Father of G-Shock Kikuo Ibe has been with the company for 40 years, developing timepiece structures for Casio’s digital watch division. In 1983, his passion leads him to develop the first G-Shock watch and has since been involved with numerous product developments including Casio’s OCEANUS, first ever radio-controlled and solar powered analog watch range. With his rich experience, Mr Ibe has certainly gone through the evolution of time and watch in the industry.
Last week, he came to Malaysia to introduce a new range of premium timepieces, “Master of G”. We managed to nab Mr Ibe for a chat, on his favourite piece from the collection, and the number of G-Shock watch he owns.
1} What do you think sets G-Shock apart from other watch brands?
The main thing that sets G-Shock watches apart is its durability and strength. There is no other watch in this world can compete with the toughness of G-Shock.
To make sure you’ve gotten the original G-Shock Watch, throw it against the wall as hard as you can, if it’s broken then it’s not a G-Shock Watch.
2} What are the craziest ways you have tested the G-Shock’s strength?
We have tried many ways to test its strength. We tried throwing it out of the toilet window on the 2nd floor, running it over with a sedan car. There is one method that we would really want to try but we couldn’t which is to let an elephant to stomp on the watch.
3} How many watches did you throw before you got it right?
More than 200 watches
4} How many G-Shock do you personally own?
I have 4 G-Shock watches. One is the first G-Shock watch, DW-5000. It’s the one and only one in the world. The other 3 watches are the DW-5600 which shares the similar design with DW-5000, but the watches are in different colours – white, black, and red. I wear them according to the seasons. White in summer, black in spring and autumn, red in winter.
5} Do you have any favourite from the recent collection?
It would be the MASTER of G’s Frogman and the Gravity Master. I really like these two watches but they don’t look good on me.
Related:
Casio to Release New Sheen Watch;
Casio Unveils the New EX-FR200 and EX-ZR5000 in Malaysia
