Robert Geller X G-Shock: Midnight in Tokyo
After including G-Shocks in his New York Fashion Week runway shows the past two years running, acclaimed menswear designer Robert Geller and G-Shock have finally collaborated to create the first ever limited edition G-Steel, the GST200RBG-1, Geller's homage to the city streets of Tokyo at night. We got a sneak peek at a private dinner on Manhattan's Lower East Side, where we were able to spend some time with the watch and the designer...
A Little History G-Shock introduced the G-Steel collection back in 2015 to appeal to those interested in G-Shock's traditional qualities of shock-resistance and water-resistance, but who were looking for a more versatile option to mix with their professional and casual lives. In this regard, the G-Steel is a natural thanks to its "layered guard" construction, which allows it to feature metal bezels and case elements, all the while maintaining the legendary durability that G-Shock has built its reputation on.
Now it's true that prior to the release of the G-Steel G-Shock already had two lines of metal-cased G-Shocks available in North America, the stainless steel MT-G and the range-topping titanium MR-G respectively, but these collections start at just under $1K in the case of the MT-G, and can soar past $7K for the MR-G, which can be a tall order for even the most rabid of G-fans. Conversely, the G-Steel collection starts at under $300, which places it within the reach of a much larger swath of collectors.
Midnight in Tokyo While Geller may be based in New York City, much of his inspiration, and indeed, all of his production, hails from Tokyo, Japan. Casio, and by extension, G-Shock is a distinctly Japanese brand. Can you see where this is going? After the debut the G-Steel collection at Baselworld 2015, Geller approached G-Shock about incorporating the collection in his runway shows, and thus a beautiful friendship was formed. Five consecutive runway shows later, and here's the GST200RBG-1.
Geller cites the nocturnal, neon-soaked cityscape of Tokyo as the driving theme behind this collaboration, with the sleek ion-plated black case and bracelet contrasting with the glittering gold dial accents, gold-tinted LCD elements and the striking fuchsia second hand – the latter being a nod and wink to his latest fashion collection. Yes, this is a subdued collaboration as G-Shock goes, but it has just enough pop to signal to the informed onlooker that this is no ordinary G-Steel.
Refined looks aside, the GST200RBG-1 remains very much a G-Shock, with all the bells and whistles that one would expect present and accounted for: a 31-city world timer, 1/100 sec. stopwatch, countdown timer, multiple alarms and an LED illuminator conspire to ensure that your wrist is prepared for nighttime incursions into megapolis's around the world.
Our Take In spite of the formidable 52mm diameter, the watch wears well on sub-7" wrists. (Black is slimming.) Sizing the bracelet was a breeze, and the whole shebang is relatively lightweight, which makes for a comfortable fit. For the price, we'd liked to have seen solar power, if not Casio's Multiband 6 radio syncing technology, but given how good the finished product looks, we're willing to look the other way just this once. Also, the LED backlight is pretty much useless for viewing the digital elements at night – unlike its more spendy Master of G cousins, the Mudmaster and the Gulfmaster, the digital displays do not have a separate backlight – so expect to rely on the neo-brite lumed hands to tell the time, and forget about the rest of the features until daylight returns. (That said, the hands really do hold a charge.)
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The limited edition G-Shock X Robert Geller GST200RBG-1 was officially released on July 8th, and is available at G-Shock's flagship Soho boutique, as well as select G-Shock retailers. MSRP is $420
