WHAT HAPPENS when you put a basketball star and a watch together? For the release of the G-Shock’s latest releases in the Philippines, the watch line from Casio tapped Filipino-American basketball player Dwight Ramos as its ambassador.
Mr. Ramos personally unveiled the new watches at an event in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, on May 31. He appears in campaigns featuring the GM-110D (in stores) and the GMW-B5000D, arriving in July. The GM-110D in black costs P21,300, while a silver variant costs P18,480. The GMW-B5000D will cost P38,810 when it arrives in the Philippines.
The GM-110D has a metal bezel and band, and is shock- and magnetic-resistant, and water-resistant up to 200 meters. It has a stopwatch, a timer, and a calendar, and analog and digital displays. Meanwhile, the GMW-B5000D has a full-metal case, shock resistance, and 200-meter water resistance. We’re not sure of its full features yet, but its previous siblings in the GMW-B5000 line had Bluetooth capabilities and even a time/location stamp in its World Time city setting.
After a rousing hoop-shooting game with members of the audience, Mr. Ramos — who played for the Ateneo Blue Eagles, the Philippine national basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas, and now, for Levanga Hokkaido of the Japanese B.League — sat down for a group interview.
Speaking about how G-Shock’s message of toughness resonates with him, he said, “Toughness is all about resiliency. Throughout my career, I’ve had a lot of injuries. Before I got to where I am now, I’ve had a lot of hardship.
“It’s just perfectly aligned with me and how I am,” he said.
He also spoke about modeling, and how it differs from his basketball career. “Modeling is not really my personality. It’s really the media and the agency that does all of everything. It’s kudos to them because they really guide me on that stuff because I don’t know how to do anything. I don’t know modeling; I don’t know how to make videos. It’s all on them. I just do what they tell me.”
On matters of style, he says, “A lot of people are good at putting stuff together, and they’ve got really good fashion (sense). I really like what people do. I know my limitations, and I just put on a shirt, some pants and shorts, and that’s good enough for me.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with Sena Kuroda, regional sales manager for Timepiece Casio, he talked about the future of their releases: as we’ve mentioned, the two new watches are made almost entirely of metal. “We’re producing metal watches based on our original design,” he said. For example, the GMW-B5000 is based on the DW-5000C, the brand’s first release. “All our G-Shock products have shock resistance, even when we’re using metal materials.”
To buy the new watches, visit https://www.casio.com/ph/. — Joseph L. Garcia