A G-Shocker! I bought a digital watch. This blog is primarily about mechanical watches and my love for watches is really focussed on the beauty of the miniature engineering involved in producing wrist worn time keeping devices. MY interest in watches is also tied to my appreciation of the history of horology and in particular the way watches keep pace with the tumultuous events of the 20th century. The wristwatch was “invented” by Cartier for aviation pioneer Santos Dumont. The Cartier Santos is in production to this day and serves as the starting point for the history of watches in the 20th century.
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The world was soon thrust into the tragedy of the Great War where officers started to wear watches on their writs rather than pocket-watches in their coats. This was a revolution in practical timekeeping and the Trench Watch (affiliate link)became a standard piece of military attire. Names like Longines and Omega rose to prominence producing Trench watches with enamel dials and radium lume on the indices and hands.
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I bought one from Argos, it was a sale, obviously but for the breezy price of £75 for the Khaki GBD-800UC-3ER I am seriously impressed.
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The GBD-800UC-3ER(affiliate link) is a connected watch. I would not say it is a smart watch by any means but it has fitness tracker bluetooth functions which will be popular with some. For me though I live the rugged looks, lightweight ease of wear that makes it an ideal companion of the climbing or kayaking adventure.
Technical Specifications
- Bluetooth
Energy-saving Bluetooth® technology, which offers data transfer at the push of a button. The watch can connect to a smartphone wirelessly via Bluetooth, enabling access to a wide range of useful functions. - Smart time
Local time will automatically be adjusted whenever the watch is connected with a smartphone. - Auto LED Light
If the ambient light fades, a turn of the wrist illuminates the watch display. - Shock-resistant
Shock-resistant construction protects against impact and vibration. - Steptracker
The watch has a built-in 3-axis accelerometer that counts the steps you take and indicates the numbers on the display. - World time function
Displays the current time in major cities and specific areas around the world. - Stopwatch function – 1/100 sec. – 24 hours
Elapsed time, split time and final time are measured with 1/100-sec accuracy. The watch can measure times of up to 24 hours. - Lap memory 200
Measured total, lap and split times can be stored in a memory with the date and can be displayed again later. A data set consists of: date, total, lap and split times. The memory has enough space for up to 200 data sets. - 5 timer – 60 min (with automatic repeat)
This timer emits a signal after the set time has elapsed. The watch can count down from a maximum of 60 minutes. Five countdown timers can be set separately. They then count back automatically from the preset time. - 5 daily alarms
The daily alarm reminds you about recurring events with an acoustic signal at the time you have set. This model has 5 independent alarms for flexible reminders of important appointments. - Phone Finder
Misplaced your smartphone? All it takes is the push of a button on your watch and the smartphone sounds an alarm. - Button tones on/off
The button tones for using the mode button can be turned off. This means that the watch no longer beeps when switching from one function to another. Preset alarm or countdown timers remain active when the button tones are deactivated. - Automatic calendar with Date, Day and Month
Once set, the automatic calendar always displays the correct date. - 12/24-hour timekeeping
Times can be displayed in either a 12-hour or 24-hour format. - Mineral glass
The tough mineral glass resists scratching. - Resin case
The resin housing is the ideal everyday companion. It is durable, lightweight and relatively insensitive to cold, heat or other external influences. - Resin band
Synthetic resin is the ideal material for wrist straps thanks to its extremely durable and flexible properties. - Water resistance classification (20 bar)
Perfect for free diving without scuba gear: the watch is water resistant up to 20 bar according to ISO 22810. - Dimensions (H x W x D)
54,1mm x 48,6mm x 15,5mm - Weight
approx. 59,0 g
This watch is roughly one third the weight of an ISO 200M diver on a metal strap. It really wears super light.
The G-shock is an action Icon, it has been worn by actors playing no-nonsense tough guy characters in numerous movies and TV shows. As such it is the spiritual successor of the Cartier Santos. It is a practical hard working watch to enable some poor lunatic who is risking his life doing something exciting but unnecessary to accurately measure time.
I enjoy outdoor pursuits and up to now I have been using a Customised Seiko SKX homage by Steeldive. It is rugged and cheap but does not compare with the G-Shock as it is far less robust and significantly more expensive. I am very impressed by how well it wears. The rubber strap is very comfortable. I do not know what the chemical compound is but it is very soft touch and light wearing, it avoids being sweaty and clingy, Usually I cant wear a watch overnight as it starts to itch but this wears better than my Fitbit did.
For whatever reason I always dismissed the G-Shock, digital is for kids, overly aggressive styling takes a bit of time to grow on you. But it is undoubtedly a classic and a worthy member of any watch collection.
“When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.”