Customer Reviews

Casio Men's GS1100-1A G-Shock GIEZ Series Multi-Band Solar Atomic Watch

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

--- Warning: Long, opinionated review ahead ---

I could go on and on about how many watches I own (40+), I could list off the caliber of watches I have (Jaeger-LeCoultre, two Rolexes, Zeneth, Franck Muller)... but what I do want to go on about is my love of this Giez watch.

I have many watches (see above) and many of them are the various models of Casios which have been released over the years; from the first pathfinder watch to the current Riseman. The Giez GS1100 is by far one of my favorites. Reason - Form, Function and a wondrous movement.

Form - Simple and clean at first glance, then as you look closer the detail comes to light.

Function - it does what it should do. It is one of the most accurate timepieces on the planet. On the most basic of levels, it tells time, has a stop watch, one daily alarm, day and date. For those who need it; it has world time mode and it (the watch) supports the National Institute of Standards and Technology reception standards for the US as well as those for Japan, The UK and Europe.

Here is a little, how shall we say... commentary:

The watch is fluid, it has a gear driven movement (the same as the $900 Oceanus line by Casio). It should be looked upon not as a digital watch but as a precision time keeping instrument. The few reviewers whom complained about the movment taking forever; stop playing with your watch, it's not a toy. Set it and know that it works. As an aside, if you are a global jet setter and you need to change the world time city, press the mode button and then immediatly hit the reset/advance button; it will advance the second hand/city indicator with out having to wait for the current setting to queue up.

The other complaint about reception, I have no comment other than "Please know that it is a low power radio wave which the watch is receiving. If you live in a basement or a structure which is not "wave friendly", please know that when your watch does pickup the signal that it is not like it is going to lose that much in accuracy before it's next acquisition (unlike my Texas Timex.. Rolex Air King, which can and does).

My only complaints about the watch are very minor: I wish it had an hourly chime and I also wish the alarm was louder.

In conclusion - If you like Casio watches and you have a modocum of patience; you will not be dissapointed with your purchase.

Top quality watch! Full feature set with the added bonus of Solar and Atomic clock sync'ing. The build is very good and I really like the well thought out style of the watch. It does so much so well it moved me to write a review - which I very rarely do. It seems to be the perfect Expedition watch - a rugged and accurate instrument.

Great looking watch, feels and looks solidly made - very "macho" while maintaining a degree of quality and class that is missing in many other very expensive brands.
With an attractive design, lots of function and clear function layout, it is, for the (Amazon) price, excellent value.
On the downside, rather too chunky - sits high on the wrist which makes it prone to snagging - and the resin band gets "itchy" if worn tightly enough to eliminate too much slack.
I find the day function symbols a little too small for my ageing eyes
The operations guide is confusing at first and procedures for taking advantage of all the functions appear a little complex - it took some time before I could understand the different modes and get comfortable enough to use most of the functions. After 6 weeks I still could not use them all without going back to the manual. The stop-watch function is certainly intuitive, however.
Synching with the Atomic time server is rather hit or miss - especially, for US buyers, if outside the 600 mile signal radius from Fort Collins, CO - but the accuracy and reliability of the watch appears to make any gap between synchs moot.
Alarm beep is almost inaudible with no apparent volume control and doesn't work at all when following some function procedures (on my watch) - like setting "Home City" which requires you to "hold down A for about 5 seconds until alarm beeps twice"
Despite the above, I am becoming much more comfortable with the functions as time goes on and am increasingly pleased with my purchase of this watch.

It works great. The second hand lags if not left face up due to power saving mode, but you get use to it. I have been wearning it for work and play and it looks like it is worth more than paid for.

Way to go Casio! This is the watch I have been wanting for a long time. Should have bought one sooner. It was easy to set up and now I don't have to worry about batteries and not having the right time and date. Since receiving this watch, I checked the time several times a day against another verified source, to see if the watch was keeping the right time. I now trust the time indicated as true. Was worth every dollar I paid. I highly recommend this watch to anyone needing a "set and forget it" new watch or replacement.

This is a really nice watch for people who travel frequently.

Pros:
1) Looks & Finish
2) Functionality
3) Ruggedness (Its G-Shock!)

Cons:
1) Difficult to operate.

Its difficult to operate & takes a lot of time in setting up (that's the reason I gave it 4 stars), but you'll get used to it.

Well, in a crux, its a value for money watch with loads of fuction & style. Go for it....!

I have about 50 watches - from expensive mechanicals to fairly complicated multi-function chronos. This is my 6th Casio, and I have 3 other solar-atomics from them which take abit of reading to learn how each works naturally. But it's NOT "rocket science." Each watch is abit different. My experience is that this watch works fine in all respects, has a nice look, nice functions, "set it and forget it." Easy.

Possibly a metal and resin band might "jazz it up" abit. But for the price and features, it's not a big deal. Casio really has it over Citizen and Seiko on great looking watches with atomic/solar features, plus all the other usual chronograph and multi-dial features. And all at very reasonable prices. Five stars from me, and I am a tough grader when it comes to watches.

UPDATE 9/13 -- Well, I had to return this watch. Everything about my initial review stands, however it turns out I REALLY need a backlight. This watch is near impossible to read in the dark, which is too bad, because I loved everything else about it. However, since I apparently spend more time in the dark then I realized no backlight makes it a no-go. Why one earth there isn't a backlight on a watch that costs this much, I don't know, but they must have had their reasons. If you can live without the backlight, don't hesitate, everything else is great.

Just purchased this to replace my old metal-band G-Shock, which finally bit the dust when I got my wrist wedged between a rock and a hard place - literally - while exploring a river in Vermont last weekend. Wasn't sure if I'd like the resin band, but after a few hours, I think it's actually more comfortable then the metal band - and I consider myself a metal band snob.

Great looking watch. Very busy face, but looks sharp. Plus, analog. A big plus. Took me almost a half-hour to completely figure out the directions, but once it sank in, the processes became quite simple. I certainly understand anybody that's frustrated by the directions though. Did have to change the home city and "Auto DST" setting. (Weird opening the box and watching the hands start spinning automatically btw.)

Now to see if it holds up as well as my previous G-Shock, which took many, many beatings before being lost in the river.

This is my first G-shock watch by Casio and I absolutely love it! It is a bit heavier and larger than my 11 year old swiss army watch, but I have gotten accustomed to it quickly. It is somewhat complicated to use, but I think I have it figured out now, and it probably took 60-90 minutes with the user manual. I do not have a problem with the slow movements of the hands when changing modes and time zones as some have commented; it is an analog watch, afterall, and not digital. The stopwatch is kind of lame because it does not go beyond 60 seconds after rotating a full 360 degrees. If you want a quicker-acting watch with full stopwatch capability, then get something digital.

At first, I thought the automatic calibration with the atomic clock in Colorado was difficult due to weak signal reception in south florida; I only had one successful sync in the first week of having the watch. But since that time, I now sync without problems most days out of the week. Even if you cannot sync, it's not a big deal b/c you can set the time manually if needed; and I found it easy to accomplish.

I've been wearing the watch while running in the Florida summer and swimming too. It seems to shrug off my abuse without problem. The watch face has excellent readability under water or when wet. I like the resin band, it doesn't get stinky like leather/fabric bands and is not restrictive like a metal band. The glow-in-the-dark hands are sufficient for nighttime use and a nice feature. The alarm is a bit of a pain to set and requires patience, but it works in a pinch; I would agree with other reviews on the alarm not being very loud. And the 24 hour clock is not totally worthless like some have suggested, I have used it a couple of times to confirm my am/pm times, but it cannot tell you the exact time.

And lastly, the watch looks fantastic and can be worn for any occasion! It's a great watch for a reasonable price. I would definitely buy it again and I am very pleased.

I saw this watch in the mall near where I lived and was immediately struck by its look. Some rugged sports watches look great for weekend wear, but would never look like they could be worn in the office. The Casio Men's G-Shock GIEZ Series Multi-Band Solar Atomic Watch #GS1100-1A has the uncanny ability to make the transition between the morning bike ride to the office, and then still look like it belongs on my wrist during a staff meeting.

I had read some reviews complaining about the size of the dials. I don't see any problems with them. But then again, I don't wear glasses. I especially like the day and date combination. I also like how easy it is to switch between time zones without switching home zones.

This watch also doesn't need batteries every year. The solar power charging works wonders. For me, it takes less than 10 minutes a day of sunlight to keep the watch fully charged. If you live in a cloudy area, or work indoors, set the watch in bright sun once a month for an hour or so to recharge if needed.

If there was an improvement I would ask from Casio, it would be to make some of the settings move faster. Waiting to have the hands reset to zero before starting another function does take some patience, as well as switching to distant time zones like Mumbai (use Delhi on this watch).

The accuracy is unmatched. The watch has synchronized with the atomic clock every night I have owned it (usually Chicago). My watch always matches my computer, my cell phone and my office time. It's definitely a great purchase.

Five Stars!