The Casio DW-5000C is the first ever G-Shock and was created by the team “tough” which was a team of Japanese engineers employed by Casio. The initial idea was that the watch (unlike watches of that time) would be tough. During the early 80ies the main direction of digital watches were thin and “pretty”, these were more fragile and did not survive “unfriendly or harsh use” and would often “get banged up”. The digital watches were considered to be more of jewellery than timepieces.
The DW-5000 I bought off an internet auction was in pretty good shape. The watch did not have the bezel and a broken resin band, there were small scratches on the display as well as on the case back. All the functions of the watch are good including the light.
Photo by The Watching
Photo by The Watching
The “though team” wanted a watch that could not only be used by people who did not have an active life, but by people that did. The watch was meant to be used by people with “active” jobs, like construction workers and also while trekking or climbing. The team came up with “The triple ten” idea in 1981. This meant that the watch they were about to design would 1. Have a 10 year battery. 2. Have a water resistance up to 10 atmospheres, and 3. Would endure a drop from 10 meters. The “G” in G-shock means that the watch can suffer a shock from fall as the hardest chock for a human being.
One should keep in mind that this watch is 25 years old and would have seen some “action” as it is a sports watch. I began by buffing the case back so that smaller scratches would disappear. I used a diamond compound for the scratches, first one with 3 micron then finished with 1/4 micron. The results came out pretty good. My future recommendations would be not to use 3 microns to begin with but maybe 1 or 2 and just be at it longer so that there’s no risk of uneven grinding.
Photo by The Watching
I was lucky that the screws came off easy this is often a problem on old G-shock as they get stuck and broken off. I ordered a new bezel and resin band on the net.
Photo by The WatchingWhen the DW-5000 first came out on the market in 1983 it was not a big success and very few units were sold. Especially the Japanese market did not approve to such a daring model that we now know were ahead of its time. It took a year and a second chance for the team as they came up with the DW-5200 “Hero” in 1984. The watch was essentially the same as the DW-5000 (equipped with the same module 240) but this time people were ready. It became a success in England mostly because of a hockey commercial where a player “slap shoots” the watch into goal.
The DW-5600 has the same bezel and band (and can still be found on the net) as the DW-5000 and can therefore be used as replacement parts. The assemble of the watch was easy as the screws had come off and it only took a couple of minutes.
Photo by The WatchingAs the interest grew abroad the Japanese market followed and G-shock soon became a popular watch. Since the early 80ies the G-shock has evolved and today it comes in many different varieties and models.
The end result is very good and it’s a nice watch to wear.
Photo by The Watching 
Photo by The Watching
Photo by The Watching
Photo by The Watching
Photo by The Watching
