A G-Shock X Porter / Yoshida & Co. Collaboration You Probably Missed

I must admit, this collaboration between G-Shock and Porter / Yoshida & Co. completely flew under my radar. If you’re not familiar with Porter, here’s a quick primer: they are a craft bag maker specializing in producing solely “Made In Japan” products under the umbrella of Yoshida & Co. During their release in late October, G-Shock announced the collaboration that would modernize their iconic AWM-500 analog-digital model by combining a carbon coated stainless steel case and bracelet, with the technological functions and features we’ve grown accustomed to with the brand. It’s no surprise here that with this collaboration, the G-Shock AWM-500GC-1A will also come with a Porter / Yoshida & Co. special edition watch travel case that doubles up as a cross body bag, if that fits your style.

The G-Shock AWM-500GC-1A dial display, for the most part, remains the same as its predecessor from the late 1980’s. The dial is fashioned in a subtle sunburst black and comes with a pair of funky analog hands; the hour hand represented with a red skeletal trapezoid, and the minute hand in a sword-like shape with circular cutouts that shrink as it narrows towards the tip. Aesthetically, the only difference seems to be the gold stamped Shock Absorption Curve graph that fills in at the center of the dial.

The digital display remains fixed at 6’olock and is the interface for all the tech functionality you expect from G-Shock which includes one of my favorites in the World Time feature, displaying over 31 time zones and having the ability to swap home and world city times at the push of a button. A pretty nifty feature that I thought would come in handy (if you’ll excuse the pun) is the Hand Shift feature, which moves the analog hands out of the way in the event that they were blocking the view of the digital display while it is in use.

The G-Shock AWM-500GC-1A will most certainly have plenty of wrist presence, as the polished carbon coated case measures 51.8 mm wide and 14.2 mm thick. G-Shocks are naturally and aesthetically robust watches, so whenever I throw a watch of this caliber on wrist, I take on a more rugged persona, even though I may not be doing the actual rugged activity at the moment. The AWM-500GC-1A is powered by G-Shock’s Tough Solar rechargeable battery and you can expect this particular watch to last about 11 months with normal use after it has been charged.

The G-Shock and Porter / Yoshida & Co. travel case takes after the design of the AWM-500GC-1A dial. In a gold foil, the nylon bag displays the Shock Absorption Curve graph, both the G-Shock and Porter insignias are stitched on and the zipper handles securing the bag take after the funky analog hands. Like I said above, this was a collaboration that didn’t get much coverage upon its release. At the time, the G-Shock and Porter / Yoshida & Co. AWM-500GC-1A retailed at approximately $1250 and is currently unavailable on the G-Shock site. However, with a few minutes of online research, I was able to come across a couple of third party sites selling the G-Shock and Porter / Yoshida & Co. collab for near retail. Casio.