BEAMS and G-SHOCK are back at it. The two Japanese companies love a special edition, cost-conscious watch and they've got the newly skeletonized G-B001 to show it.
It's not terribly unusual that BEAMS collaborates on a handsome, affordable timepiece nor is it uncommon to witness BEAMS and G-SHOCK come together (this is collaboration number 18), let alone for the pair to devise a skeletonized watch.
But when the results are consistently this handsome, I'd argue that they're always worth a look.
G-SHOCK's G-B001 watch is an update to the DW-001 first released in 1994 and it has retro charm to spare. It boasts a chunky plastic case, for instance, and a removeable bezel that, in the case of BEAMS' bespoke watch allows the wearer to obscure or reveal more of the timepiece's innards as they see fit.
When the bezel is popped off, this watch gets real bare bones, practically vanishing into an opaque grey haze. It's a handsome effect and perfectly indicative of skeleton watches' appeal, in case you were actually wondering what makes people enjoy these things.
Available come August on BEAMS' website for ¥19,800 (about $140), the special skeletonized G-SHOCK is yet another excellent (and semi-budget friendly) timepiece that ought to see wider release.
Actually, on that note, some relatively good news. G-SHOCK's still issuing limited edition watches as part of its ongoing 40th anniversary celebration, including some skeletonized iterations of classic G-SHOCK watches.
Recent editions include see-through versions of G-SHOCK's DW-5040 and DW-6940 timepieces.
Unfortunately, they're still relatively hard to come by compared to general release watches but that's also what makes skeleton watches so appealing. You really don't see a lot of these things, which makes the occasional crystalline watch that much more appealing.
