Casio G-SHOCK GMC-B2100D

When I left for Japan, I did so knowing that if I was to spend any significant money on a watch, it would be a G-SHOCK. I made a quick list of six models I wanted to try, but didn’t build in stopping at a G-SHOCK store along the way. As luck would have it, we found time to swing into a G-SHOCK store where I proceeded to graze about the store, circling back on this GMC-B2100D several times before trying both color dials on, and selecting the black dial variant.

I’ve been wearing it often since then, and I’ve come to the feeling that this is one of those watches which does so much so well, that I would not bat an eye at someone saying this is their only watch. It is certainly my favorite of all the G-SHOCKs I own and have owned. All metal, analog, but with a touch of smartness — this is quite something. And quite shiny.

Specs

The ‘2100’ series of G-SHOCKs tend to wear a lot better than most, but among that line, this is a beast of a watch. It measures in at 51.3 × 46.3 × 12.4 mm and 171 g of weight. The watch is stainless steel for the case, bezel, and bracelet. Casio notes the process they took on the bezel, if you are interested — but they want you to know it’s more than one step.

As with most G-SHOCK this is shock resistant, and water resistant to 200m. This watch has Bluetooth, and connects to your phone allowing you to change settings on the watch, and also to keep the time perfectly in sync.

The movement is Casio’s ‘Tough Solar’ which as the name implies is solar powered — and rated to ±15 seconds per month if you are not connecting to Bluetooth. With Bluetooth the watch should sync daily, thus keeping you in perfect time.

About the only low on the specs is the crystal, which is simply a mineral crystal rather than sapphire.

Some other features/specs:

Screw Lock Crown: yes there’s a crown, yes it can be used to set the watch, but I have never used it.

Neobrite lume on the hands, and small pips above each hour marker on the chapter ring.

Dual time: a second time zone shows in the 6 o’clock position sub-dial and can be quickly swapped with the main time via the watch

1-second stopwatch

Countdown timer

Daily alarm

LED light (Super Illuminator) with Afterglow (white light)

Full auto-calendar (to year 2099)

Power Saving (hands stop to save power when the watch is left in the dark)

Battery level indicator

Given that this is solar powered, there’s a few bits and bobs to know about how long it will run, Casio states:

5 months on rechargeable battery (operation period with normal use without exposure to light after charge)

18 months on rechargeable battery (operation period when stored in total darkness with the power save function on after full charge)

Otherwise if you are getting enough sun, it keeps going. Five months is almost good enough that Seattleites could make it through the long-dark of winter there, but still coming up a few months short for them I am afraid. Here in sunny CO, I’ve yet to see the battery indicator move from full.

Lastly, the clasp is a tri-fold clasp with four positions of (tool-required) micro-adjust.

In Use

The first thing to know is that there is a lot of polished steel facets on this watch, this reads as quite shiny when you wear it. This will fade with use and time, but still persists for me three months later. This is a make or break for most people, I personally love it (that’s why I bought it), but I would not be surprised if it is literally too flashy for some.

On my just-shy-of 7” wrists, it wears nicely, with the watch not overhanging and all around comfortable. It looks thicker than it is, as I’ve had Tudor’s that are thicker than this watch. The crystal is perfectly flush so the depth is the depth here, no trickery. Yet the watch is a bit of a beast on your wrist, so there’s a level of commitment. For men who love watches in the 40-42mm diameter realm, they are going to feel really good with this. For men loving watches in the 36mm realm, it’s going to make you feel a little self-conscious at first.

Even with the size and weight of this watch, I’ve found it to be exceedingly comfortable. Whether sweating my ass off in the humidity and heat of Japan’s summer, cool days in Boulder, or on the side of a mountain — the watch has remained comfortable and only required one adjustment on my end since buying it (tightened the micro after leaving the humid heat).

One of the best attributes of this watch is the overall legibility of it. It’s nearly instantaneous to read the time. Take a second more and it’s easy to find the seconds hand, read the dual time dial, or snag the date. At a glance you can pick out the day of the week from the position: as Sunday is at the top, Saturday the bottom. The top dial is all about the watch itself, and can be largely ignored unless you are actively working on the watch.

The mode button cycles: stopwatch, timer, alarm, back to ‘home’ time. Since there’s no timing bezel or sub dials, it’s a bit opaque and the stopwatch is mostly not going to be useful on this. The timer can be handy if you regularly need something timed at the same interval, as it is best set from the phone app. The alarm has only a beeping option as there is no vibration on this watch. The biggest downside side of all these modes is that while the seconds hand can flick around the dial, the dual time sub-dial slowly will spin to different positions and can take a bit to get back to time position when you are done. If you cycle fast enough it doesn’t move, but linger and it starts to spin.

There’s a ‘find’ button which plays a loud and rather annoying sound on your phone to help you find it — it does work. A ‘connect’ button to establish a connection your phone on demand. And a ‘light’ button to activate the illuminator.

The light is actually well done here. While the lume is solid, it is nicely charged by the light on the watch. The light has a pleasant white glow around the watch and makes it very legible. It fades on and off to add a touch of thought to the system.

I have worn this watch all over: tops of mountains, subways, planes, trains, cars, cities, what have you. In the heat and in the cold. It’s been comfortable throughout and while a tool-free micro adjust would be amazing, it’s not necessary for me so far. The watch has proven insanely legible in all conditions and it might be the only watch I own where I simply never worry about a single thing on it.

I don’t worry I will damage it, that the battery will be dead, that the time or date is off. It’s just works, all the time, every time, without thought. There’s something really freeing about that which I think only those with Mechanical GMT watches can understand well.

And this watch does do dual time. Instead of tracking second timezones with a GMT hand running around, there’s a small sub-dial with an hour and minute hand which can track any other time zone. This is really fast to read. And for those who might move between timezones often, it’s quick to swap that small dial to the main dial, meaning you can swap timezones quickly. Or rely on the mobile app to update your main time with wherever you are, keeping the sub-dial on your home timezone (my preference) which means you never really think about a thing. The time updates once it connects to your phone in the new timezone.

The watch is large. There’s no getting around that, but it does sit comfortably on my wrist and has been a non-issue with my shirt cuffs as well. For as large as it is, it doesn’t feel unwieldy. Making it much easier to wear than you might fear.

The crown on this is a bit of a gimmick. Technically you can use it to set the time, but it syncs with your phone, so when exactly would you need that? I do think it makes the watch look visually more balanced, more watch-like, but it is fully unnecessary.

From a feature perspective, it’s solid but not overwhelming. For me the singular missing thing on this watch is vibration. If there was a vibrating alarm mode on this, I might be hard pressed to take this watch off. Without it, I can’t use it as my alarm, as I much prefer my watch to make no sounds. This is my only point of feedback here.

Overall

The watch community is always obsessed with a perfect “one watch” collection. And I submit to you, that if you are an average American, this is the correct one watch pick. People compliment me on this more than my Grand Seikos, and they love that it is a G-Shock. It’s comfortable, well made, impossible to mess up, and the price is fantastic.

This is the only watch I own where I never need to worry about it for any reason.

It’s fantastic.

Buy here, $650.