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Casio Unveils $80,000 Sapphire Crystal G-Shock
Confirmed
In Short: Casio has unveiled the MRG-D5000, a shock-resistant timepiece featuring a full sapphire crystal case and bezel, priced at $80,000.
Casio has officially unveiled the MRG-D5000, a shock-resistant timepiece featuring an outer case and bezel entirely rendered in synthetic blue sapphire crystal, marking the most expensive production watch in the brand’s history.
The MRG-D5000, conceived by brand creator Kikuo Ibe in 2017, required nearly a decade of technical development. Each watch is hand-assembled by a single master technician at Casio's Yamagata factory, with production strictly limited to 20 pieces globally.
The watch measures 16.45mm in thickness to accommodate the material’s structural requirements. To prevent fracturing without relying on traditional drill holes or screws, G-Shock engineers developed an interlocking assembly framework inspired by traditional Japanese timber joinery.
Each sapphire element interlocks like a three-dimensional puzzle to absorb and disperse impact forces while maintaining 200-meter water resistance and solar-powered functionality.
At Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 9, 2017, during the G-Shock 35th Anniversary Celebration, Ibe showcased three sapphire-crystal prototype watches: one clear, one ruby, and one sapphire blue.
The new MRG-D5000, however, is a fully functional G-Shock, taking construction lessons from the MR-G engineering team who found that dividing the outer case into multiple interacting components could disperse impact more effectively than a conventional single-piece construction.
To make the sapphire case work for a G-Shock, Casio had to develop a brand-new, dedicated shock-resistant structure, with the Multi-Guard construction using virtually invisible seams, alongside a completely screwless assembly method to hit the required shock performance.
The outer case assembly required the development of completely new, dedicated jigs and fixtures, a process so demanding that only one person at Yamagata Casio can currently perform it.
Because machining sapphire was so difficult at the time, each watch took over a month to produce.
The MRG-D5000 introduces a screwless multi-component structure featuring a bezel constructed entirely from blue sapphire crystal, available in an ultra-exclusive run of just 20 pieces worldwide.
The timepiece also features a blue sapphire crystal plate set into its screw-lock case back, engraved with an individual serial number out of the 20 limited units produced.
Casio has officially priced and listed its sapphire G-Shock, and the number is ¥11,000,000 including tax, around $69,520, making the MRG-D5000 the most expensive G-Shock the company has ever sold by a huge margin.
What's confirmed
- G-Shock has officially unveiled the MRG-D5000 featuring an outer case and bezel rendered entirely in synthetic blue sapphire crystal Conceived by brand creator Kikuo Ibe in 2017 the shock-resistant timepiece required nearly a decade of technical development Production is strictly limited to 20 pieces globally with each watch hand-assembled by a single master technician at Casio's Yamagata factory Casio G-Shock has officially revealed the G-Shock MRG -D5000 Blue Sapphire, marking the most expensive production watch in the brand’s history.
- Two more blue sapphire G-Shocks got listed on Casio Japan this morning — between this new collection, they cover an enormous amount of money.
- The bezel is fitted with two two-carat sapphires, faceted so they catch light from any angle, and Casio went lab-grown deliberately, saying natural stones rarely reach the blue it wanted.
What's still developing
- Now, nine years later, in what Casio is calling the culmination of an “eight-year project” (so presumably the ball started rolling soon after the excited reception Ibe’s crystal concepts got on stage at MSG ), G-Shock is launching a three-watch collection using blue sapphire as an expression of what happens when G-Shock toughness meets Japanese engineering.
- The 2017 concept watches required metal bracing to hold the crystal sections together, which is partly why they couldn’t pass G-Shock’s rigorous toughness tests.
- The G-Shock development team responsible for the new collection tells WIRED the fundamental challenge was building a “near-unbreakable” watch using an inherently brittle material.
- Only 20 of the $80,000 MRG-D5000 full-sapphire G-Shocks will be made, putting these rugged “luxury” timepieces somewhat implausibly in the same price bracket as a Patek Philippe or Porsche Macan.
- By thoroughly analysing stress distribution patterns during accidental impacts, Casio constructed a multi-piece case and bezel assembly that holds together securely without screws, preventing structural cracks across the sapphire material.
- One is the MRG-B5000SA, a premium MR-G variant featuring a two-carat, facet-cut blue sapphire crystal on both the upper and lower case boundaries.
- On the other wrist is the GMW-B5000SB, a full-metal G-SHOCK design accented with four individual blue sapphire crystal stones set directly onto the front corners of the bezel.
- We reported this one as a rumour in September, when it was described as the most expensive and rarest G-Shock yet.
- The MRG-B5000SA that Casio announced alongside it costs an eighth as much and does have it.
- Both carry lab-grown blue sapphires, and both arrived in the same announcement as the ¥11,000,000 MRG-D5000.
- Four round brilliant-cut sapphires sit in the bezel dimples, each supported from behind by a steel pedestal and a rubber buffer, with a hole bored through so light reaches the stone.
- Casio pairs them with a black IP bezel, a negative display and a black urethane band, so the blue is the only color on the watch.