One of the great pleasures of G-SHOCK is the sheer variety of watches in their catalog. It’s a bit of a canard, but there truly is something for every taste in G-SHOCK world. In terms of functionality, colors, and materials, there is a seemingly endless series of permutations. It’s something that works well for them on multiple fronts. First and foremost, it means that anyone in the market for a G-SHOCK has real options in front of them. Choice, in most situations, and certainly when it comes to function-first watches, is a good thing. The more opportunity to hone in a user’s specific needs, the better. Secondly, it helps foster the incredible collecting and enthusiast community that has been built around G-SHOCK over the years. The opportunity to discover new pieces, find connections between them, and share them with the community is part of what makes G-SHOCK special. Their latest collection, the G-STEEL Fine Metallic Series presents both an important and heretofore unavailable option for potential customers, as well as opening up a new segment for the collecting community. The watches that mark the beginning of this series are core to what we expect from the brand, but it’s easy to imagine limited editions and collaborations filling out this line in the not too distant future.
The G-STEEL Fine Metallic Series branding is a bit of a misnomer as the big selling point of these watches is not the metallic piece at all, but the new strap that G-SHOCK is introducing with this collection. According to the brand, the new Tough Silicone band has been in development for ten years, and has been engineered to offer improved flexibility, comfort and strength. This should be welcome news to G-SHOCK fans. While opinions differ on the subject, I’ve always felt that the resin band on the classically affordable and accessible G-SHOCKs was a bit of a letdown in terms of bogth comfort and durability. And at the higher end, the bracelets are nice, but they come at a cost, and seem to be built more for a robust experience than comfort. The Tough Silicone, then, could be a nice middle ground. Imagine if a G-SHOCK was not only the toughest watch in your collection, but also the easiest to wear? That would be a pretty great combination.
The G-STEEL collection is made up of six watches in total, built on the familiar rectangular GM-5600 series and the “Casi-Oak” GM-2100 platform. There are three variants of each: the GM-5600 watches have one variant in gold tone steel and two in steel with either a black or gray dial, and the Casi-Oak style sees two gold options (black and gold on gold) and one in steel. The bezels are stainless steel and the cases are what G-SHOCK describes as glass-fiber reinforced resin. So, truly a melding of materials at play here.
The feature set here is on par with similar watches in the G-SHOCK family. They are, of course, shock resistant, as all G-SHOCKs are, and carry 200 meters of water resistance. And they feature the usual suite of digital features, including a stopwatch, countdown timer, alarms, and backlit LED screens.
Retail pricing is set between $240 and $300 depending on the reference. G-SHOCK, like most brands, have crept up in price in recent years, but offer genuinely high end options once you get to their top tier. These sit closer to the entry point, but with a potentially more comfortable strap and metal components, it feels like there’s a compelling value here, especially if you’ve found the least expensive G-SHOCKs to be a little wanting in the comfort department. It will be interesting to see how they iterate on this platform in the future. G-SHOCK
