Casio's full-carbon G-Shock GCW-B5000 rumored to return with new color and near-MR-G pricing

Casio's only full-carbon square looks set to return this year. However, it may cost considerably more than the one that introduced it. Japanese enthusiast blog Great G-Shock World now estimates the revived GCW-B5000 will land somewhere between ¥350,000 and ¥450,000. The original one was priced at ¥297,000 when it arrived in November 2023.

That first run was released for G-Shock's 40th anniversary year. The GCW-B5000UN-1 and GCW-B5000UN-6 were the first squares built around a carbon monocoque case with a forged carbon bezel and link band. This combination brought the finished watch down to 65 grams, which lighter than even the GW-5000. Sapphire crystal, Tough Solar, Multi-Band 6 radio correction and Bluetooth put the feature set level with the full-metal GMW-B5000. Both were limited runs priced at $2,000 in the US.

We reported in our March coverage that a fresh GCW-B5000 entry had appeared in an international certification database. Great G-Shock World now treats a release as close to certain on that basis, although Casio has announced nothing and no date has been listed. Since the anniversary pair took black and purple, whatever comes next has to be something else entirely. The blog hints at gold, blue, red and orange. It further argues that the 2023 cosmic theme means we could get another celestial finish.

Taking away Japan's 10% consumption tax (just for the sake of comparison), the 2023 watch worked out to roughly ¥270,000, or about $1,699 at today's rates. The forecast band converts to roughly $2,203 to $2,832. At the upper end, a carbon square would almost reach entry-level MR-G pricing. If/when that happens, it'd be Casio's third premium digital tier. Regardless, we should treat these figures as informed guesswork until Casio makes anything official.

Buy the Casio GMW-B5000-D1 on Amazon.