My Watch Collection

	For practical intents and purposes, this Casio G-Shock is indestructable. It has a such rich history, full of technical achievements, that I am not even going to try to explain it all. Instead, I am going to refer you to the definitive article, Unbreakable, by Carlos Perez. Here are the features of the 1545 module: stopwatch, 24 hour countdown timer, EL(electroluminescent) light, and alarm. Also, the time is displayed when in stopwatch or countdown timer mode. Ok, now to the things about this watch that I don't like. Firstly, the integrated flange on the underside of the strap near the pins (see the middle picture). So instead of the strap naturally hugging the wrist, it is forced to curve away from the wrist.This means that for people with small or even medium sized wrists, there is a significant gap between the underside of the strap and the wrist, near the pins. This makes the watch look oversized, because it seems like the edge of the case is hanging over the side of the wrist. Secondly, if you look at the first pic, you can see little ridges along the underside of the strap. These ridges really bite into the skin when the watch is worn tightly, or when the wrist swells in hot temperatures. Now to the dimensions. The watch is 42.8mm across, 48.9mm from 'lug to lug', and 13.4mm high. The distance is between the lugs is 16 mm, and the strap tapers from 26mm down to 18mm. It weighs 54 grams. This watch is officially adopted by NASA as one of the few watches to be flight-qualified and issued for use on the Space Shuttle.
Casio DW-5600E	Casio G-Shock Watch Index

	It's a small watch, suitable for a child. I didn't realise how small it was when I bought it. The diameter of the bezel is 35mm, and the distance from lug to lug(lengthwise) is 42mm. There's alot not to like about this watch. Firstly, the velcro strap. The strap runs under the watch, and the side of the velcro with the hooks face down, so bites painfully into the skin when worn. Secondly, the design of the light mechanism. It uses an old fashioned miniture light bulb, which is not too bad. What is really atrocious is the fact that the light button is used for almost every function of the watch. This means the light button is used to start and stop the stopwatch, which means that the light switches on every time the stopwatch is used. And even worse, the light button is used to also set the time, the date, and everything else. So if the time is 12:00pm, and you want to set the time to 12:59pm, the light switches on 59 times, because the light button is pressed 59 times to set the time. This is a major drain on the battery. Very bad design
Gull Workwatch

	I got this watch as new old stock(NOS), for about 1/3 the retail price. You might notice "Toshiba" on the dial. This watch was custom made for Toshiba employees. This one must have been pretty old, because the lume on the numbers on the dial were starting to fade. The diameter of the glass is 35mm, and the diameter of the case without the crown is 38mm. The distance between the lugs(the strap width) is 19mm. This is a non-standard size, which makes finding a replacement strap difficult. It's a good thing the strap that came with the watch is quite nice looking. The watch is water resistant to 50m, and the caseback is not screwed down, but snapped onto the case. The crown also does not screw down. Definitely not for swimming or showering. This watch is a quartz. The simple design of the hands and face makes it easy to tell the time at a glance. This watch is the most accurate in my collection, with an accuracy of +2seconds/month, unworn. A simple, functional watch from a respected manufacturer. It comes in a nice silver tin box.
Swiss Army Renegade	All images and content © DMP 2007