Casio G-Shock GPW-1000 GPS Hybrid Wave Ceptor

Casio G-Shock GPW-1000 GPS Hybrid Wave Ceptor


by Michael Weare
Tags:

Regular readers of DreamChrono will have noticed that there is a great deal of exclusive and costly watch wear being written about each day by a team of true watch connoisseurs. That’s because, rather like Top Gear and its abiding fascination with high end sports cars, watch aficionados want to explore watchmaking at the very top of the food chain. It’s understandable that they will admire these pieces because the high-end is where some of the most significant advances, and the most awe inspiring workmanship is being created. It’s natural to seek out that which is superlative in terms of both production and price.

However, while we can and do marvel at such watches, the fact remains that for the vast majority of the watch buying public, most of these watches remain far out of sight. In Germany, Europe’s leading consumer market with more disposable income than any other EU country, the average amount spent on a watch at a jewellers or specialist watch retailer is €291, while in catalogues, supermarkets or online it is just €74.00.

In the UK, watch purchases have been in the doldrums for at least three years, although while sales have declined, the amount spent has increased, but even then, it’s way, way below the sums required for any watch we normally feature here.

For this reason, it’s important to showcase watches that people actually have a realistic chance of acquiring. So let me be the first on DreamChrono to talk unashamedly about one of the most innovative, most loved, and most eagerly followed watch brands on the planet. I refer to Casio G-Shock.

At Baselworld, Casio unveiled an exciting new world first for their best-selling brand. GPW-1000, the GPS Hybrid Wave Ceptor, is the world’s first watch with a hybrid system for receiving GPS (Global Positioning System information and Radio Wave signals. The watch has two complementary time correction systems that are integrated into one system to provide easier, more reliable time-calibration signal reception by using GPS data to automatically adjust the time, even in enviromnments outside the usual range of terrestrial radio waves. So whether you are in the deepest jungle of the Amazon, or the outermost reaches of the Australian bush, the watch can still pick up a signal and correct itself.

Casio G-Shock GPW-1000 GPS - Baselworld 2014

Casio G-Shock GPW-1000 GPS – Baselworld 2014

The Casio G-Shock GPW-1000 GPS Hybrid Wave Ceptor receives Multi-Band 6 technology radio wave signals from six transmission stations worldwide so as to achieve precision time correction and exact position and time data from GPS satellites. The twin benefits are a radio controlled watch capable of more reliable signal reception and GPS for wide-area coverage. In collaboration with the Sony Corporation, the watch uses a low-power consumption, high-performance GPS LSI.

There’s always a place for the charm and wonder of a mechanical watch that only loses or adds a few seconds each day, but in certain situations you need a watch that will automatically receive standard time-calibration radio waves and adjusts from atomic clock signals. When they are not available, the Casio G-Shock GPW-1000 GPS automatically receives GPS signals and adjusts the time, enabling the wearer to view the correct time at the current location. When positioning data is received by the watch, high resolution map data determines the exact whereabouts of the wearer. The watch can use the data to group regions with the same Summer time setting in the same time zone.

Casio G-Shock GPW-1000 GPS - Crown

Casio G-Shock GPW-1000 GPS – Crown

When the watch receives transmissions from a GPS satellite, the second hand indicates the current time and appropriate city name. As for the small hand at 3 o’clock, it displays the latitude at the current location. Not only is the watch fully equipped to receive both radio waves and satellite signals, it also runs on solar power, so exposure to sunlight will keep the watch running. For a watch often dismissed as just a fun fashion item, this is an ambitious step forward.

The watch’s materials echo those of fine high end watches with DLC coating, carbon fibre, a fine resin frame and a scratchproof sapphire crystal. The oversized crown is equipped with a quick-lock mechanism enabling easy locking and release. The city code ring features 27 countries worldwide.

Casio G-Shock GPW-1000 GPS - Dial

Casio G-Shock GPW-1000 GPS – Dial

The dial is confident and masculine looking with 12 and 6 depicted in numerals and the indices bold, white and bright, making the watch easy to read. The Casio G-Shock GPW-1000 GPS is expected to retail at over $2000.00

    Author Bio

    Articles by Michael Weare

    CONTRIBUTOR

    Michael Weare hails from an international advertising agency background where he handled several well known and highly desirable watch brands; handled, but sadly never got to keep. However it's this exposure that gave him a lasting fascination for watches. Michael was Editor of Click Tempus for over 2.5 years and is now in the same role at Watchuseek, the web's largest watch forum.