I remember as I was growing up in the late 90s and early 2000s, that the Casio G-Shock was the epitome of a tough watch. I had a friend who had one in secondary school and we’d always ask him to let us throw it out the second-floor window just to test out Casio’s claims. Although we never did get to do that, today I am still a hundred per cent certain that it would have survived.

The robustness of the resin-encased G-Shock watch was and still is legendary. And just over the weekend, I witnessed the next step in their evolution. Some time ago, Casio updated their G-Shock watches with metal cases and bracelets which gave it a ‘big boy’ look but naturally also drove the prices up.

The third wave of materials, thankfully, hits closer to the original philosophy of the G-Shock line. With carbon fibre making its way into the collection, the result is a rugged watch that is able to take extreme punishment but with the added advantage of being extremely light.

Casio G-Shock GWR-B1000

This is the top of the line when it comes to Casio’s watches with the new Carbon Core Guard structure. As you can probably already tell from the highly distinguishable pattern of carbon fibre, the bezel of this Gravitymaster is made from this tough and light material. What you don’t see however is the carbon monocoque case that is made from a carbon fibre-reinforced resin. What Casio has also done with this new case is they have included a modified plate that can hold the circuit board in place, inhibiting direct impact to the button shaft and circuit board, thus eliminating the need for button guards.

All the other externally exposed metal parts are actually titanium which is also renowned for its strength and lightweight properties. So unsurprisingly, the GWR-B1000 is the lightest Gravitymaster in Casio’s lineup. Of course, being a Gravitymaster, the watch is also able to sync its time via Bluetooth and/or radio wave time-calibration signals.

The Casio G-Shock GWR-B1000 is, as previously mentioned, the top of the Casio’s carbon watches for now and so the blue and black (GWR-B1000-1A1 and GWR-B1000-1A) variants will come with a price tag of MYR3,999.

Casio G-Shock GA-2000

For the more casual watch connoisseur, like myself, the new GA-2000 presents an even more interesting proposition. Sure the carbon may only be limited to its Carbon Core Guard structure but the burst of colour on its case and the fact that the watch is still super lightweight makes it worthy of consideration. And additionally, with the same case structure as the more expensive GWR-B1000, the GA-2000 is also able to offer buttons without the guards.

At a glance, the watch still retains all the DNA of a Casio G-Shock but with one major difference. For the first time, the bands can lay completely flat with the case. The new straps are held in place with a spring bar construction that can be easily removed through the slide lever without the use of special tools. Slide-lever aside, what’s even more noteworthy is that now with the spring bar, it opens up the watch to a host of aftermarket straps giving us, the consumer, a wealth of options to customise the watch to personal tastes.