No 259 - Casio G-Shock DW-8201WC-2T

My first Frogman. Bought back in July 2015. Now I finally understood what G-Shocks were all about. They were about the Frogman’s! They really are the coolest and the most badass watches in the G-Shock line-up. Because of their screw down caseback they give a much more professional feel to them. Being much more expensive than regular G-Shock’s is definitely contributing to the feeling of being a better product as well (I know, I’m that easy to fool!). I actually took for granted that the Frogman was going to have a built-in depth-meter and was quite disappointed that it didn't. I thought that might be the reason for the higher price but I guess the price only has to do with a different construction. The latest Frogman's do come with a depth-meter though but the price also tripled. I'm doing my best trying to motivate myself to get one but I'm not quite there yet.

#259 - The Casio G-Shock DW-8201WC-2T. My first Frogman. Not in the original color combination.

Due to being modified this one came very cheap. Originally it was supposed to have an all clear see-through resin case with a blue print but apparently it is quite common that these see-through cases fade towards a yellowish tone over time. Therefore it has become very popular do re-dye these cases in various color combinations. This one had been given a nice ocean turquoise tone and its letters had been painted yellow. It looked awesome and had a nice summer vibe to it. It was released in the summer of 1998 as a limited edition in a collaboration with the W.C.C.S. (World Coral-reef Conservation Society). The limited edition Frogman’s are highly sought after among collectors and the price you have to pay for the old cool discontinued models makes you don’t want to use them because the minute you do its value just plunges. Buying expensive NOS to collect and cheap second-hand for actual use would be my recommendation.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 257 & 258 - Casio G-Shock DW-6900

Funny G-Shocks. I absolutely love them! The more crazy-looking the better. Like I’ve written before: they are like drugs and once you start you only want more and it quickly becomes a habit. Here are two examples of G-shock's I bought just for fun right before going on vacation two years ago. I wasn’t looking for a G-Shock with any high-tech features, I just wanted something durable that would tell me the time. I was more focused on something with a cool look that would pop and I ended up with these two. The golden one made me look like I tried to want to be a rapper and the crocodile skin version looked like it had received a really bad STD. Both of them eventually ended up with my friend Leben when he also was in the need of a cheap beater. First he took the crocodile I think but somehow he lost it after a while. Then he took the golden one but in some mysterious way he managed to lose that one as well. 

#257 & 258 - Seen to the left. The green DW-6900CR-3D and the golden DW-6900GD-9D. More about the Frogman and the Navihawk in upcoming posts.

G-shock’s doesn’t always have to be expensive but the cheaper they are they usually lack some of the more necessary features. To me Multi-band and Tough Solar features have become two features that are essential when buying a G-shock.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 238 - Casio G-Shock GD-120CM-5ER

I wouldn't say that the camouflage pattern is very popular in Sweden. It’s either seen in the military or in fashion and not very much in everyday use. I must admit though that I absolutely love camouflage. Ever since I was a kid playing with G.I.JOE’s I have loved it. I only bought figures like Ripcord, Leatherneck, Flint, Falcon, Outback and Hit’n Run; guys who actually looked like real soldiers. When we were kids my childhood friend Martin and I used to spend every summer holiday on his private island imagining we were shipwrecked soldiers forced to do whatever it took to survive among ticks and snakes under the sometimes scorching hot summer sun and the roughest of thunderstorms. As the years moved on we left the playing behind and developed a passion for fishing (and beer drinking) instead and even though we today live two different lives in two different countries we’ve managed to keep the tradition of always gather a couple of times every year to go back to the exact same location and just relax and become one with nature again. And even though we’ve grown up quite a bit by now we still haven’t let go of the camouflage. Still love it!

Product picture of the Casio G-Shock GD-120CM-5ER (borrowed from Casio)

For Martin’s thirtieth birthday back in 2014, our other childhood friend and fishing buddy Daniel and I decided to go to London to visit him and at the same time catch our favorite band Machine Head playing at the Roundhouse. I came up with the idea of buying matching watches for the three of us that we could use while fishing and we ended up getting three brand new camo G-Shocks that just had been released. The watches were brought to London and got their first true test of endurance while we head banged along to every song that night. Since that night those three watches have been brought with us every time we meet. We didn’t mark them in any way and I think there have been a couple of occasions were we accidentally might have mixed them up. But who cares, as long as we have all three of them!

#238 - The Casio G-Shock GD-120CM-5ER. Synchronized to perfection. I have no clue which one is mine 😀

Posing with one of Martin's home made jerk baits.

Geared up and ready to move out for some pike fishing in late May 2016.

Waiting for the ferry.

Martin driving on a deserted road in the middle of nowhere.

If you haven’t guessed it already this watch is definitely one of my few keepers. It really does mean a lot to me but the watch actually fulfills a purpose as well. We use them all the time for every kind of activity in every kind of weather. This is a simple G-Shock without any fancy sensors and shit and really is built to withstand a proper beating and still being capable of doing its job. 

First pike on the first throw back in May 2015.

Evening fishing. Such a crazy hobo vibe going on here.

Perhaps I stretched it a little too far with the camouflage on this trip...

Cigar break.

Martin with a pike caught on another one of his home made jerk baits.

Me, Martin and Daniel out for some early autumn fishing in September 2016.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 208 & 286 - Casio G-Shock DW-5600EG-9VS

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the actual watch #208 that I owned. Product image of the DW-5600EG-9VS (borrowed from Casio)

This awesome retro looking G-Shock is available for about $60. How crazy cheap is that? Ok, so it doesn’t have tough solar, multi-band or any fancy sensors, it’s just a basic G-Shock with the traditional features which means you still have all you need. Having one of these sitting ready in the drawer never hurts. Its size is perfect and it just looks great on the wrist. I am no way near playing with the big boys when it comes to getting likes on Instagram but this watch is the one that has given me the most likes of all the pictures I have posted which I think is kind of surprising.

#286 - The second one I had. Got it in March 2016.

It's all in the gold details!

It’s really hard to stop when you’ve entered the jungle of G-Shock’s. They are like drugs. There are just so many fun versions that you want to try and almost all of them makes you happy. The traditional look of the DW5600 is my favorite among the G-Shock's and there is a Japanese made version called the GW5000, which has the same design, and except for tough solar and multiband it even has a screw down case back which is really cool because that's a feature that only have been used for the Frogman series before. I definitely got to have one of those. 

But what’s even harder when it comes to G-Shock’s is to keep track of all the references! There’s just too many.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 138 - Casio G-Shock GW-9300K-3JR

Whoah! So many twists and turns with this watch. To start off I bought it new (from Seiya if I recall it right) in July 2012. For being a Mudman it was really expensive ($440). But hey! This was no ordinary Mudman. It was a Love the Sea and the Earth limited edition and a share of the MSRP was donated to support foundations who are working with protecting the oceans! How can you not fall in love with a slogan and a concept like that? But what really got me going were all the colors. So bright and vibrant!  Its intended purpose was to serve as my running watch. I even bought a matching pair of customized Nike Free running shoes to motivate me even more. 

Product picture borrowed from Watch Tanaka. I think it gives a good sensation of how the colors were perceived.

#138 - The Limited Edition Mudman GW-9300K-3JR. My Mudman resting on a Frogman (not mine).

My customized Nike's. Designed to match the Mudman.

It worked perfect. Great features and the solar function really is a convenient invention. I just felt that perhaps it was a little too much money to have locked up in a G-Shock. But selling it and trying to get back somewhat near what I paid for it was impossible. Finally my friend Björn took it in a trade. I missed it the second it was gone and I knew I was an idiot.


Two years later, in the spring of 2014, I had a Tag Heuer Aquaracer 500 quartz out for sale (more about that one later). It had been serving as the traditional vacation watch during a trip to the Greek island Crete and was now looking for a new home. I received a lot of interest but only from talkers who couldn’t come up with cash. Finally I received an offer involving a part trade. The watch turned out to be my old Mudman so how I could I refuse to take it back if it also meant getting rid of the Aquaracer? It was a deal!  Sadly it had lost its glow and the colors weren’t as bright as before. It was still colorful but especially the orange had started to fade to a more grayish tone of orange.  It didn’t matter. It was my original watch and it went back to serve as my workout watch. 

Breakfast after a morning run in August 2014, Stockholm, Sweden.

Wrist shot after another morning run. This time in July 2014, Nice, France.

By the end of summer the following year I had a whole bunch of G-Shocks. It finally reached a point when I just felt they were everywhere. So I decided that all but one had to go. The Mudman was once again left to see what faith had in store for him. But just like last time no one showed a bit of interest. It was just too expensive for a G-Shock. But then one day my sister asked me if I knew a place where she could find any cool colorful G-Shocks. I just told her to stop looking and happily gave her my Mudman. I was just glad to see it stayed in the family. 

Lunch with my sister in early September 2015.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 70 - Casio G-Shock GW9200-1

“If I’m going to get a G-Shock I might as well go for the fattest one with all the features right away, I’m a right? And I should make sure to get one in black, not one of those crazy colorful ones which look retarded (I’m currently in the crazy colorful G-shock phase as this is being written).”

This was how I reasoned when I decided to buy my first G-Shock. I went for the Riseman. It had tons of features. It also was big as hell. It was wearable though. More wearable than the newer Frogman’s. They are insane. I was of course hoping that this would be the ultimate beater but it stayed in my drawer for a month until I decided to let it go in April 2011. Somehow I didn’t understand the thing about G-shock’s back then.

#70 - The Casio G-Shock GW9200-1 Riseman.

 

Dirty and dusty.

I could write tons about all the features but I’m not going to. The main feature about the Riseman is its altitude meter which I didn’t get much use for since I prefer to measure the distance below the water level rather than above it. But it had the solar feature and the automatic time setting which was kind of nice. Nothing bad to say about it really. It just didn’t suit me at the time. 
 

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.