The G-Shock 'Blue Phoenix' is a lot of watch for the money – quite literally
Back in 1981, Kikuo Ibe inadvertently dropped a much-loved wristwatch given to him by his father â and could only look on in horror as it shattered on the ground. The incident moved the Casio electronics designer to set about developing a truly tough timepiece, a process he began by throwing another watch from a second floor lavatory window at the firm's research and development facility. It broke, too. For his next experiment, Mr Ibe equipped a watch with a ball-like protective cage. It worked, but was too bulky to be practical, so he decided to develop a rugged plastic case to allow th...