The founding father of G-Shock watches, Mr Kikuo Ibe, 60, was an engineer at Casio when he designed the shock-resistant timepiece in 1983.
Today, G-Shock has released over 3,000 models, including a Bluetooth-enabled model (GB-6900) and one that is flight-qualified for Nasa space travel (DW-5600C).
My Paper speaks with the mastermind behind one of the world's toughest timepieces.
How did the concept of G-Shock come about?
G-Shock's concept was born when I graduated from high school and received a watch from my father.
When I started working, I dropped it one day and it broke into many pieces. So I decided that I would make a watch that would not break so that it can be passed on through the generations.
What are the challenges G-Shock will face from upcoming smart watches by Samsung and Apple?
I welcome all these smart watches because they can expand the market, helping it to grow. But I feel that our product is unique and special and I am confident about G-Shock's share in the market.
If you could add one more function to G-Shock, what would it be?
It is not possible to make such a function now but I would like a certain function called "nandiki" in Japanese, similar to kinesis or telepathy.
For example, if I was thinking about the time during a meeting, I should not be looking at my watch because it gives the wrong message - as if I am rushing for time.
It would be interesting if the time could appear in my mind without me checking my watch.
How do you feel about people who have gone to great lengths to try and break a G-Shock?
It is perfectly fine when people wear it to do rough work. But I do not like it when people buy the watch and try to break it on purpose, although I have not heard of cases where it has actually been broken (laughs). Since they have specially bought the watch, I hope that they would take care of it.