Casio has unveiled the most expensive G-Shock ever made: the $80,000 MRG-D5000, whose outer case and bezel are cut entirely from blue sapphire crystal. It headlines a collection called the "Blue Rose Project", named for the blue rose that symbolises making the impossible possible because it does not exist in nature. Only 20 units will be produced, putting the famously tough digital watch in the same price bracket as a Patek Philippe or a Porsche Macan.
The idea dates back to 2017, when G-Shock creator Kikuo Ibe showed off three sapphire prototypes — clear, ruby and sapphire blue — at the brand's 35th anniversary celebration. They needed metal bracing to hold the crystal sections together and failed G-Shock's own toughness tests, so they were never sold. The MRG-D5000 is, by contrast, a fully functional G-Shock. Its MR-G engineers split the outer case into multiple interacting components that disperse impact more effectively than a single-piece construction, a "Multi-Guard Structure" they say was inspired by traditional Japanese timber framing — interlocking pieces rather than stress concentrated at screw holes. The watch is assembled completely without screws and with nearly invisible seams, a process so demanding that only one person at the Yamagata Casio mother factory can currently perform it. The lettering on the dial is 24-carat gold; the strap, unlike the 2017 concepts, is rubber.
Specs stay loyal to the line: 200-metre water resistance, Tough Solar power, Multiband 6 radio timekeeping, world time, stopwatch, countdown timer, five daily alarms and a full-auto LED backlight. Buyers who balk at $80,000 can pick the $9,500 MRG-B5000SA-2, limited to 500 pieces with two two-carat facet-cut blue sapphires and a grade-5 titanium exterior, or the $850 GMW-B5000SB-1A, which pairs a full-metal black case with four round brilliant-cut sapphires.
