This guy right here is Mr. Kikuo Ibe, the Father of Casio's G-SHOCK. One day, he dropped an heirloom watch given to him by his father. He watched it break into pieces, and broke his heart in the process. He envisioned one day that he'll create a timepiece that won't break when dropped. That was how the great G-SHOCK story started.
Since he's the head of Casio's watch design team, it was really hard finding a material that could substantially prevent the watch from breaking. He saw a girl playing with a ball and was inspired by it. He thought of suspending the actual timepiece with air or "space" hence the design of having a hollow structure holding the module whilst it's suspended inside.
In 1983 they came out with the first G-SHOCK model called DW5000C. The watch followed a triple 10 principle which means it's got a battery life of 10 years, 10 bar pressure resistance and can withstand a 10 meter drop too. A lot of others followed suit and made G-SHOCK a byword for timepieces.
2013 marks G-SHOCK's 30th Anniversary. They have been holding events around the world and yes they call this "SHOCK THE WORLD" among other things. Mr. Ibe will be appearing in Manila to get Pinoys a glimpse of the celebration this February 28. I'll also try to be at the press conference prior to that at HYVE bar in W Global Center, Bonifacio Global City. For those interested to see this guy who made history in the flesh, please check out http://shocktheworldmanila.com/ for more details.
For more information about the event:
Casio Watches Philippines
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