Casio's Mr G-Shock 2011

Being driven for 20,000 miles embedded in the wheel of a bus. Being ejected from a fighter plane. Being shot. These are all things that Casio G-Shock watches have survived. It's fair to say then that G-Shock is a brand which privileges function over form - although that hasn't stopped it gaining a fashion following and a Tinie Tempah shout-out (in "Pass Out", surprisingly, not "Invincible"). Almost thirty years since its inception, it has now launched a Premium range, combining style and take-a-licking-and-keep-on-ticking substance. GQ.com had some time with Shunji Minami, G-Shock's R&D head, to talk testing, status and toughness...

How many broken watches do you have at G-Shock HQ?
When we first launched the G-Shock Mr Ibe, who developed the first G-Shock and broke 100 watches every day. But now we have a basic structure, so to make one new model we break ten. Of course we have a level, how far we can go, but we like to test to the maximum. The model can go even higher than the level we advertise, so we go even higher so we can know exactly how far.

What's the most extreme thing you've done to a watch?
Sometime we drop the G-Shocks from the sixth floor. We just do it as an experiment!

What about your customers?
We've received several letters from users. But a good example is there was a commercial in which a G-Shock was hit by an ice hockey stick. Viewers thought it wasn't real but a TV programme actually tested it and the watch still worked. Our engineers were nervous, but it still worked...

Where do you get your inspiration?
The concept is G-Shock for the ultimate environment. We had conversations with people who work in extreme jobs such as firemen. For the aviation model we exchanged opinions with pilots. By having a conversation, we develop.

What's next for G-Shock?
Of course we made G-Shock with a toughness concept but we are now thinking about creating a "smartwatch" that is connected to smartphone using Bluetooth. That's a new world for G-Shock.

Can you go more premium than this?
At the moment our most premium model is Mr G. We would like to go further but we need to maintain the toughness and functionality so at the moment we are not sure how far we can go. But of course we would like to go further.

So many other gadgets now tell the time. Will we always wear watches?
There was a moment when we were concerned about that but now we believe that there is a value and a status in a watch. At that time we developed watches while ignoring their value: just make it bigger, bigger, bigger. But now we are focusing on the unique value of watches we can still survive...

What was your first watch?
Actually the first model I bought was a Citizen, because it had a sophisticated cutting and looked very fashionable.

Did it break?
Yes! I still have to it somewhere.