CasioG-Shock Quartz Watch with Resin Strap, Black (Model: G-100-1BVMCI)

I used to have a great watch collection that started when I was 12 years old. It began with a Casio G-Shock watch that my uncle bought for me as a present when I visited Thailand. He took me shopping in the market and we stopped in front of a watch store. I remember the hot, sticky musk of summer Bangkok weather, ushering us inside the store with its cool air conditioning and ethereal lighting. My uncle looked at me and said that I could pick any watch that I wanted and that he would pay for it as a present to remember my family in Thailand. My eyes wandered and became fixated on a very large, and bulky plastic watch. It looked like something very technical and indestructible, like I had never seen before. I hadn't ever seen anything like it back in America. It had fancy dials, a stop-watch, and a number of cool features and gadgets. It was a Casio G-Shock.Over the course of 14 years I had collected many other watches, which I had kept in a watch box. As I grew older and began to work, these watches became much more expensive and fancier. I had watches for specific purposes; ones that I used for working in clinic, watches I wore to social gatherings, during sports, during running -- and a watch that my friend Chris had bought me the day I was a best man at his wedding. I even splurged the day I got into medical school by buying myself a Citizen Eco-Drive watch, solar powered with an alligator skin strap, which soon became my most favorite and coveted timepiece.I kept all of these timepieces neatly stored away in my room, until they disappeared this past Tuesday. A indecent excuse for a human being broke into my apartment and stole a large number of things that I own, but most upsetting to me, he took my entire watch collection. He even went through all of my other belongings and took watches that weren't in the box. Watches that weren't even worth a penny on the street or any pawn shop, only had sentimental value to me.Initially I was upset about the most expensive timepieces that I had lost, this depressed me for several days. But I realized a couple days ago that those pieces will be replaced someday -- after all it is only money. What will NEVER be replaced is that Casio G-Shock watch that my uncle bought me 14 years ago. I easily recalled that feeling I had, walking slowly through the store in Bangkok, Thailand, staring at all of the shiny pieces in their display cases, and finding myself finally fixated on that Casio.It was only right to begin a new collection with such a wonderful, perfectly engineered instrument of time. To the team that has been designing and engineering the G-Shock brand of timepieces for almost 30 years, I want to say thank for the memories.And to the man who robbed my apartment this past Tuesday: I'm Buddhist and I truly believe in karma. The universe has a way of correcting wrongs against others.

This is an excellent watch, and I could not be happier with it. The G-shock series is used extensively by the military, special forces and police, and it's easy to see why. This watch is extremely well built and durable, and it uses only high quality materials (that goes for the band as well.) It's also very light and comfortable.The styling of the watch is not for everyone, however. This watch has a very tough, prepared-for-anything kind of look that I love, without being over the top. It is slightly thicker than other digital watches, owing to its armor-like exterior, but this is very subtle. Also, this watch does not have an overly large dial, as has become popular in watch styling lately. But I take issue with the many reviews that have described this watch as "small." These are clearly customers who were looking for the aforementioned large dial styling. I am 6'3'' with large wrists and hands, and I don't think the watch is undersized for me at all (nor does anyone else). At the end of the day, it's a very standard watch size.I have noticed that many reviewers are unhappy with the way in which you adjust the analog hands, which surprises me given how little time it takes. I had to adjust mine 11 hours right out of the box, and it took about a minute. I suppose if devoting a minute to setting your watch time is a major issue for you then you should look elsewhere, but if you're like me you won't even think twice about it.Finally, some reviewers have complained that the watch is useless at night unless you set the digital screen to report the time rather than the date. But this ignores the fact that there is a button on the side that cycles through the watch's various modes. One can easily use the digital screen to report the date and, when it grows dark, simply press this button. Then just hit the light button and you're in business. Easy as that.