Everyone knows I am a big fan of Gshock.  To me, it’s quite simple: they’re the ultimate tool watch.  A Gshock may not be the most fashionable watch, but they are the absolute best at what they’re supposed to do: Toughness.  I often say with a few battery changes, it’s quite possible a Gshock will outlive its owner.  Needless to say, I’m an advocate of the idea that every collector should own at least one Gshock, independent of taste or collection type.

However, one of the reasons we rarely cover Gshock releases is because of the large amount of variants, models, and collections.  There are endless choices, and it is difficult to choose one to cover.

A few weeks ago, we covered the Gshock 2100-1A: A special release that has caught on with many collectors.  Today, we are covering another special piece: The Gshock BGD560PKC-1, a collaboration celebrating Pokemon’s 25th anniversary.

The Watch:

One of the reasons this appealed to me was the small size.  Being a “Baby” G-shock, this line usually caters to women, children, or small wristed people, like myself.  It features the usual 5600 square case, with some smaller dimensions.

• Case Size: 40mm

• Water Resistance: 200m

• Lume: Backlight

• Features:

  • 4 alarms

  • Stopwatch

  • Full Calendar

  • Hourly Time Signal

  • World Time

There really isn’t much to be said about the specifications of his watch: Think of it as a small standard 5600 piece.  The specifications aren’t the highlight of this watch.

The Watch (cont.)

I suspect any reader looking to buy this watch is doing so because of nostalgic reasons (or being a fan of the Pokemon franchise).  That’s definitely the case for me, and I have to say: I wasn’t disappointed.  

The packaging of this piece is a nice touch, featuring a large “Pokeball” that contains the watch inside.  While the quality of the ball itself isn’t impressive, it really hits the nostalgic target.  It is a nice change of pace from the usual tin Gshock box.

Another aspect that greatly appealed to me was the lack of bright and flamboyant colors.  I have found that many Gshock collaborations are very bright, usually featuring strong colors and eye-catching colors.  This is not the case for this piece.  Besides the “Pokemon” text on the dial, the case itself is very sober.  There aren’t bright colors or bold text that pop.  This allows the watch to fly under the radar as any other 5600 model, which I find appealing.   The strap is where the design gets a little more creative, featuring a multitude of icons of green, red, yellow and purple.  The caseback features a Pikachu image, in one of its original and earliest styles.  That same image can be seen on the backlight.

Conclusion:

This is simply a fun watch.  There are times and places that don’t call for a serious 3 handed formal watch; this is the watch for that occasion.  Whether you want a conversation starter or want to jump back 25 years to one of the most successful video game franchises of all time, this might be a good choice for you.

Below is an unboxing video that shows what you get when you buy this piece, including wristshots and backlight displays.