is in mph, etc. The Speed Dial can show up to a speed of 100. Indicators in the top display show 100 units and there is even a 1000 units indicator. You can measure speed up to 1998 (units per hour). It all seems not that simple and actually after reading the manual, I still think it’s not easy, but if you need this function, I think you can work with it. I think this function might be good for car racing and other speed sports.

Since the news of the second Dee and Ricky model was out, it was a lot discussed on the G-Shock forum on WatchUSeek and on Facebook. A lot of people contacted me where to get one from and where I got mine. Well, I got one from the I Love Sneakerz, the on-line store of Unknown in Alkmaar, and another one confidential source (was it an early Saint Nicolas present?). I know the shop I bout one in still has another one, but several other shops in The Netherlands like Ace, Gorilli and Concrete probably have this watch in stock. This probably means you might find them in similar stores in Europe too.

The watch is also already out in Japan. My friend FUMI had bought two on November 12. An official party with Dee and Ricky is on December 5 somewhere in Tokyo. Coming week they will promote this watch in Paris (according their twitter accounts). In the UK the watch will be presented on December 16 (G-Shock East), so if you are in London, you might go to the release party (starts at 16:00). For the US there is not a release date yet, but it might be soon known, as it is scheduled for mid or end December. The watch might not be for everyone, but white straps and bezel makes the watch stand out great. The bright colored accents make this watch look very playful. Maybe not a watch for serious work meetings, but great for going out to a party, bar or club, holidays or visiting art exhibitions, etcetera, etcetera.