G-Shock Triples Down on Gen-Z, Digital-Inspired Styles with Virtual World Collection
Earlier this year, G-Shock announced its futurism-inspired Full Metal GMW-B5000TVA-1. At its launch, the model quickly made waves with its “Titanium Virtual Armor” aesthetic, influenced by the world of virtual reality and the animé genre Mecha. Now G-Shock is doubling down on the former of these two themes with the launch of the Virtual World collection, trio of watches that showcase a striking virtual reality theme.
The new collection includes the GA2100VB-1A, GA700VB-1A,and GA900VB-1A, each taking a base design from one of three popular G-Shock references currently being produced — the GA2100, GA700, and GA900. While each of the models is similar to previous designs produced by the Japanese brand, they are nonetheless distinct in their colorways and inspirations, mixing dark elements with electric blues, purples, and pinks, all aiming for a futuristic look likely to appeal to younger, digital-native customers.
The colorway is most reminiscent of so-called “bisexual lighting” (it’s a real thing, I promise) particularly popular in film and television over the past few years or so, and likely best known as the color style in HBO’s Euphoria (see below). While best known by this name, the unique colorway finds its roots within expansive Gen-Z digital spheres, some of which include the virtual reality spaces from which the watches draw their primary inspiration. from. That G-Shock has taken note of this somewhat niche colorway speaks not only to the Virtual World’s intrigue, but further to the watch’s target demographic, which likely skews younger and within these digital communities.
Outside of the eye-catching colors, each of the watches is a true G-Shock at its core, with a built-tough case design featuring hard resin and carbon core guard structure, and packed with plenty of useful functions that vary by watch but include alarms, chronographs, countdown timers, and more. Each of the models notably uses hybrid analog/digital displays, straying from the G-Shock's traditional all-digital look and perhaps anticipating more models in this style.
Each model within G-Shock’s Virtual World collection is available now, directly from the brand and through its authorized dealers. Prices start as low as $99 for the GA2100VB-1A and come in at $110 and $140 for the GA700VB-1A and GA900VB-1A, respectively.
To learn more, you can visit G-Shock’s dedicated landing page for the launch here.