Tough and Timeless: Ibe Kikuo and the Development of the G-Shock

Ibe Kikuo headed the G-Shock design team at Casio. He now serves as a senior fellow at the company’s Hamura R&D Center in Tokyo.

G-Shock models from Ibe’s personal collection. He rotates the time pieces, changing colors according to the season.

Ibe’s early “test lab” was a third-floor bathroom window from which he would drop prototypes onto the pavement below.

Today, researchers at the Hamura R&D Center use specially designed equipment to test the effects of impacts on watches.

A traditional housing design compared to the G-Shock’s “float” construction (left) and a large, ball-shaped prototype.

A display of the different components that make up a G-Shock. Designing the watches to be both shock resistant and waterproof posed a serious challenge for the production team.

The only original G-Shock model in Casio’s collection. The watch retailed for ¥11,400 and was advertised as being durable enough to withstand the shaking of a jackhammer.

A specially designed testing apparatus uses a five-kilogram hammer to test the shock-absorbing abilities of a G-Shock by administering a bone-breaking blow.

Alongside the G-Shock, Casio offered a series of inexpensive digital watches priced around ¥3,300.

From left: The DW-6000GJ-1 came out in 1990 and was the first model with a round design; the DW-6100W-9 featuring dolphin and whale icons was released in 1994; the DW-8400-1 Mudman debuted in 1995. (Courtesy of Casio)

Ibe recounts the early ups and downs of Project Team Tough.

From left: The 1996 G-Shock MRG-100 and the first Oceanus Manta model, the 2004 OCW-S1000. (Courtesy of Casio)

Ibe hurls a G-Shock against a board during a “Shock the World” fan event in Vietnam in 2011. The popular performance has become a mainstay of the gatherings. (Photo courtesy of Casio)

From left: The ¥88,000 G-Squad Pro GSW-H1000-1JR can be used as a fitness tracker; the top-of-the-line MRG-B2000B-1AJR, priced at ¥330,000, in traditional kachi-iro blue; the Casio thirty-fifth anniversary limited edition 18-carat “solid gold” G-D5000-9JR. (Courtesy of Casio)

The G-Shock lab has more than 200 specialized testing machines, including this one filled with murky water that tests the durability of the buttons of mud-resistant models. Every G-Shock has to clear over 100 specific trials before being shipped.

The showroom at Casio’s headquarters in Tokyo charts the company’s history since its founding in 1946. (Courtesy of Casio)