An Ode to the King
Why the Casio G-Shock GXW-56-1A is the true king
Over the past few years, I’ve worn a lot of watches. Apple Watch, Garmin, and non-smart watches. Smartwatches started to feel like a burden on me. Last year, I sold my Garmin watch, which I wore for less than a year. Before that, I had an Apple Watch, which died on its own in a swimming pool. Between these two, I wore several classic watches, and I’ve always returned to the G-Shock, nicknamed “King”.
I’m going to skip the tedious explanation of why I stopped liking smartwatches. After all, countless articles cover the same issue - overload of information on my wrist.
Classic watches are forever
When I (hopefully for the last time) decided to only wear classic watches, I set two priorities: affordability and (almost) zero maintenance. This obviously ruled out almost all Swiss watches, since they are overpriced if you look at something decent. Luckily, Japanese watches are here to fill their spot and they do it wonderfully.
The real price:performance masters are Citizen and Casio. The amount of watch you get for these prices is insane. And these watches are built to last. Obviously, you have to look at the solar-powered ones from both. Citizen calls theirs “Eco-Drive” while Casio uses the “Tough Solar” name on their G-Shocks. You’re looking at watches that should last at least 10 to 12 years without any technician looking inside them, and during that time (unless you keep them in a dark box) will keep perfect time. In fact, these sun-powered quartz machines keep better time than all the overpriced automatic watches you always hear about.
I bought a Citizen Eco-Drive almost three years ago. A classic analog watch, powered essentially by the sun, with sapphire glass, and atomic time keeping. I guess I can call it a semi-expensive mistake. I don’t wear it often; I am annoyed by the analog dial. Something in my brain pulls me towards the look of a digital watch.
Casio is the master brand when it comes to digital watches. There are so many varieties in so many price levels, it just blows my mind. G-Shock is probably the most well-known Casio brand, and that brand comes too in bambillion different flavors.
I own 5 G-Shocks at the time of writing.
I have the classic square, the M5610U, for many the holy grail of G-Shocks. And yes, it’s very good. Especially for the price. For ~130€ you get a light watch that is hard to destroy. And it looks timeless.
I also own the GW-7900, a very good looking digital watch with moon phase and tide indicators. It looks very cool. Yet, I wear it very rarely these days.
Sometimes quirky is good
The Casio G-Shock GXW-56-1A (watch makers and their names) is a big, bulky, quirky watch. The 56 series of G-Shocks is nicknamed the “King”. Because it basically is a classic square on steroids.
And I love everything about it.
It has all the features a G-Shock should have like water resistance up to 200m, tough solar, Multi Band 6 for atomic time keeping, world time, alarms, stopwatch, timer. On top of that it is also mud resistant and has the famous Alpha Gel inside to make it more vibration resistant.
Despite its bulk, it wears surprisingly light on my wrist. The bezel and band are both resin, but they just feel much cozier than the classic square. The whole watch is just screaming for attention with little details sprinkled all over it. Every time I look at it, I admire it for a bit.
Is it perfect? No. Not at all. First of all, it has the infamous negative display, which a lot of users are complaining about. Yes, it’s not as readable as a positive one, but I’ve yet to find a situation where it caused me any issues at all. I simply always look at my watch by rotating my wrist, no matter which watch I’m wearing.
The buttons are a bitch. Because the watch is mud resistant the buttons are harder to press. I got used to it. I also don’t press the buttons that much. But I also feel that with time, they are easier to operate. Or maybe my fingers have developed some new muscles.
Does it look tacky? I guess a bit. But so do most of G-Shocks, honestly.
The King does everything I need from a watch. Tells extremely exact time. Has a perpetual calendar. It should survive a zombie apocalypse.
It also protects your wallet. For roughly 190€, you get an indestructible watch that should easily survive you. If you don’t fall down the G-Shock rabbit hole, this should be the only watch to purchase. It is a quirky watch that flies under the radar of most watch enthusiasts precisely because of this. I guess the ridiculous build and dimensions of it are off-putting for many. And I get that. I had doubts too. But the moment I unpacked it in spring this year and put it on my wrist, I felt a connection with it. Not just skin to resin, but something in my head clicked and said: “Yes, I finally like one.”