The Casio G-Shock ‘Pure Gold’ ref. G-D5000-9JR
Casio G-Shock ‘Pure Gold’ ref. G-D5000-9JR / Credit: Casio Watch Parts
Two dates will be remembered eternally in the history of the Casio G-Shock: April 1983, when the first G-Shock, the DW-5000C was released, and May 2019, specifically May 15th, 2019; the day the ‘Pure Gold’ ref. G-D5000-9JR was released in Japan. Yes, you read that correctly: a solid gold G-Shock.
Not only the first solid gold Casio G-Shock, but also the most expensive ever. Words like extravagant, flamboyant, and ostentatious have already been used to describe the ‘Pure Gold’ G-D5000-9JR, that started life as a concept watch at Baselworld 2015. It’s unlikely Kikuo Ibe thought of making a gold watch back in 1981 when he was still testing prototypes in a non-descript Casio bathroom. In fact, he probably had no idea just how popular the watch he designed would become. After dropping a timepiece his father had given him, Kikuo Ibe set out to make a watch that would stand up to his ‘triple 10 philosophy’: 100 meters of water resistance, 10 years of battery life, and surviving falls of up to 10 feet; the G-Shock. And for its 35-year anniversary, Casio released this limited-edition solid gold version to commemorate the decades of success that Ibe’s G-Shock has had so far.
Credit: Hodinkee
The Casio G-Shock ‘Pure Gold’ features all the regular features of a classic G-Shock; it is water resistant, shock resistant, retains all the usual functions, and even has the shape of the original DW-5000C. It was released exclusively by select Casio G-Shock boutiques in Japan, in a limited edition of only 35 pieces.
The watch is priced at 7.7 million yen, or about $70,000 and thus far overseas availability remains unclear; Casio has started accepting preorders from Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and UAE-based customers, while the US is supposed to receive two watches for which a raffle will be held. Can’t wait to see how it does at auctions over the next few decades.