It was born from a developer’s dream of “creating a watch that never breaks”. Guided by a “Triple 10” development concept, the design teams sought a watch with 10-meter free-fall endurance, 10-bar water resistance and a 10-year battery life. At a time when it was commonly believed that watches were breakable items, G-Shock’s development represented a challenge to common sense. The number of experimental prototypes built for endurance testing reached over 200.

And the structural development and parts improvement took approximately two years. After a long, hard process of trial and error, G-Shock was finally launched. A shock resistant structure that overturned conventional thinking about watches was realised through breakthrough thinking, including the ideas of a hollow-structured case, all-directional protective covering and the use of cushioning material to protect critical parts.

These were the fruits of technological development that insisted on “toughness” and a revolution in watch design. Since launched, G-Shock has continued to evolve for more then 30 long years, carrying on the toughness of spirit and uncompromising passion that led its developers to persist in their unshakable belief.

D E S I G N   A N D   S T R U C T U R E

Born from the breakthrough idea of a hollow structure

The case employs a hollow structure in which the module is “floated” to protect it from shocks. A full urethane bezel provides all-directional enclosure to prevent direct shocks from striking the glass and buttons. And cushioning material provides extra protection for the key parts such as the crystal oscillator inside the module. These and other shock-resistant technologies, exclusive to G-Shock, are spread generously throughout the body and the module interior to raise toughness to the highest levels.

G Shock Case design offering protection against free-fall shocks

A prominent bezel configuration was adopted to prevent the buttons and glass from contacting flat surfaces, thus protecting them from shocks when falling at any angle. This design concept stressing protection from shocks is basic to every G-Shock case design, and the same protective structure is employed not only for our urethane cases, but also for our mm teal cases and analog watch cases.

G Shock Urethane band that acts as a shock absorber

The band actually acts as a shock absorber itself, protecting against shocks from behind. We have established strict standards for the combination ratio of urethane resin employed. Neither too soft nor too hard, the superb specified combination realises an ideal balance between shock resistance and comfortable wear-ability.

G Shock All-Directional Covering

Direct shocks to the buttons and the glass surface are prevented by a protective urethane-resin bezel design. Shock resistance has been ensured by inserting cushioning material between the bezel and case in metal models with lower shock-absorption capabilities.

Protection of important parts with cushioning material

The crystal oscillator and other important parts inside the module are individually protected with cushioning material. This prevents contact failures and improper operation due to distortions that could otherwise occur inside the module if the watch experience a sudden strong impact.