Casio watches range from the super-complex to the dead simple, and this homage to NASA trends to the latter. The watch, the G-Shock DW5600, basically just tells time, but, if you love the Space Shuttle or you’re a hypebeast, you’ll be telling time in style.
The watch commemorates the 40th anniversary of the first Space Shuttle launch on April 12, 1981, and features the ship’s identification code, STS-1, on the band. It also includes a few clever Easter Eggs for real space nuts.
From Casio’s release:
Design elements include a minimalist white dial with red NASA logo, stainless steel case back with an engraved silhouette of the shuttle, an American flag printed on the band loop and black ion-plated buckle. This timepiece arrives in custom packaging with an outer box which reflects STS-1 Mission statistics and an inner tin that depicts the mission’s 2-day orbit around the earth.
The best thing? According to Casio, the watch face shows a little “shuttle silhouette and the years 1981-2021" when you activate the backlight. It also comes in a branded tin and box featuring a readout of the Shuttle’s take-off information.
This thing is definitely no smartwatch—the smartest thing it can do is chime an alarm—but it is a fun and fashionable way to commemorate a great moment in space travel history.
The limited-edition watch goes on sale on April 12 for $140. Pre-sales start at 7:00:03 am EST, the moment the first Shuttle took off.
DISCUSSION
As a G-shock fan, I do like the variety of styles and special editions we’ve been getting, but the module being used in this one is so, sooo boring, and especially for the price. You’re basically paying $140 for the same amount of watch you can get for $42, plus a hundred bucks of NASA styling. Will that NASA styling be as cool when the logos are scratched and worn away and that glistening white is packed full of wrist plaque? Maybe. You can pay even less for the same amount of watch than the $42 DW-5600E, actually, as nearly the same functionalities can be found in the illuminator series (except water resist in most cases) from $15-$35. If you love NASA-logo stuff, then this is the watch for you. If you want the same awesome G-shock watch the astronauts actually WORE on shuttle missions, pay $42.