It’s not quite the Royal Oak 40th anniversary celebration, but the Casio G-SHOCK is a formidably successful design, and celebrating its 30th birthday next year. To kick off a series of events which will culminate in April 2013 with the release of commemorative and collaborative anniversary models, a music and fashion world oriented launch was held recently at the Manhattan Center in New York, featuring musical artists Slaughterhouse and G-Shock wearer Eminem.

The G-SHOCK brand got its start when a Casio engineer decided to try to develop a watch that was virtually unbreakable. The original model with shock-resistant construction, the DW-5000, was released in 1983. Since then, Casio has issued nearly 3,000 G-SHOCK models.

To commemorate its 30th anniversary, there will be a number of special models. The watches that will make up the four anniversary models, called G-SHOCK Red Line, will hark back to some of the brand’s most popular models such as the MUDMAN and FROGMAN. They will have red cases with gold detailing in the LCD and gold lettering, as well as gold plating on the back plate and screws. The back plates will feature an anniversary logo engraving designed by graffiti artist Eric Haze, who has also designed the packaging.

The Red Line series will be a limited edition release with a total of 12,000 units across all anniversary models.

Categories: Casio, Limited Editions, News, watches