G-Shock Presents Kikuo Ibe: Time and Invention

G-Shock Europe caught up with G-Shock creator Kikuo Ibe during his London visit. Hear Ibe talk about the history of G-Shock, Japanese culture, G-Shock design, his outlook on life, and his dream for the future.

“We are all born with an equal amount of time. If you use it wisely, you can create quality, but if you waste it, you won’t produce anything worthy. I try to use my time wisely but I’m always looking for better ways to spend my time. As a young man, I was more playful than serious. I never thought that I would be an inventor.

My first watch was a gift from my father. I took good care of it, but one day I dropped it at work and it smashed into pieces. That’s when I thought of making a watch so durable it wouldn’t break even when dropped. It took me two years to come up with the right product. During the development process there was much trial and error as we worked towards the goal of working out what form a tough watch would finally take. I was ready to give up when I came upon a child playing with a ball. That resulted in a dramatic shift towards the solution and led us to creating the watch we have today.

The G-SHOCK is unique in that it combines durability and toughness with the latest technology. What I appreciate about Japanese culture is there is strength hidden behind being elegant. That duality of toughness and elegance has inspired the design of G-SHOCK.

When you challenge yourself you face many difficulties. I want people to never give up and overcome any hardships to reach their goals. That’s my message to young people but also for myself.

I don’t know how history will judge me. Before long we will be able to go to space freely. I like to imagine being in space with a friendly alien next to me and we are both wearing G-SHOCKS. That would be my final dream.” – Kikuo Ibe

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