Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5949 in Watches
• Brand: Casio
• Model: GW700A-9V
• Band material: Resin
• Case material: Resin
• Clasp type: Buckle
• Dial color: gold
• Dial window material: Mineral
• Movement type: Quartz
• Water-resistant to 660 feet

Features

• Quartz movement
• Auto receive function (4 times per day); Signal: WWVB, Frequency: 60kHz
• Auto EL Backlight with Afterglow; World Time
• 29 times zones (48 cities), city code display, daylight saving auto/on/off
• Water-resistant to 660 feet (200 M)

Amazon.com Product Description
The perfect training partner for your active sporting lifestyle, this Casio G-Shock men's digital sport watch (model GW700A-9V) offers a resin case that's accented by a silver top ring and champagne display as well as a black resin strap. It's also solar-powered and wirelessly receives atomic time updates. It offers a 1/100-second stopwatch with a 60-minute measuring capacity and a time recorder with up to 30 records. It also features four independent daily alarms (with one snooze alarm), world time from 30 cities, and an autocalendar (to the year 2039). And because it's solar-powered--charging in either sunlight or indoor light--you'll never have to deal with changing the battery. Other features include a scratch-resistant mineral crystal, AfterGlow LED electro-luminescent backlight, and water resistance to 200 meters (660 feet)--suitable for recreational scuba diving. This radio-controlled watch receives a time calibration signal transmitted from Fort Collins, Colorado, and signal reception is possible within a radius of about 2,000 miles from the Fort Collins transmitter. You can choose to automatically receive this signal four times a day, or manually update the watch to the atomic clock.

Development of the Timepiece Business
With the launch of its first watch in November 1974, Casio entered the wristwatch market at a time when the watch industry had just discovered digital technology. As a company with cutting-edge electronic technology developed for pocket calculators, Casio entered this field confident that it could develop timepieces that would lead the market.

In developing its own wristwatches Casio began with the basic question, "What is a wristwatch?" Rather than simply making a digital version of the conventional mechanical watch, we thought that the ideal wristwatch should be something that shows all facets of time in a consistent way. Based on this, Casio was able to create a watch that displayed the precise time including the second, minute, hour, day, and month — not to mention a.m. or p.m., and the day of the week. It was the first watch in the world with a digital automatic calendar function that eliminated the need to reset the calendar due the variation in month length. Rather than using a conventional watch face and hands, a digital liquid crystal display was adopted to better show all the information. This culminated in the 1974 launch of the CASIOTRON, the world’s first digital watch with automatic calendar. The CASIOTRON won acclaim as a groundbreaking product that represented a complete departure from the conventional wristwatch.

Casio transformed the concept of the watch — from a mere timepiece to an information device for the wrist — and undertook product planning based on this innovative idea. We developed not only time functions such as global time zone watches, but also other radical new functions using Casio’s own digital technology, including calculator and dictionary functions, as well as a phonebook feature based on memory technology, and even a thermometer function using a built-in sensor. The memory-function watches became our DATA BANK product series, while the sensor watches developed into two unique Casio product lines of today: the Pathfinder series displaying altitude, atmospheric pressure, and compass readings.

In 1983, Casio launched the shock-resistant G-SHOCK watch. This product shattered the notion that a watch is a fragile piece of jewelry that needs to be handled with care, and was the result of Casio engineers taking on the challenge of creating the world’s toughest watch. Using a triple-protection design for the parts, module, and case, the G-SHOCK offered a radical new type of watch that was unaffected by strong impacts or shaking. Its practicality was immediately recognized, and its unique look, which embodied its functionality, became wildly popular, resulting in explosive sales in the early 1990s. The G-SHOCK soon adopted various new sensors, solar-powered radio-controlled technology (described below), and new materials for even better durability. By always employing the latest technology, and continuing to transcend conventional thinking about the watch, the G-SHOCK brand has become Casio’s flagship timepiece product.

Today, Casio is focusing its efforts on solar-powered radio-controlled watches: the built-in solar battery eliminates the nuisance of replacing batteries, and the radio-controlled function means users never have to reset the time. In particular, the radio-controlled function represents a revolution in time-keeping technology similar to the impact created when mechanical watches gave way to quartz technology. Through the further development of high radio-wave sensitivity, miniaturization, and improved energy efficiency, Casio continues to produce a whole range of radio-controlled models.

Customer Reviews

Exceptional Watch
Casio Men's G-Shock Atomic Solar Watch #GW700A-9V

With so many fine Casio choices, and after reading numerous reviews of all the Casio Atomic Solar and Pathfinder watches, it was difficult to come down to a final decision. I had originally thought I would get a Pathfinder model, but the significantly higher cost and likely bulkier size steered me to the G-Shock models, and I could not be more pleased.

Since this is, after all, a watch, the most important feature to me was accuracy. Casio's website (http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/G-Shock/GW700_Series/product/GW700A-9V/)indicates +/-15 seconds per month. I think that is probably conservative, but certainly acceptable, even without Atomic Timekeeping. Based on my relative short term use, I'm guessing it will probably end up being closer to 5 seconds per month, again without atomic updating.

Atomic Timekeeping:

In viewing many of the Casio watches which have this feature, the reviews seemed to be mixed, with a significant number saying the feature (or lack thereof) was very disappointing. Living in Mayberry (Mount Airy, NC,) a pretty good distance from Fort Collins, I had to assume that I would probably not be able to get the signal. So did I still want the watch, at a price that certainly included such a sophisticated feature ? Sure, why not. I could always return it.

The first night after I got the watch, I followed the directions and placed it in a window, facing southwest, which was the best that I could do. And wonder of all wonders, the next morning it had synced with the radio signal!! Notice the small circular dial on the lower right corner of the watch face. That now has the letter "G" in the circle, indicating a strong signal was received. Pressing the receive button in the lower right corner shows the time of the sync. The next night, I left the watch on the night table next to my bed. Again a successful sync. The next night, I left it in another room on a bedside table, not near a window. Again, the sync was successful. I kept the watch "stand" that came with the watch. It seems just right for synching purposes.

Solar Power:

Casio says this watch has "Tough Solar Power." I'm not sure how that differs from regular solar power, but when I got the watch, it was already set to the proper time, day of the week, and date. The small solar strength arrow on the left side of the watch face indicated that the battery had a "middle charge." I placed the watch face up under an incandescent lamp for a couple of hours. The arrow moved up to "high" and has stayed there since.

Watch face:

The picture of the watch face is accurate except that the day of the week and date and month are actually darker than in the picture. There is plenty of contrast in normal lighting, and a brief touch of the "G" button below the watch face on the band quickly lightens the screen. The regular time screen shows exactly what I wanted: time, day of week, date, battery level. Other options are shown in the upper left and right of the watch face.

Watch band:

The resin band is very comfortable and has 12 holes for adjustment. I am slender and the 4th hole down from the watch is just the right size for me. So it has plenty of slots for expansion, especially in the larger direction.

Watch size and weight:

Even on my wirey arms, the watch is not too large, nor too heavy. In fact it is smaller than my old Timex Ironman, but heavier. The casio specs say it weighs slightly less than 2.4 onces. I weighed mine on a set of postal scales and it came out at just short of 2.6 onces. Again, not an issue.

I have not tested the other features of the watch, but I do not expect any surprises.

All in all this is the best watch I have ever owned, solidly built, and with the major features that I wanted, all of which perform flawlessly.

Great Watch
Exactly what I wanted. Lots of cool features, looks great. A tad bulky, but it' s a G-Shock after all, and compared to other G-shocks it's actually not quite as big. When I got the instruction manual, I was a little nervous about all the directions for sitting the watch on a windowsill every night to get the perfectly accurate time from a satellite--there were all these tips about how to get good reception. (I'm in PA, by the way.) Well, the windowsill was a little iffy, and seemed annoying anyway, but it was completely unnecessary for me. The reception works perfectly every night on my wrist in bed. My other concern was the solar power--the instructions list all sorts of time requirements to keep it charged. I had to charge it when I first got it, but the charge has stayed on "high" ever since without me doing anything special to keep it that way--just normal wear. I love the multiple alarms. Fantastic watch, and the Amazon price is almost half of the price I found for the exact same watch in a mall watch store.

Everything I was looking for in a watch
An atomic watch was a must for me because I needed the accuracy. I also prefer a watch that is easy to use and keeps itself set. The solar recharging feature for the battery is a bonus. I rated this watch 4-stars instead of 5-stars only because of the small numbers on its face which aren't offset with enough contrast. (I'm nearing 50 and my eyesight for this kind of reading is marginal). Otherwise, awesome watch!