Monday Morning Espresso With The Full Metal Casio G-Shock GM-B2100GD-5A
Even the intense shot of caffeine from the double espresso didn’t change what I saw. At the top of the stairs lay a shiny unicorn — not something you see every day. It appeared very calm, serene, and peaceful, even when I got closer to the top of the stairs. The eyes of the magical creature seemed to be fixated on something… Something on my left wrist. Oh, but of course, the reflective animal was looking at the bright Full Metal Casio G-Shock GM-B2100GD-5A on my wrist. The lustrous rose gold color is a perfect complement to the creature’s lustrous silver appearance.
Unicorns are not my specialty, but I do know a little bit about them. For instance, I know that they’re the size of a horse, that they have a purple head and the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen, and that there’s a long, spiraled horn with a red tip on their foreheads. Well, it turned out that I was mistaken about almost everything. Yes, it is a horse-sized animal, and the one I encountered did have a spiraled horn, but the colors I thought it had were completely absent. The unicorn I saw was just silver and reflected light like a Zaratsu-polished watch case. And the closer I got to the creature, the better the watch with its radiant pink-gold-tone IP finish on my wrist started to look.
Taming the beast with the Casio G-Shock GM-B2100GD-5A
The G-Shock GM-B2100GD-5A from Casio’s Full Metal collection is a bit of a unicorn watch. The latest iteration of the “CasiOak” now features a Bluetooth Smartphone Link function for automatic time adjustment. It’s also outfitted with Tough Solar, thus making batteries a thing of the past. The watch has a string of functions you can select by pushing the button 8 o’clock. You can read the extra functions, such as the time in 38 different time zones and an alarm, on the diamond-shaped display on the lower-right quadrant of the dial. And if you misplace your phone, the watch will help you recover it. In other words, you can now play fetch with your watch. Speaking of playing fetch, how cool would it be to play fetch with a unicorn? Maybe it only retrieves diamonds, but I guess you can only find out after you’ve tamed the beast.
Hypnotizing ion plating
This rose-gold-tone watch from the Full Metal collection is just the right tool to get closer to the unicorn. Who would have thought? I was led to believe that the strong and fierce creature could only be caught if a virgin maiden was placed before it. That’s what the ancient Greeks thought. But they didn’t have G-Shock watches back then, of course, so maybe both methods work. As I got closer to the unicorn, the reflective GM-B2100GD-5A, which weighs 165 grams and comes in a 44.4 × 49.8 × 12.8mm case, worked its magic. The watch blends functionality and luxurious fairy-tale looks in an ever-so-magical way.
For some, the price of the GM-B2100GD-5A — €599 / US$600 — is a bit of a spell breaker. However, the price is in line with, for instance, the square Full Metal watches. If you’re still struggling with a G-Shock with a price higher than, let’s say, 100 euros or dollars, you really should experience how solid and luxurious a Full Metal G-Shock feels in the hand and on the wrist. The bracelet with its folding clasp is solid and smooth, the finishing of the many details is excellent, and the overall look of a metal G-Shock is luxurious and high-end. Also, the watch has a screw-in case back, helping to make it water resistant to 200 meters.
The higher prices are a break from the past, but the Japanese brand made a sincere effort to upgrade the original concept. The good thing is that you can still choose plastic if metal is out of range. And in case you choose metal, you will get a product that presents its original and fun shapes with high-quality flair.
To mod or not to mod?
What Casio also achieved is a level of quality that watch modders could never achieve. The CasiOak is a fan-favorite with watch modders, but the way that Casio constructs and finishes the steel and titanium cases and bracelets of its watches is impressive. In its pink-gold-tone attire, the CasiOak shows off its many sharp lines, edges, and tilted surfaces in well-finished steel as it never did before.
All jokes and unicorns aside, the Casio G-Shock GM-B2100GD-5A is a watch that offers tremendous value and original looks. There are even wilder and, yes, even trippier G-Shock watches out there, but this particular CasiOak is also capable of creating brainwaves of fun and creativity. Regarding the latter, sorry about the unicorn. I guess the shiny watch and animal hypnotized me in the most radiant fashion. And to be honest, it was a special moment. The unicorn took a sip of my espresso, and we even sat together in a moment of contemplation. Anyway, it won’t happen again, not least of all because when I wanted to see the unicorn again, it was gone. Back to its mythical realm, I guess. At least I still have the watch.
For more information on the Casio G-Shock GM-B2100GD-5A, please visit the official G-Shock website.
