Reply With QuotePerhaps they are so ugly that people buy them to hide them away from public view.Originally Posted by Mick P
My son has one that he's proud of and I have to pretend that it isn't the work of the devil to keep the peace.
My wife and I were strolling around a small Spanish town yesterday doing a bit of window shopping and we came across a Jewellers shop and naturally had a good gawp of the displays.
Most of the stuff was normal jewellery until we came across a display of about 50 G shocks. To be honest they looked horrible, big thick and chunky with unco-ordinated colours reminiscent of the 1970s.
I know G Shocks get a lot of mentions here but I just cannot understand why anyone would want to wear them.
Can someone please explain what makes them so special ?
Perhaps they are so ugly that people buy them to hide them away from public view.
My son has one that he's proud of and I have to pretend that it isn't the work of the devil to keep the peace.
I'm just a very naughty boy.
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I may have forgot one or two, apppologies.
If you don't feel the love, then no point in explaining :)
Functional and cheap. I go through phases of really liking them to not wearing them for ages - hard to explain. At the moment I'm down to one solar square, sand colour with moon phase and tide. Ideal beach and pool watch!
I have a lot of G Shocks and wear them when I am working, which seems to be virtually all the time.
I bought my first one 25 years ago as my everyday watch was getting the hell bashed out of it, and I wanted something I could wear to tell me the time and not worry about.
Then as they became worn out, I bought another one until maybe about 10 years ago, I really started to see the G Shock as more than just a work watch, but a tough decent tool watch, a great design and enjoyed owning, wearing and collecting them.
Around that time my sons got into watches, and both collect G shocks now and have a number of them to wear.
The limited edition versions are desirable to people that get them and the price to get them is much inflated in line with demand.
To be fair if you get them, you like them. I know a few people who have hated them until they buy one, wear it and then they get it what it is about them.
I would rather wear a Frogman than a submariner, so that’s what I do, but I do enjoy wearing my Pelagos too.
I have a g shock for situations that I know could potentially destroy my other everyday watch (Seiko SKX009) These situations are common for me at work and at home and before you say it- yes I do need to be wearing a watch whilst I’m doing it!
I use it as my stop watch for running, cycling, mountain biking, paragliding etc and when I’m up in the hills climbing and mountaineering it can get smashed against rock, submerged in water and generally mis treated and I know that the functions like compass and thermometer will still work and the alarm will still wake me up at 4am for a dreaded alpine start! I’ve got any number of time zones at the press of a button too.
Can’t say I’ve used the moon phase function much though.
I admit that some g shock designs make me feel rather queasy but mine is relatively compact and discreet and I couldn’t be without it! I don’t think it’s particularly good looking and even though it’s small for a G it’s still a fair old lump, hence the reason I wear other watches unless there is a need for the G shock.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...simples
I
Exactly. When people start dribbling over some ugly or unremarkable Patrick Philippe I wonder the same thing. Each to their own.
Exactly...
I thought they were stupid until at some point I needed a watch I didn't have to worry about damaging or babying and got one.
On receipt for a good while I was in a quandary about why you would ever need anything more than a g-shock.
The Japan made ones(screw backs etc.. ) are good quality and value , not keen on the rest .
I had a cheap one for work, it saw some serious action putting up fences, painting walls, replacing door handles, crazy stuff like that. It just shrugged it all off where another more expensive watch might get a minor hairline scratch.
I always reckoned cheaper was better with the G range, the point is wearing a watch you don't have to worry about so spend the smallest amount possible.
Then I bought a G Steel for a mate's birthday and actually bloody loved it so bought a similar one for myself. I sold it shortly afterwards but that was because the full metal square had been released, I bought one of those and it's almost certainly a keeper.
I didn't get it, then I tried it. Any number of folk here can try and explain to you what the G thing is about but it won't work, you have to try one out yourself. Don't like the yellow one? That's fine, because there's blue too. Don't like the square one? Then there's a round one. Don't want a digital? There are analogue ones. Has your Rolex fallen off your wrist while you dangled your arm out of the car window on the motorway? Best get ready to write that off. Your G Shock? Stick a new strap on it and put it back on.
The charm is that the wearer can fantasise about those terribly macho manly things he looks like he might do, now he's got a suitably macho looking watch!
No charm to me. Awful overpriced things. But some like them so there it is all of us are different.
For a cheap virtually indistructable watch though you might as well just buy a Casio f91 and not spend on a gshock.
I think casio have been very clever in their marketing of them and they really do appeal to the inner child of many.
Thank goodness for variety.
I used to do a manual job and wore a 5600 regularly because it was pretty much indestructible, they do have there uses.
99% of them are horrendous looking though.
They do a job. Very well. Function over form.
A couple of my mates think my rolex is hideous. That's their opinion.
G-shocks sell in their thousands, so somebody likes them - the majority in fact...
More than a hundred million units shipped in fact.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Every WIS & collection needs one. Some many to choose from they should have one for everyone’s tastes.
I wear mine for DIY around the house & my gym/ running watch. Also make a good cheap holiday watch of worried about the location.
My 6m loves me when it lights up, plus also good for teething!
Mine does have a crown & hands like a normal analog watch - which helps.
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When I walk past a G Shock display in a shop there is often very little if anything that interests me - BUT look at the stuff that you don't see in your average shop and there are some wonders to behold.
High level functionality, cool materials and construction techniques - or perhaps you will just find one model that floats your boat and you want it in several colours.
I am currently down to 3 G Shocks and one mechanical watch.
The one I wear the most has a clear large display, most of the time I have it showing local time and the time where ever MrsO may be. I regularly use the countdown timer and stopwatch and have the hour time signal and one alarm on . It's solar and lights up screen automatically when I turn my wrist.
I was recently in USA so actually saw the Multiband 6 function work which was good to see as I live outside coverage area.
Now, a lot of what you saw in the shop window don't have all these functions and personally I don't like the ones with the 3 circles counting down or the small displays. There are other models with many more functions than mine and with some research you will find one that ticks all the boxes of what you want a wrist worn device to tell you.
Size... well there is that. I wear a G Shock king which is bigger than your average square G - I have a particular like of square G's and especially kings. My 9yr old daughter wore one on my Kings for a week on holiday and on me I like the chunky size - don't forget there is minimal weight despite the size .
Mark
Excuse me for contradicting you, but that sounds like normal everyday stuff rather than crazy stuff to me - maybe you wouldn't wear your Patek Phillipe for such things, but anything else would be fine. Doesn't really require G-shock toughness!
https://youtu.be/v_KCjT_TCUI
Scroll to 3:50
It doesn’t have to be about beauty. Imagine what these watches can take, combined with superb accuracy and features some like (alarms, countdowns etc). You dont have to like the look but I respect what they do.
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When you can show me a mechanical watch that in theory can survive a 10m drop onto concrete, I'll buy that, and not the G-Shock. But then, the mechanical watch will also have to have atomic or satellite synch so that the time is always perfect. Oh, and resist 20atm whilst doing all of that.
I never really understood the fuss with g shocks. I recently bought a square g shock just to see if I could understand what all the fuss is about. I still dont understand but I certainly dont regret the purchase. Very handy watch to have for doing sports and other physical activities etc. Maybe if I used anything other than just a stopwatch on it i'd appreicate them more.
I don’t really see the fuss about them BUT what does it matter really. I’m sure some people would not get the love I have for vintage Seiko, we all like different things.
I kind of get the point they can take a beating and survive but if I was doing something that could compromise one of my mechanical watches I wouldn’t want to be wearing any Watch full stop. If you’re falling off a pushbike and whacking it on a rock then I’d be more worried about a Watch snagging on something and doing more damage to my wrist than telling the time as I’m dazed on the floor.
Let’s face it watches are not a necessity for 99% of us on here to wear doing everything. If you really need a G-Shock then you must be a Navy seal.
In reality the features and ability to withstand abuse are moot features for most of us. But then you could argue any Watch at all is pointless to most of us. If someone wants a G-Shock, why not have one it’s only a bit more pointless than a normal watch.
Now, if you’d brought up Panerai... that’s a watch that is really baffling, how anyone could seriously want one of those
Or any other branch of the military, or the emergency services, or a road worker, or a builder, or a roofer, or a joiner, or a farmer, or a tree surgeon etc etc etc
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+1
+1
Two years ago, I gave my teenage nephew one of mine 5600's.
Last weekend I looked it up close, otherwise, the watch is fully operational, but looks like it was in Vietnam, Korea and Afghanistan together
Christ, all you had to do was read one more sentence and you might have seen the joke laid out in big black letters.
I think it’s a few things. They have their place in horological history, but also they are as hard as nails and have a lot of functions. Also, people like collecting things and G-Shocks have multiple variations, limited editions etc and are affordable.
I got one cheap that had all the usual functions, plus world time. Wore it loads, gym, beach, swimming, squash, football, camping, manual jobs. Wore it so much more than I expected to, so I sold it and replaced it with the DW5600 as it has the iconic image and is smaller in size than most G-Shocks.
I agree there are some absolute monstrosities out there that I wouldn’t wear if you paid me. I see on Insta guys with 6.5” wrists wearing vulgar chunky G-Shocks that must be 46mm across and 16mm thick. They look ridiculous.
But for me a discrete G-Shock like mine that has numerous functions, 200m water resistance and is practically bullet proof is a very handy thing to have, especially at a price of 40 quid.
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I'm with you there, I worked in a brewery as a brewer aswell as other brewery duties for a few years. Used my F91 every day for that time and aside from needing to replace the strap once it survived an absolute battering. A friend of mine swore by his GShock but I never felt the need to upgrade, if ever it had died I'd have pushed the £7.99 boat out and bought another one. Never needed to though, I still have it and still going on its original cell.
I've got quite a few - not really sure why lol
But I mostly only like the square shape. They are robust and functional, everything a daily do anything watch should be imo
It's just a matter of time...
Five of the eight watches flight qualified by NASA are G-Shocks
Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH
I don't own one. I find the aesthetic design does not appeal to me, or a grey digital readout, BUT I can appreciate the almost bullet proof construction, reliability and multi-functionality. They do very well what they were designed for. They tell the time under the harshest of physical circumstances, and I can appreciate that.
If you want a watch for reliably and accurately telling the time the appeal of the original g concept and solar atomic tech is pretty much self evident.
If you want a watch for jewellery, then less so.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
If you are out and about doing boys things a good ole G is a no brainer.
Stick a Mudmaster on your wrist and all will become clear, very clear.
Pitch
Many thanks for the replies.
I must admit I find them as ugly as a Bulldogs bum but I can see the tough as old boots attraction. Before anyone says that Bulldogs bums are not ugly, they are, I know because I have owned four of them over the years.
I will buy one for the novelty.
Tough, waterproof watches don't need to be so eye-bruisingly ugly. Mind you, I was just next to the new RR Cullinen. And that is so ugly that you wince.
Why make ugly things?
An ugly watch makes an ugly bloke look passable.
Never really got the G shock look but recently I have been strangely drawn to them. I feel one is not far over the horizon.
Been wearing this rather a lot lately. Ugly but with a pearlescent LCD which I find oddly appealing in a very 80’s retro wayIMG_4513.jpg
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I had an f91w for windsurfing decades ago.
Closest I will get to a G-shock, I think, but they must have some appeal.
M
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
To most people watches are just jewelry, most people look at their phones for the time
I'm just a very naughty boy.
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I may have forgot one or two, apppologies.
Maybe where you come from.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
I wear my G-Shock almost everyday.
I have two other nice watches, which I will wear if I have meetings or are going out.
The amount of times I bang my watch on something and think to myself, I'm glad I was wearing my G-Shock is more often than you would think.
Additionally, my G-Shock tells me lots of useful information including tide times / digital compass, which I find useful for some of my hobbies.
I had several when I was in my 20s. Then I sort of grew out of them and found the whole concept a bit childish. Now I'm in my 40s I somehow seem to get the concept again.
So I'm clearly trying to recapture my youth. Proven by the fact I recently melted the strap on my newest G-Shock trying to prevent myself from breaking the sound barrier on a water slide while on holiday.
Can you share your surce please?
I am wondering which eight watches are those...
Found this list on a couple of warptch forums, can't be bothered to dig deeper!
FLIGHT-CERTIFIED BY NASA FOR ALL MANNED SPACE MISSIONS:
Omega Speedmaster Professional 3570.50.00
FLIGHT-QUALIFIED BY NASA FOR SPACE MISSIONS:
Omega Speedmaster Professional X-33
Casio G-Shock DW-5600C
Casio G-Shock DW-5600E
Casio G-Shock DW-5900
Casio G-Shock DW-6900
Casio G-Shock Master of G G-9000
Timex IRONMAN Triathlon Data Link
I have pretty large wrists and the classic 5600 wears very small on me - I wear it on the next to last hole in the strap and use a small black rubber ‘o’ ring to hold the keeper in place. An f91W would look like a girls watch imho
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I seem to go through phases with G Shocks, right now I have two, a classic DW-6600 and an all singing and dancing atomic Frogman. I’m sure that six months down the line I’ll be thinking about selling the Frogman after hankering after one for ages but such is this hobby.....
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