Casiomania Auction. Very good Casiophile..that was clever. We are laughing about that today, but who knows….

As you probably know, there have been Casios issued to a French Military branch that have been discussed extensively on MWR. It was a DW-9000 variant. There is a pic of the watch with the markings in this old sales ad:

http://www.mwrforum.net/forums/showthread.php?p=4315

That said, off the top of my head, I don’t think the DW 9000 was an 80’s watch.

It’s been said that the Australians are today wearing G-9000’s, but they are not marked.

Wasn’t there some G Shock (DW 5000?)produced a number of years ago that was suspect…it was Iranian or maybe Afghanistan or maybe Iraq? I think it had some arabic printing on it. I can’t remember if it was ever proved to be real or not.

Also, in an old G-Shock book I have, there is a picture of a NASA Document…perhaps a purchase order of some sort for a G Shock, but there is no picture of the watch so I don’t know if there were issue numbers stamped on it.

Finally, here is a cool shot of a Casio DEP being used by a soldier:

http://www.afsouth.nato.int/JFCN_Images/2004/Destined_Glory04/KDG040784.jpg

Thanks for chiming in.

If Casio’s ever sold a mechanical watch I’m not aware of it. They’ve done plenty of battery driven analog models of course and not always with ‘in-house’ modules.
I remember, in the late 90’s, Swatch came out with a few automatic watches which leads me to wonder if perhaps Casio didn’t try the same thing since they did put out a few Swatch-like lines such as the Art, Zodiac, Velocity and Tropic.

Speaking of military watches - does anybody have evidence of issued G-Shocks from the 80’s with markings?

The fact that Casio’s are one of the watches favored by the troops raises an interesting thought on marketing and how or if to market this. I’ve never seen Casio mention this fact in any literature (Casio seems to affiliate itself and its G Shock image with extreme sports) and because the war is a controversial subject, I’d guess that they stay away from it. However, to many people, it is a valid selling point. A watch that is bought and worn regularly by soldiers has got to be tough or they wouldn’t be buying them. What a great marketing opportunity right? You’d think so, but I guess the advertising people think the subject is too sensitive. However, word of mouth travels well.

As I’m sure you know, a popular question that often arises on the watch forums is “What do most soldiers wear?” or “What watch should I buy for someone getting ready to deploy?” G Shock recommendations are always the overwhelming recommendations. That said, I don’t think I’d wear a MRG-7500 if I was a soldier. I think a basic 5600 would work fine for me.

Thanks for the kind words and oh yeah…you mentioned a mechanical Casio..well I’ve never seen one, and I’d be shocked if there has been one made. Hey Casiophile or Casionerd…if you are reading this, can you confirm?

petew

Yes, that MRG you have is an exceptional model. The crown guards are spectacular. It would have been fun to see Casio continue and evolve with a more classical theme with at least some of the MRG releases. As you mentioned, they seem to be using the Oceanus line for more traditional designs and I’ve noticed they use some identical modules in the Oceanus’ as are used in the MRG’s.

Perhaps in the future?

Thanks for reading and commenting.

petew

Photo by Pedrobe
Why could’t they follow this path? if they would have kept it up, they would have gained high end japanese status, precisely what they are trying to do with the Oceanus line now….

Thanks for commenting. I think both of you are right with your theories about the expensive prices being used to create an image of exclusivity. I’ve just been surprised at how fast and aggressive Casio has been with the MRG prices in the last year.

Blackdial, Casio is about to release a MTG-1000 watch for around 40,000 yen that looks to have lots of the MRG features and look without the DLC and cost. I hope to get one and do a review on it. Maybe we will see some MRG features (upgraded dials and bracelet design) trickle down into lower cost watches.

Here’s a pic of the MTG from Casio:

MikeNovember, you raised an excellent point about Seiko/Citizen/Orient/Casio now having to deal with the Chinese competitors. I wish I thought of that and I bet you are correct. The Japanese watch companies have to be looking over their shoulders to watch out for the Chinese. Their upmarket strategy is a good way to differentiate themselves as initially, it may be difficult to compete against Chinese in the lower cost watch sector.

Thanks for reading and commenting guys. I always enjoy hearing your well thought out opinions!

petew

Once more, this example gives the proof that price of a watch is not correlated to its manufacturing cost! This is true for the MRG’s, this is also true for Swiss watches (what justification to a stainless steel chronograph with Valjoux 7750 caliber at 5000 - 6000 EUR?).

Casio is trying, like Seiko, Citizen, Orient, to increase the average cost of their watches, in order to sell more watches in the medium-end and high-end market, because they have to face an increasing competition from Chinese watches in the low-end one.

Their strategies are very different:
- Seiko tries to change its image (with SpringDrive and Credor sonnerie, for example), and begins to market high end mechanical watches outside Japan (yes, mechanical Grand Seiko are sold in France, in Paris Seikocenter only, since mid June!),
- Casio and Citizen add functions (”bells and whistles”) to their watches or change their robustness (example you mention here), or make limited editions,
- Orient has completley renewed its product lines, with more expensive watches like its diver; when will we see Royal Orient sold in western countries?

Swiss manufacturers sell far less watches than Japan ones, but with an average cost (and profit!) much higher and comparable sales amounts.

However, the image of a brand doesn’t change very quickly. Will customers be ready to buy Japan watches the same cost as Swiss ones? Not before the image of Japan brands have been repositioned and these brands considered as valuable as Swiss ones… It is not a technical problem, and is not, for sure, related to DLC!

Best regards,

MikeNovember

As far as high prices, I think there is an entire
set of rules and forces dealing with high prices.
For some strange reason, some objects appear more
desirable, the higher the price goes. That is most
likely what some of the pricier Swiss watches are
utilizing.

I am just hoping that Casio will have a two tier
or even a three tier system: the value for money
system, and the high price system. Hopefully, they
and Seiko and Citizen will also not drop their
value for money system. Hopefully, they will start
another line, something like the “Lexus” line. Paul