Home > Consumer Reviews > Casio GW-500U-1VER | Radio Controlled Solar G-Shock Watch

I have been a fan of G-Shock watches for many years and own a few - they are almost indestructable, easy to read the time and have good functionalty. However, it is always a pain when the battery goes. If you replace the battery locally the watch is no longer waterproof and if you send it away it takes quite a time to get it back and costs a fortune. I was therefore delighted to discover this solar powered G-Shock watch which not only powers itself from the sun but is also radio controlled which means I always have the correct time to the very second - not just twice a day which is the norm for most of my watches!!! I have had this watch for 6 months now and I am as pleased with it now as I was on the day I purchased it.

That's one less minor inconvenience to deal with, since this watch automatically keeps the correct time. So what are you paying for that you wouldn't get on a run-of-the-mill digital watch? For a start, it's a Casio so you get immediate assurance that it will do the job properly. It's a G-Shock meaning that as long as you're not near a crusher yard it should survive the perils of everyday activities (unless you work in a crusher yard). Here's a short list of some of the cool features this watch has:

- It's part solar powered, resulting in increased battery life of up to 10 years.

- You can record the time and date instantly with the press of a button which actually comes in handy once in a while.

- Certain functions sleep when they're not needed which conserves even more power.

Overall this is a great watch and I would definitely recommend it!

When i bought this watch 18 months ago i envisaged it lasting me at least three years, but the strap has rotted away like an old tyre and snapped this month. It has also developed a nasty habit of running out of charge in the day and hibernating until you leave it under a light for a couple of hours, this i can only attribute to working more indoors over the winter months, with the longer days now and being more outside this problem has decreased and i have to say on the whole an excellant idea, just lacking a little in the execution. overal i like that the time is always exact in a tough durable case new strap is going to cost me £12 and i will persevere with the charging issue throughout the summer and see if it decreases.

Bought for my son who is in the police force - good for tough working conditions and does not need batteries which is great - received in good condition recommend site

I have been prompted to write this review after owning the watch for three years now because I was worried that it's rechargeable battery was slowly giving up. I was wrong. It was just that I'd changed jobs and the watch was hidden up my sleeve for longer periods. It takes a while to get to full charge but with normal use it only needs 5 mins a day in the sun to recover. I like this watch so much that I am thinking of buying a spare. this is the watch I want to own forever. I can rely on it to always, and you can win bets with it, to be in perfect sync with the time pips on the radio or sat nav clock.It updates from the nuclear clock in Rugby 5 times a day. The world time works very well, the stop watch works very well, the alarms are invaluable and trustworthy, the date stamp is great too. Because when you hear a great piece of music on the radio and you want to know the title, press the button, the exact time is recorded and you can go on the station web sit later. I don't use the tilt light "on" function except to impress my mates, the back light button is good enough for my needs. The bracelet is solid and locks shut and the watch looks a lot heavier than it really is. The silver is coming of a bit on the light on button. Apart from that not a scratch and it's been in some rough places. All those years ago I paid £130 and am very pleased to see it at this price. I met a man a couple of months back with the same watch and we both agreed that it is the best watch we've ever owned. The instruction book is tiny and takes some studying to get the best from the watch but at least it's easy to store for reference. Oh and it really is as water proof as they claim. I want to give a balanced review and list it's faults but I really can't think of any apart from my opening sentence. If your man's a man's man, He'll need one of these.