Last year, Casio released a mech-inspired G-Shock Virtual Armour watch that challenged perceptions of what a G-Shock could be. Now, they released a follow-up that defies expectations all over again.
The G-Shock Virtual Armour II, known also as the ‘TVB’, is cast from premium titanium and shock-resistant resin. It has a digital module as powerful as Casio has ever created in a watch, and looks completely unique.
This isn’t one of Casio’s typical G-Shock watches, which means that you might have to save to get your hands on this luxury timepiece. If this Virtual Reality inspired watch has caught your eye, you can read on below for a deep dive into the details.
Overview:
- G-Shock Virtual Armour II Inspiration
- Case & Dial
- Virtual Armour II Bracelet
- Specifications
- G-Shock Virtual Armour 2 Final Thoughts
G-Shock Virtual Armour II Inspiration
While the first Virtual Armour G-Shock featured a diamond-like carbon plating, this second edition goes for a layered titanium look. Covered in text and a battle-ready camouflage, G-Shock went all in on their Virtual Reality inspiration.
“The watch evokes a piece of high-spec virtual reality gear,” spoke G-Shock’s Yamamoto Keishiro, designer of this Virtual Armour G-Shock metal watch.
“This time we went all in on the VR mindset, choosing a bold design theme: a massive robot in the virtual world.”
There is no doubt that Keishiro has achieved his goal. The G-Shock Virtual Armour 2 has a distinctive titanium texture and futuristic style that sells the idea that this watch was made for a virtual conflict.
The incredible shock-resistant durability and powerful digital module of the watch is just as impressive in reality. Sapphire glass protects the display to an even greater degree. The watch is so tough, that G-Shock has claimed that it survived a slap shot from a professional hockey player, unscathed.
Case & Dial
This camouflage look isn’t just a coat of paint. In an intensive process, the brown and black tones have been ion plated onto the titanium case (and bracelet) to give this watch a premium and one-of-a-kind appearance.
Thanks to some VR-inspired highlight-text and boreholes, we can see that a ‘fine resin cushioning’ rests underneath the titanium layers. This is G-Shock’s signature, giving the timepiece an unbeatable shock resistance.
The dial is presented in the classic Casio ‘Square’ shape and features some striking orange accents. A negative digital display brings your timekeeping information to the forefront and sits in a grid-patterned frame.
Virtual Armour II Bracelet
The camouflage and Virtual Reality motif carries on over to the GMWB5000TVB-1D’s titanium bracelet. The metallic brown and blacks are separated by slashes of the original titanium colour that stands out nicely.
Specification and instructions are labelled proudly in more of that video game-inspired highlight-text. The text ranges from the quality of titanium, to how to where to remove the joint pins of the links. The 3-fold clasp even features a description of the G-Shock Virtual Armour’s radio-controlled time signal.
Specifications
As a high-end Casio product, you can expect all the usual digital functions like alarms, stopwatches, timers and world time, plus much more.
Most excitingly, this second edition of the Virtual Armour G-Shock features ultra-accurate timekeeping with both Bluetooth and radio signal-controlled time. This means that your watch will automatically read a signal from one of Casio’s stations across Europe, USA, China, and Japan and auto-update — perfect for travelling.
Below is a list of GMWB5000TVB-1D specifications:
- 49.3mmx43.2mmx13mm case size
- Titanium band & case
- Ion plated black & brown colours
- Resin shock resistance
- Water resistance to 200m
- Tough Solar powered battery
- Sapphire glass
- Bluetooth connectivity
- 3-fold bracelet clasp
- Automatic radio signal time accuracy
And features:
- World time (up to 300 with app connectivity)
- Stopwatch
- Timer
- 5 daily alarms
- Hourly time signal calibration
- LED backlight illuminator
- Calendar
- Hour, minute, second, pm, month, date & day, timekeeping
G-Shock Virtual Armour II Final Thoughts
Casio rarely goes for the full premium style in their watches, but when they do, they make sure that you get something worth the effort. The G-Shock Virtual Armour GMWB5000TVB-1D is a prime example of expert metalworking and design.
If you’re looking for a watch that won’t ever let you down, this is it. The signal updated time is as accurate as it gets, and if you’re out of range, the Bluetooth updated time is impeccably close. Like any G-Shock Carbon Core Guard watch, the TVB Virtual Armour will survive the toughest of conditions, making it the full package, and one of our favourites.
