Casio G Shock GPW 1000 review: James Bond would approve

Smartwatches might not have set the sales charts on fire but there’s a clear discernible trend – the conventional watch as we know it has never been under greater threat. The segment that’s most likely to be affected is the ‘high maintenance’ fashion watch in the Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 price band. This is the same price point where most of the fitness bands and smartwatches (except the pricier Apple watch) find themselves in. Swiss luxury watch makers are not resting on their laurels either. Tissot, which actually trademarked the term ‘smartwatch’ years ago, unveiled a watch with NFC and Bluetooth capabilities while Tag Heuer announced a unique partnership with Intel and Google at Baselworld 2015 to develop a luxury Android watch. Casio’s G Shock GPW 1000 becomes the first watch with serious GPS credentials; but does it have enough going to justify its Rs 49,995 price tag?

The Casio G Shock series dates back to the 1980s; at that time the whole idea of a smartwatch was the stuff of fantasy – only Dick Tracy had one! The G Shock watches worked around the triple ten concept – 10 year battery life, and water and drop resistant up to 10 metres. Just like the smartphone ‘drop tests’ of today, engineers flung G shock watches from rooftops and windows to test their ruggedness. That tough demeanour alone is not enough to make the sales registers ring for Casio in 2015, but the good looks do matter; this is a premium watch after all.

The G Shock GPW 1000 looks every inch a premium time piece and it doesn’t feel as heavy on your wrist, thanks to the resin material used for the dial’s marker ring that enhances the watch’s lightweight characteristics. Casio is mighty proud of the scratch-resistant sapphire crystal dial and the DLC (diamond-like-carbon) coating for the surface of the metal bezel, that doesn’t just look good but also lends the watch greater abrasion resistance. It’s the same for the watch’s tough strap – a carbon-fibre is moulded into resin material.

The GPW 1000 is the world’s first watch that has both GPS and Radio Signal capabilities. You land in any city anywhere in the world, and the device reads your default location (down to a 500-metre accuracy) and automatically resets your watch. It even takes into account daylight savings across time zones and sets the time accordingly. It’s almost like one of those cool toys Q would typically hand over to James Bond at the start of a new Bond movie. There’s a whole range of dials – almost like the console of a luxury automobile, that can be quite overwhelming to begin with. There’s the standard edition stopwatch as well as the location and a metal city code with an accent colour for different time zones/cities. A small hand indicates the latitude of your current location. You can switch to flight mode (while you’re flying) with a flick of a switch; the small hand then points to an airplane sign. Just like the versatile crown on the Apple Watch, the elegantly designed crown on this watch performs multiple functions apart from just adjusting the time.

Battery life is one of the biggest pain points for smartwatches; no such issues here. The GPW 1000 is powered by a solar cell, so you don’t have to ever worry about charging or swapping batteries. If you lock it away with your other prized watches, the device goes into sleep mode and can stay that way for up to a year and a half.

Sure, the Casio G Shock GPW 1000 is the only watch in the world that boasts both GPS and Radio signal capabilities and it’s definitely a conversation starter thanks to its rugged, good looks. If you’re one of those frequent international fliers, you don’t need to pay heed to the touchdown announcements – your watch is aligned even before you deplane. Casio’s biggest challenge (at this price point) will be to compete with the lower end Swiss premium watches that may not have the same fun tools but certainly offer more snob value, as well as the growing band of smartwatches with their fitness and office productivity creds.