It’s not often that G-Shock treats the American market to something special above what it gives to the Japanese market. But with the new Fine Metallic series, G-Shock came through with two extra watches for the USA to bring the total to SIX!
Yes, in Japan G-Shock released four models of the Fine Metallic series. But for Americans, we get two extra, including a silver square with a positive LCD screen. Legibility fans, rejoice!
What’s special about the Fine Metallic series?
G-Shock’s Fine Metallic series of watches have metal bezels in gold and silver colors with resin bands whose metallic facade perfectly match in color and luster. These watches look like sleek liquefied metal on your wrist, but wear with the comfort of a flexible resin band. Not a clunky metal bracelet.
In fact, the comfort may exceed a standard resin band because the inside has a silicone layer.
So really G-Shock has brought the best of three worlds together: silicon comfort, resin toughness, and metal appearance.
And by the way, don’t say they were painted with a metal color. The correct term is “vapor deposition.”
According to an article on Casio’s Japanese website, it took 15 years from conception of the Fine Metallic series to see its release. And that included 10 years of testing prototypes!
They had to get the color just right while still delivering on the toughness that G-Shock delivers in their watches. About the painstaking process, designer Takumi Yasuda said:
Silver was especially difficult. The bezel is the texture of stainless steel itself, so when I tried to match it, the color of the band’s vaporization was slightly different, such as blue and yellow, and the surface was distorted, and it was quite difficult to improve. I don’t want to remember how many times I made a prototype (laughs)
The pictures look great and I am excited to see them in person. I bought two: one Casioak is silver and a Square in gold. So stay tuned for the unboxing and first impressions.
If you want to jump the gun, below are the six models with affiliate links to G-Shock where you can buy your own and tough test along side with me!
GM5600YMG-9
Buy the GM5600YMG-9 from G-Shock!
GM5600YM-8
Buy the GM5600YM-8 from G-Shock.
GM5600YM-8A8
Buy the GM5600YM-8A8 from G-Shock.
GM2100YMG-9A
Buy the GM2100YMG-9A from G-Shock.
GM2100YMG9A9
Buy the GM2100YMG9A9 from G-Shock.
GM2100YM-8A
Buy the GM2100YM-8A from G-Shock.
What’s your favorite?
Three of the G-Shock Fine Metallic series are Casioaks, three are squares. Three are silver, three are gold. That’s your rubric to choose from. So which iteration appeals to you the most? Click through to buy one from the above affiliate links and let me know in the comments what you think!
AI Summary of my YouTube video
Now here’s what is often the most entertaining part of my Jimkinkade.com blog post. It’s when I task Gemini AI with summarizing my YouTube video. So in the video above I preview the Fine Metallic series. Here is the AI summary:
Key Points:
- Fine Metallic Series Introduction:
- Casio has released a “Fine Metallic Series” of G-Shock watches in the United States, a subset of the G-Steel series.
- This series is notable for its unique band construction, combining silicone, urethane, and a vapor-deposited metallic outer layer.
- The US release includes six models (three gold, three silver; three analog, three digital), while the initial Japanese release had only four.
- Unique Band Construction:
- The bands feature a silicone inner layer for comfort, a urethane middle layer for durability, and a metallic outer layer achieved through vapor deposition.
- This construction aims to provide the look and feel of a metal band with the comfort of silicone and the durability of urethane.
- Casio engineers spent over 10 years developing this technology, focusing on achieving a metallic texture that matches the metal bezel.
- Comparison to Other G-Shock Models:
- Kinkade contrasts the “Fine Metallic Series” with other metal G-Shocks, such as the GM-2110D, which has a metal bezel and bracelet but a resin case.
- He highlights the difference between metal-colored watches and watches with actual metal components.
- He also discuses the limited edition recrystallized metal G-Shock, and how the bezel and bracelet on that model, had a slight color difference.
- US vs. Japanese Release:
- The US release includes two additional models compared to the Japanese release: a silver square digital watch with a positive LCD and a gold square digital watch with a gold dial.
- Kinkade speculates that Casio included the positive LCD model in the US release to cater to American preferences, as negative LCDs are more popular in Japan.
- Personal Anecdotes and Opinions:
- Kinkade shares his experience acquiring the watches, which involved a logistical challenge due to his work travel.
- He discusses his appreciation for gold and silver as precious metals, referencing the periodic table of elements.
- He expresses excitement about unboxing the watches in a future video, emphasizing the visual appeal of the metallic finish.
- He discusses a problem he had with a GM-2110D, where a pin popped out of the clasp, and the watch fell off his wrist.
- He reads a comment from a viewer, who blames him for the problem with his GM-2110D, because he throws his watches into a box.
- He discusses the clasp on the GM-2110D, and how it is stamped steel, and not very robust.
- He mentions a viewer who told him he would have to spend $550 on a G-Shock G-Steel, to get a durable clasp.
- Band Sizing:
- Kinkade notes that the “Fine Metallic Series” bands are designed to fit larger wrists (145-215mm), which is a positive feature for him.
- Article Discussion:
- He reads an article from the Japanese Casio website that discusses the development of the tough silicone band.
- He discusses the article, and how the engineers tried many prototypes to make the band look like real metal.
- He discusses the article, and how the engineers had a lot of trouble getting the silver band to match the silver bezel.
Conclusion
So the AI summarized my G-Shock Fine Metallic Preview video pretty well. But it used external websites as additional sources which is good for facial accuracy but ironically inaccurate since I tasked it with summarizing my video, not fact checking it.
Weird! It referenced a Casio webpage about the 5600 series of watches, and a G-Shock webpage about the Fine Metallic series. I never asked it to do that! Should I be happy that not only do I have YouTube commenters fact checking me now I got Gemini AI?
Anyways stay tuned for more videos about these Fine Metallic G-Shocks! You have at least two coming soon!