The Complete Buying Guide to Casio G-Shock Watches

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Go to the Casio G-Shock website and you’ll find over 300 individual watches. Filter out women’s models, and you’ve got roughly 292 models grouped into ten collections. We can filter by price, but we still don’t know what any of these watches do. Indeed, even Casio seems to have trouble keeping up with their G-Shock offerings; their website is, perhaps understandably, not exactly the tidiest.

Visit a properly stocked G-Shock store only to realize that physically confronting the beast does nothing to tame it. And you will not find all models in any store at once, try as you might.

There’s no way around it: the G-Shock collection is vast, intricate, and overwhelming. Casio makes enough G-Shocks to satisfy a ravenous collector community (up there with sneaker nerds), and Casio also caters to various professionals who need indestructible time-pieces, military personnel who aren’t issued watches, athletes in training, outdoorsy folks, and even skaters and surfers and breakdancers.

Let’s contemplate the following two G-Shocks, just to get a sense of the breadth available. The first is the $750 Mudmaster from the Master of G series, an enormous battle-ready analog/digital hybrid badass with more capability than your smartphone. The second is the $150 Hotei Limited Edition from the 7 Lucky Gods Collection, which appears fey and airy but is, like all G-Shocks, tough as nails. Also, the Hotei sold out in pre-sale, and will likely be up for sale on the nerd-forums for multiples of the original price. Two very different audiences, two very different watches.

Herein lies the dilemma of parsing the G-Shock collection: it appeals equally to a camouflage-clad soldier serving overseas as it does to the 13-year-old anime junky in Tokyo’s suburbs. What unites these two seemingly disparate G-Shock communities is that both wrap their imaginations around these watches, and both demand unparalleled durability, functionality, and style.

So let’s carve up this beast of a lineup known as G-Shock, paring as we can along the way. The first thing to recognize is that many individual reference numbers are really just alternative colorways for many G-Shock models. That helps simplify things…a little. Then there are fully digital models, analog/digital hybrids, and a slew of analog-only models, too. The analog/digital divide turns out to be where Casio cleaves their G-Shock offerings, so we have grouped this guide in three major categories: digital-only, analog/digital hybrids, and all-analog. It’s a start.

Almost all G-Shocks will have a stopwatch, a countdown timer, a backlight, and 200m of water resistance. Beyond that, Casio riffs endlessly with style and functionality, from resin-cased altimeter- and barometer-loaded models to precious-metal atomic-clock referencing dual-time world travellers. This guide should help you navigate your way to the model (or 10) that suits you.

Digital G-Shocks

These models lack analog hands, and thus harken back to the earliest G-Shocks that appeared in 1981 from the drawing pad of renown Casio designer Kikuo Ibe. They range from small retro-styled units to some of the wildest behemoths in the G-Shock range.

DW503 Series

Classic 80s style with modern functionality

With the original gold and black colorway of the very first G-Shock of 1981, this model stays in stock for a split-second as retro-enthusiasts snatch them up. But keep and eye out and you may snag one. If you really must have this colorway, then you can get the round version (DW5735D-1B) almost anytime.

Price: $200

Functionality: Alarms, stopwatch, countdown timer, illumination

Frogman Diver’s G-Shock

With all the goods you’ll need to dive in any conditions, the Frogman is the rare dive-oriented G-SHOCK. It’s not a dive computer, however, and shouldn’t be confused with one. It is, however, rich in dive style, with a 35th Anniversary colorway signed on the back by its designer, Erik Haze.

Price: $500

Functionality: Standard feature set, tide graphs, 31 time zones, timers, more

5000 Series Metal Digital G-Shocks

Full metal jacket

These get backordered fast, because they’re so damn great. Styled just like the originals, but now with full metal construction, including bracelets on some models. These look like the 1980s but function futuristically with solar power.

Price: $400+

Functionality: Alarms, stopwatch, countdown timer, illumination, solar power, metal construction

5000TFC-1

Special Editions with Vintage G-Shock Styling

Bluetooth sets these watches apart from the other 5000 Series G-Shocks. This is the grandaddy of the retro-style, with a robust feature set and a classic look that’ll hide this wolf’s cutting-edge capabilities under a sheep’s clothing. Hard to get, but worth the quest for die-hard G-Shock collectors and normal folks alike.

Price: $1,200

Functionality: Alarms, stopwatch, countdown timer, illumination, solar power, lap timer, full metal construction, Bluetooth connectivity, more

5600 Series Digital G-Shocks

Base Model All-Digital G-Shocks

One test of a great watch design is how well it works in different colorways. Go Rasta, denim or crystal, and you’ll have the 1980s on your wrist. Or, if you’re more into the 1990s, there’s a rave-inspired model with teal and purple, that decade’s favorite colorway. Or a woody-surfboard vibe? Check. Or a khaki military inspired colorway, or…well, you get the idea. Thankfully, Casio seems to provide a steady supply of these less expensive models, so you can readily snag one.

Price: $99-$200

Functionality: Various colorways (using separate reference numbers), plastic construction, illumination, standard stopwatches and alarms