Perfect Square
I think there’s a good argument to be made that the original Casio G-Shock is the most important quartz watch ever made. Not the first quartz watch—the Seiko Astron from late 1969 takes that prize. It’s not the cheapest or most mass-produced. But it took some of the qualities of those cheap and mass-produced watches—compact digital modules, plastics, automated factories, multiple iterations—and combined them into something pragmatic, and most importantly, robust. The entire G-Shock line is extremely durable, with significant resistance to impact, temperature, magnetic interference, and water intrusion. It doesn’t seem like the advent of the smartwatch has created a crisis of obsolescence for the G-Shock line, either. It has added complexity, but paradoxically, that complexity has made the new GW-BX5600 arguably the perfect classic-look G-Shock.
For one, there’s no major aesthetic divergence from the DW-5000C of 1983. The GW-BX5600 is still an octagonal, resin-cased, digital hunk with a chunky ridged resin bezel that helps provide it with the shock and impact resistance that give the line its name. So it joins a long, long list of G-Shock “squares” that are largely indistinguishable from each other without a little enthusiast knowledge. The appeal of the DW-5000C has lasted decades, which I credit to its function-first design. It’s aesthetically pleasing because aesthetics were not part of the development process.
All multi-function G-Shocks have a long list of features, but the neat thing about the memory-in-pixel display is that the GW-BX5600 (and other MIP watches) aren’t limited by the number of physical LCD segments in the display. So you can have displayed text at different sizes within the same physical space on the screen. The home screen, which can be changed to resemble the seven-segment LCD elements, can display up to two additional GMT times in the upper right section.
World Time on my much older LCD GB-5600 requires switching away from the home screen, and I don’t get the “home time” displayed concurrently. It’s not difficult to switch back and forth, but the older G-Shocks just don’t have the flexibility or density of information on any given screen. More importantly, it’s not a zero-sum thing; MIP gives you more without any downside, aesthetic or otherwise.
That’s been a bit of a sore spot for MIP-equipped G-Shocks here. There are many good options that are square-like, but with modernized aesthetics and features that have (anecdotally) turned off some core square enthusiasts. There’s nothing objectively wrong with a GBX-100 or a GBD-200, but they aren’t 5000/5600s. They weren’t intended to be. But the GW-BX5600 is a 5600-series, and it works.
A few of the standout features are worth a mention. G-Shocks have for a while now relied on either Multi Band 6 radio time synchronization or Bluetooth sync via your phone. Both are fine. But most G-Shocks sold here use Bluetooth exclusively. The GW-BX5600 has both in one module. Almost entirely unnecessary, but also appreciated.
There’s also Tough Solar charging. The MIP display, the Bluetooth connection—these are all power-hungry. And the rechargeable batteries in G-Shocks are minuscule, with tiny capacities compared to the non-rechargeable options. The CTL1616 in most of the Tough Solar squares is only 18 mAH, while the CR2032 used in the most other non-rechargeable squares is 235 mAH. The recent MIP G-Shocks with fitness trackers and heart rate monitors had full-charge lifespans in the 35-hour range, or more like a month with those features turned off. That puts them into the smartphone battery life category.
The GW-BX5600 is thankfully built different. It still has a CTL1616 battery and so is making do with only 18 mAH of juice, but it has a 6-month power reserve. Charge it fully and put it in a dark place and it’ll keep time for 6 months.
By the way, don’t ever do this. I’ve owned, fixed, and junked hundreds of solar-rechargeable watches. The li-ion batteries, when fully discharged, like to leak and ruin the movements. They don’t need a lot of light; a shelf in a room that has some natural light is fine. Just don’t store them away in a box.
Otherwise, the GW-BX5600 is a normal G-Shock square. The timer, chronograph, and alarm features are all standard G-Shock stuff. It really is just a 5600 with an MIP display, the answer to a thousand Redditor’s prayers.
One little problem: The GW-BX5600 isn’t sold in North America. It’s on sale in Japan now, and there are Japanese-market importers like Sakura that can get one to American customers (with a list price of $138), but the tariff situation on top of shipping costs makes that a less palatable option than it used to be. And, unfortunately, one of G-Shock’s US reps told us that there are no plans for “launching this one in the US anytime soon.” Now, that could mean anything from later this year to never, but it’s frustrating for US fans for whom this is the one.
It’s also worth mentioning that the basic DW-5600, not quite a direct clone of the original but close in spirit, is an excellent watch. It lacks world time, which in my mind is its biggest flaw. Otherwise it runs for years on its non-rechargeable battery and is every bit as robust as the other squares. And it’s cheap.
The original DW-5000C, with its metal case, screw-down back, and other anachronistic quirks, has also been (relatively) accurately reborn as the DW-5000R. It’s a smidge larger and has a real panel light (not the awful offset bulb of the original), but it’s as close as you can get in a modern watch. It’s also reasonably priced, at $220 retail, compared to the outrageous prices the originals go for in good condition.
With the GW-BX5600 finally giving MIP-lovers elsewhere a watch with 5600-series aesthetics, the top end of the regular square line is covered. (I will, for now, ignore the “full metal squares,” which are their own full-blown subculture.) And thankfully Casio hasn’t decided to obsolete its long-running DW-5600s; it’ll keep pumping them out in an endless and delightful parade of special editions and collaboration models until the factory falls down, I assume.
It’s a good time to be into classic-look G-Shocks, honestly.
This article has been updated to include comment from a US representative for Casio’s G-Shock line.
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