Finishing on the kit is also very nicely done with the same vertical brushing from the top of the bezel through to the butterfly clasp on the bracelet. The sides of the bezel are well polished, and the bezel screws are polished and all perfectly aligned and seated. Overall it’s tough to fault the quality of this kit. The 316L stainless steel case and bracelet and good finishing should be hard to get wrong, so thankfully, Jinshu didn’t!
The case is 11.8mm high and the lug to lug is 48mm making this one of the most wearable contemporary G-Shocks out there. It’s even slim enough to fit under my glove snowboarding. The Casio GA-2100 is a stunning watch with an affordable price tag of about $100. Buying a GA-2100, whether as everyday wear or for weekends and leisure, is within most people’s budgets and does not demand a significant financial sacrifice.
The titanium version , made less than no sense whatsoever to me. And then I held it in my hands and felt the bizarrely refined finishing, the familiar feel of the classic Casio lines between my fingers but in metal for the first time . But overcoming the attachment to resin is difficult. It took me quite a while to get over the addition of carbon fiber elements to certain product lines, but the textural congruity of those materials eventually “won me over”. Metal, however, never seemed a natural fit for Casio’s affordable and aesthetically accessible watches. However, it would appear that there is not only a market for these metal-cased products but also a lot of reasons for them to exist.
But with this said, no one buys the Casioak as a tool. It protects the module by enclosing it in a carbon case. All three of the original GA-2100 versions have a negative liquid crystal screen with light colored letters. The other two are black , blending in well with the rest of the watch face.
In the Golden Halls of Fratello HQ, there is one man whose opinion on Casio counts for more than anyone else’s. Gerard, G2, G-Pops — call him what you like, he is the Godfather of G-Shock, or, perhaps better, the g shock watch G-Father. And so I told him my feelings about metal G-Shocks in advance of starting this review. Graciously, he let me borrow his recently purchased limited edition G-Shock in titanium (reference GMW-B5000TB-1).
And that is just one more reason that, as I type, one hand is currently hovering over the “Buy Now” button. And given that it is priced at $99, I think I’m going to stop writing now and stop hovering. The GA-2100 line comes in a thoroughly fashion-conscious color scheme. The G-2100’s water resistance is rated to 200 meters. Casio’s traditional four-screw stainless steel caseback is engraved with the Carbon Core Guard logo.
Should Casio introduce other colors, you’ll be able to mix and match the straps. Most probably, in my mind, it was the way the more standard “round” case sat on my wrist in addition to how interesting and intuitively arranged the display is. At first glance, I didn’t like the Casioak style, but I do find it all the more wearable than the many novelties I’ve had pass through my hands from Casio this year. After resisting the urge to leap on a novelty that didn’t convince me out of the gate, I eventually caved and bought an artist-modified Casioak skeleton for myself.
The blackout GA A1 is still sold out everywhere, but more stock is expected in the coming months, and we will make a new post when it is available. The GA A and red GA A are also mostly sold out. Some of these models may be more readily available in some countries in regions like Southeast Asia, but beware of fakes at unauthorized shops and online. Also, there are some online scams involving the GA A1 and other popular G-Shock models, where some e-commerce websites end up shipping a completely different model. Stick with reputable authorized retailers and avoid unknown stores. The GA-2100 series appears to be G-Shock’s most successful new model launch since the GMW-B5000.
The tang buckle is about as cheap as they come. The strap was what I expected in this price range. Casio marketed the GA-2100 series as a slim and tough watch.
Spend any time in the vast world of Casio G-SHOCK, and you will uncover a vast community modifying these watches in all sorts of ways. Coloured screens, dial painting, full custom artwork, you name it, someone has probably done it and some with nothing short of spectacular results! Now while I don’t personally lust after a complete graffiti joker paint job on my G-SHOCK, I have always liked the steel versions that G-SHOCK makes. That’s where the Casio G-Shock GA-2100 CasiOak comes in.