Interview with Kikuo Ibe
Casio’s Research and Development Chief Engineer - “Father of G-Shock”

G-Shock has grown tremendously through the past two decades. Can you tell us a little about how the concept of G-Shock came about?

It was when I dropped and broke my favourite watch, I’ve came up with the idea of “a watch that would not damage easily when dropped” and that was the beginning.

How did you become involved with Casio?

I had heard that it was a young and energetic company so I put in my application.

What was the development process for G-Shock like?

Concept development -> Design development -> Design/Evaluation -> Production

At the same time: Technological development to enable the realization of the concept

Can you tell us a little more about the Floating Module Configuration?

The Floating Module Configuration is a hollow structure which absorbs the shock in different levels and this hollow structure makes it hard to pass through the shock to the main module components.

The G-Shock model we are most familiar with today is still the G-Shock’s very first DW-5000.In terms of look and design, how did the design team arrive at the DW-5000’s design when thin watches were the popular models back then?

The G Shock is primarily a structural design. In other words the shock resistant structure more or less determines the exterior form. Under this circumstance the designers have communicated toughness through the rugged exterior form.

G-Shock has become a very important item in the urban culture and is the canvas of many creative collaborations. Did you anticipate G-Shock becoming a significant part of the youth and urban culture? Who was your target audience when you first created G-Shock?

We really had no idea. We were able to gain popularity by the dramatic shift in fashion trends of the young people. At the beginning our target market was workman who worked in tough environments.