Is your Frogman poisonous? Casio’s G-Shock Frogman watches are arguably the most collectible of modern post-1990 G-Shocks. The prices of some used models have exceeded $1,000 US, and as we’re now seeing with the Black Dawn GW-225A-1JF Frogman, collectors are paying more than list price for these watches before they sell out.

The name Frogman is self-explanatory to those who collect dive watches. Frogman is a slang term for Navy divers that’s been in use since at least World War II. I imagine it was inspired by the frog-like appearance of a scuba diver, with his big tank on his back and large fins on his feet. It’s a perfect name for the ISO certified, flagship dive watch in Casio’s G-Shock lineup.

Casio plays on the Frogman theme by engraving the casebacks with comical pictures of scuba frogs, and sometimes, as with the case of D-8250, they even incorporate the Frogman logo in the EL backlight.

As I’ve learned more about the Casio Frogman line, I’ve discovered that there could be a double entendre meaning to the frogman name. I think it’s possible the design of some models is inspired by poison frogs.

Poison frogs, like many dangerous animals, are distinguished by their brilliant color schemes. The theory is that bright colors are markers to predators telling them to avoid specific prey because they taste bad or are poisonous.

Anyone who’s seen a poison frog knows how colorful and beautiful they can be. Don’t let the colors fool you. The poisons of some frogs is quite toxic. These frogs are often called poison dart frogs because natives in some areas tip their arrows with the frog’s toxins to aid in killing prey.

Released in 2004, the GW-200CF-7JF Brazilian Frogman created quite a buzz. The Brazilian was based on a special limited edition Addict Frogman issued to commemorate an urban clothing line noted for their camouflage prints. Here’s an Addict hat.

About a year ago, on the Watchuseek G-Shock Forum, a picture was posted of the poisonous Brazilian Milky Frog Phrynohyas Imitatrix. The resemblance to the GW-200CF-7JF Brazilian Frogman was uncanny and led me to wonder — was this watch designed with inspiration from Addict or from a tiny frog?

In light of this evidence, perhaps there were other Frogman also designed on patterns inspired by poisonous frogs. My first thought was that the GW-201-6JF Snake Killer Frogman was a strong candidate. A search of Japanese enthusiast sites confirmed my suspicions. Although I saw no specific references to the Snake Killer being designed based on a specific frog, I did note the watch was sometimes called the “Poisonous Frog.” Eureka!

The Snake Killer Frogman has perhaps the most colorful, wild finish ever used by Casio. As the light plays with this watch, its iridescent surface flashes with variations of blue, green and purple colors. A sparkle in the plastic enhances the look.

So is there in fact a frog out there that mimics this watch? If I had to guess, I would say the Strawberry Poison frog Dendrobates Pumilio was the inspiration for this model. The red, orange, and blue colors of this frog are identical to the look conveyed by the GW-201-6JF.

As I continued to research Poison Dart frogs, I came across one more that could have been inspiration for another well-known, rare Frogman. Here is a picture of a Phyllobates Terribilis, or Golden Poison Dart Frog.

Maybe it’s a stretch, but is it not possible this frog was the inspiration for the GW-200GM-9DR Gold Defender Frogman? Although the Gold Defender was released under the 12 Beasts line of G-Shocks, the watch name does have a tie in to the poisonous frog theme. A golden frog defends itself from predators by displaying its watch-out-for-me-I’m-poisonous-bright-golden-color.

So what do you think? Could some Casio Frogmen be inspired by the colors of poisonous frogs? Perhaps it is all a coincidence, or wishful thinking on the part of a G-Shock collector with too much time on his hands. I know that GMT+9 has a knowledgeable reader base, so perhaps someone can add to this train of thought, or introduce additional examples of Frogmen inspired by the colors of frogs.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 at 9:22 am and is filed under Casio. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.