Casio G-Shock: Engineering the Unbreakable

Episode Overview

In this episode of The Design Vault, hosts Albert Shum and Thamer Abanami explore the remarkable story of the Casio G-Shock DW5000C—a watch born from heartbreak that revolutionized an entire industry. When engineer Kikuo Ibe's cherished graduation gift from his father shattered on the floor in 1981, it sparked a two-year obsession to create the "unbreakable watch." What emerged wasn't just a timepiece, but an entirely new design language of durability that would influence everything from smartphones to extreme sports culture. This episode reveals how three engineers, armed with the "Triple 10" challenge and radical thinking, transformed failure into one of the most iconic products of the 1980s.

Episode Length: 31:35
Original Air Date: July 1, 2025
Hosts: Albert Shum, Thamer Abanami

Key Segments & Timestamps

Casio's Unexpected Origins (00:01:18 - 00:03:27)

• Post-WWII Japan
• The unlikely first product 
• Trading company crisis and strategic pivot
• Japan's first all-electric compact calculator

The Quartz Revolution Context (00:03:31 - 00:05:00)

• The "quartz crisis" that upended Swiss watchmaking
• How quartz makes watches accurate
• Japanese engineering vs. traditional watch craftsmanship
• How disruption created space for radical innovation

The Broken Watch Catalyst (00:05:39 - 00:06:29)

• A father's gift becomes an engineer's obsession
• Why an outsider perspective mattered
• Casio's green light for the "unbreakable watch"

Team Tough Formation (00:06:46 - 00:07:56)

• Three engineers working in isolation
• Breaking Japanese corporate conventions
• The "Triple 10" concept: An impossible challenge
• Science fiction requirements for 1981 technology

Design Iteration Journey (00:08:30 - 00:11:12)

• Construction workers who couldn't wear watches
• Rubber balls, duct tape, and softball-sized failures
• Third-floor bathroom window experiments
• A year on the "treadmill" of failure

The Sunday in the Park Eureka (00:12:18 - 00:14:17)

• Ibe's self-imposed ultimatum: One week or resignation
• Children playing in a park spark breakthrough
• The "floating module" revelation
• Why internal beats external protection

Design Language of Durability (00:14:39 - 00:19:13)

• Breaking every conventional watch design rule
• "Designed for a future that never happened"
• Brutalist aesthetics meet mathematical precision
• How exterior design signals interior innovation

Cultural Context & Market Reception (00:19:13 - 00:21:51)

• Extreme sports explosion meets watch design
• Japanese market rejection: "Too unconventional"
• The hockey puck commercial that changed everything
• Controversy becomes marketing gold

Unexpected Cultural Adoption (00:21:56 - 00:23:20)

• From NASA to fashion
• Professional tool becomes streetwear icon
• Casio's pivot to embrace the unexpected
• When performance credibility drives fashion

Business Impact & Design Legacy (00:23:20 - 00:26:02)

• Creating a new category in a saturated market
• From G-Shock to smartphones: The durability revolution
• How one watch influenced the idea of “rugged” design
• Durability as primary feature, not afterthought

Key Design Lessons (00:26:22 - 00:32:17)

• Personal setbacks driving professional breakthroughs
• The power of direct observation over data reports
• Small teams, big impacts: Agility outside the machine
• Design for one, adopted by many
• Why home market failure doesn't doom global success
• The art of positioning and storytelling

 

Connect With The Design Vault

The Design Vault explores iconic products from the innovation-rich 1970s-early 2000s, extracting strategic insights for today's designers, engineers, and business leaders. Each episode combines nostalgic storytelling with actionable lessons for modern product development.

Subscribe: Available on all major podcast platforms including Spotify, Apple, and more
Follow us: Instagram: @thedesignvaultpodcast, LinkedIn: Thamer Abanami, Albert Shum

We’d love to hear your thoughts, episode ideas and feedback via the links above. 

Credits

Hosts: Albert Shum and Thamer Abanami
Editor: Rachel James
Intro Music: Red Lips Media LLC
Brand Design: Rafael Poloni