First Impression : Casio G-Shock Camo (model no. GD-120CM-8)

In my previous blog entry, I wrote about my desire to get a cheap knockabout watch otherwise known as Casio G-Shock, and was considering between 2 pieces of Camo 2014 models as detailed in my previous blog entry.

Well, I had a lunch function at a hotel in KL earlier this afternoon; and upon my return home, I saw a G-Shock box on the sofa. A note by the side said that it was a gift from my HM and chosen by my 5-year old son, less that I spend too much time considering which G-Shock to get. I must say that my son has good taste, either from HM or myself #chuckle.

A nice Sunday surprise then... Looks like I should write more on this blog #wink. 
Anyway, let's get back to the watch in hand.

Turning the box around, you could see that the G-Shock was imported by Marco Corporation Malaysia. Point to note was that all Casio should come with a 1-year international warranty but as Marco was the authorised dealer for Casio in Malaysia, it would only recognise products brought in by its Company. Therefore, its product would have an additional Marco-issued Malaysian warranty card with a unique serial no. And you could register the serial no. online at Marco e-warranty site, to extend the warranty by another 6 months i.e. from 12 months to 18 months. I have done the e-warranty registration and this Camo's warranty would be from 7/12/2014 - 6/6/2016.

Warranty : 7/12/2014 - 6/6/2016 (18 months)

The cardboard box and the aluminium tin box were decorated with the standard military-issued camouflage pattern that adorns the actual watch in the box. The watch was nicely-wrapped and protected by soft sponge to avoid scratches from knocking against the box.

Taking out the G-Shock, I noticed that the Camo was very light indeed. Compared to the other G-Shock that I had, I supposed that the technological improvements had enabled them to use better and lighter resin and module, with better printing all over the watch. I like the fact that even the inner dial was printed with the camouflage design.

You would noticed that the Camo had negative display. You need to reflect the display against the light source in order to read the display properly. The negative display of today has marked improvements over the previous versions.

The buckle was matt silver, and the outer side had G-Shock stamped on it while the inner side showed that it was Casio Japan.

I liked the printing on the resin band. And the double buckle pins with squarish pin holes on the band added a modern touch to the classic G-Shock design.

I was wearing the Omega Planet Ocean XL (45.5mm without crown) when I received the gift, so I took it off for a side-by-side comparison against the 51.5mm Camo.

And here was the Camo with its Illuminator function. It was bright enough to read the display. You could choose whether to have it lit up for either 1-second or 3-seconds vide the Illuminator adjustments.

Other standard functions included world time 29 time zones including (48 of the coordinated universal time), auto calendar which has been formatted until the year 2099, 3 multi-function alarms, and a 24-hour stop-watch and timer countdown.

The Camo could be read at 12 or 24-hour format, and its digital format showed hours, minutes, seconds, month, date, and day. Further, the Camo had water resistance durability up to 200 meters, battery power for up to 7 years, as well as durability against impact.

And here were the obligatory wrist shots from various angles.

Overall, I have no complaints towards this Camo, and I am glad with the purchase towards this cheap knockabout G-Shock that looked really rugged and military.

And here was a picture of the Camo on Mr Fantastic's elongated hand. Well, actually it was my hand but I have no idea how the picture had my hand stretched like that. Ho hum...

Note that there were also replica G-Shock Camo sold on Mudah. Could you see if the below G-Shock Camo was original or otherwise?

Picture lifted from Mudah

It's a replica selling at between RM55 - RM70. Note that where mine said "Casio Illuminator" on the upper-top of the dial, this version said "1/1000 Shock Resist". Nowhere on the watch did it has the brand "Casio" imprinted anywhere. Looks almost like the real deal, right? I wonder how was the quality of the replica watch though.

Casio G-Shock Camouflage : Which One?

Since the Casio G-shock Riseman was out of stock, I was thinking of picking up a Casio G-Shock Camouflage from the 2014 collection instead. Which one do you reckon I should go for?

And other pictures go G-Shock Camo watches as seen on the Net :

Pulled The Trigger : Casio G-Shock Riseman (Update : Out of Stock)

Nope, you didn't read wrongly.

Readers would know that I acquired a pair of Casio G-Shock Riseman earlier the year, which had barometric and altimetric reading capabilities. One of the them was a wave-ceptor that could self-adjust its time in accordance to air waves of the country that the wearer arrives at.

Along the way, I had flipped both watches in trades for other watches; although I had always thought about getting back a Riseman but finding one remained elusive.

When I was looking for the Seiko Prospex Monster Fieldmaster, I chanced upon a site that had a G-Shock Riseman in stock. The prices had also settled down compared to earlier the year, so I quickly clicked the necessary buttons to purchase a unit. Therefore, in 2 weeks' time or less, I should have a brand new G-Shock Riseman back in my collection again.

Update : The seller sent an e-mail that the said watch was out of stock and it looked like I would have to wait for another G-Shock to be available then.

Pulled The Trigger : Seiko Prospex Field Monster (model no : SRP580K1)

Ever since I added the Seiko Prospex Kinetic Tuna into my collection, I have been thinking of getting another Prospex- this being the Prospex Monster. Readers would know that I had the Seiko Monster Dracula, and I remained a fan of the re-designed Monster line of watches.

And with Seiko expanding its 2014 Prospex line for the international market (instead of being limited for the Japanese Domestic Market as per traditionally), the Monster lineup was also revamped with the Prospex badge of honour.

I was debating between getting the SRP580K1 (Field Monster) or SRP581K1 (Air Diver), but ultimately clicked the necessary buttons to make an online order towards the Field Monster.

Seiko Prospex Field Monster

Seiko Prospex Air Diver Monster

The Field Monster (Bronze Gold) that I was interested in retailed at RM1,445 locally but was more expensive overseas, probably due to the logistic charges. Of the above watches, I believed that the most striking of all was indeed the Bronze Gold- well, it was also selling at a higher price compared to the rest, so I guess the marketeers at Seiko Corporation also thought the same.

I can't wait for its arrival within these 2 weeks, and I shall be posting a review when the watch arrives in due course. Keep your eyes peeled hereabouts!

Bell & Ross BR01-97 with Isofrane Black 24mm

Ordering Isofrane with the FedEx option was a good choice as it ensured that the Italian-made vulcanised rubber straps reached our Malaysian shores in record time. And these rubber straps were so comfortable to wear that they were really worth the premium price tags that they were going for. Some may balk at paying USD109 - USD129 (+USD25 FedEx option) for rubber straps but trust me, once you tried Isofrane, you'd never go back.

I met a fellow watch enthusiast over a drink earlier this morning and he was an avid BR lover. He asked if the Isofrane would complement the BR01 too as it was a pretty macho and heavy watch, and would require an equally heavy-duty strap to hold it in place. Isofrane was a pretty thick strap with plenty of inner micro-grip lines, and I have no doubt that it would be a good match. I retrieved a new 24mm Isofrane black and it took but a minute to have the the strap matched to the watch.

And voila, I dare say that BR01 looked good with an Isofrane; and it's very comfortable too

The watch was matched with Taikonaut Croco Grain strap (USD69.99 @ http://taikonaut-watch-band.myshopify.com/collections/for-bell-ross/products/cg332400xx) most of the time as I felt that it was a rather handsome and corporate-looking classic strap, which really brought out the feel of the watch.

And here was the Taikonaut Cordura military 1000D strap (USD69.99 @ http://taikonaut-watch-band.myshopify.com/collections/for-bell-ross/products/bell-ross-cv) that seemed to be getting no wrist time at all, what's more now that the Isofrane was encroaching into its forte too. But I dare say that the Cordura still looks the part though!