G-SHOCK is best known for being the “tough” watch: rugged, dependable, and made to withstand any fall the wearer might experience. However, acquiring this title was no simple task for Kikuo Ibe and Project Team Tough. The goal was to create a watch that could operate up to 10 years, be water-resistant down to 10 bars, and run after a 10-meter fall. After two years and over two hundred prototypes, the G-SHOCK was born: modern G-SHOCK all derive a bit of their DNA from the original DW-5000C of 1983. Now, the G-SHOCK market is tougher than ever.
The G-SHOCK GM2100 borrows its design from the GA2100, but now with a metal overcoat. Each model in the GM2100 lineup is 200m water resistant, shock resistant, and comes equipped with a matching resin band. Underneath the mineral glass crystal is a hybrid analog-digital display, with lighting to provide visibility from dawn to dusk. This unique setup allows for an analog handset to always have the time on display along with the date, at the nine o’clock position.
As one comes to expect from G-SHOCK, the GM2100 is chocked full of features. Along with regular timekeeping, you have a world time display, a 1/100-second stopwatch, a countdown timer, five daily alarms, and an hourly time signal. Furthermore, there’s a “hand shift” feature to clear the analog hands of the digital display when in use. Additional features include a fully automatic calendar (to the year 2099), 12/24 hour timekeeping, and a toggle to mute button tones while operating the watch. If you were looking for a tough watch, they don’t come tougher than G-SHOCK.