Casio G-Shock GW-M5600 (Module 3063)

14/3/22

Hello Casio owners and lovers from around the world.

 

I must first personally thank you for reading my first blog about Casio watches. I expect many of you readers have owned or still own a Casio watch. I myself have being using all manner of Casio watches for more than 30 years. Many don't stand the test of time against the arduous task of everyday work life. Mostly the plastic strap would snap or the plastic housing holding the spring bars in place, breaks off. It has always been a common problem. 

However, a lot of things changed when Casio released the G-Shock range back in 1983. The straps did still snap, but over a lot longer period of time and replacements were easy to find. This led to the Casio G-Shock watch being highly popular with tradesmen/women as they could take a beating for years without issue. They are also popular in the medical field as well as the armed forces. Casio has recently released these watches with a metal bezel and strap is is available in both silver and gold. However, be prepared to spend £100's to acquire one as they are highly sought after by watch collectors around the world. In recent years, Casio watches have even starred in movies and mentioned in many rap songs. Some famous sports persons even have their own custom G-Shock named after them. Follow the link to see the new Casio 5600 Models and origin.

The G-Shock we are looking at today is my personal G-Shock GW-M5600 with the very rare 3063 internal module. The 3063 module used in this watch has more functions than the GW-M5610, or so I am led to believe. I have owned the watch from new and I have owned it for 13 years and only changed the bezel and strap once around 3 years ago. In all that time it has never needed a new battery nor has the module ever been opened up.  The watch cost £89 in 2007.

So the watch has not been thoroughly cleaned in 3 years. I do regularly clean the watch but I do not take it apart. As a deep clean was in order, I decided to replace the black plastic strap for a fabric NATO watch strap. In order to do this, a set of Casio strap adaptors are needed. I purchased them from EBay and cost £7.99. I chose a black pair but many other colours are available. I also chose an olive green NATO fabric strap. 

Before I start the disassembly of the watch, let us have a look at it and test its functions.

My Casio GW-M5600 Multi Band 5. Considering it is 13 years old, it is in quite good condition. Still many years of active service in it yet. There are some scratches on the glass that were expected due to my job at that time. It now has a life of luxury and is hardly worn yet I would never think of selling it. I only recently found out how to test the watch functions after 13 years of ownership. I will test its functions before and after the clean up.

In the picture above, I am testing the LCD panel. This function allows the used to see if there are any dead or faded LCD segments. As you can see all the segments are operational and very clear.

In the picture above I am testing the solar panel for operation. However with the watch being illuminated by LED's there is not enough energy to charge the watch. I did repeat the test later that day in sunlight and is fully operational.

The picture above is testing the tilt function of the watch. The tilt function allows the wearer, to tilt his wrist and the watch back light will automatically illuminated for 5 seconds, without pressing the button. A very useful function in my opinion. Now the functions are all operating as they should, I can now take the watch apart.

The strap is removed by depressing the pins from the underside. The strap is not screwed to the bezel. The screws fasten the bezel to the main watch case. 

After removing the four small screws (and almost stripping one) I could remove the bezel. Underneath was 3 years of dirt, yack!! Time to start cleaning.

After a clean I attached the Casio NATO strap adapters. Unfortunately I could not clean the watch as good as I wanted but it is 13 years old. I cannot make it new again, unfortunately.

After giving the inside of the bezel a clean inside and out, I reattached it with the screws as can be seen above. Time to retest the functions.

After successfully testing the functions, it was time to fit the NATO strap. 

As you can see, the strap simply slides though the adaptor. 

After sliding the strap through, the loose buckle then gets threaded through with the strap, as shown above.

It it is fitted correctly, it will look like the picture above. The excess strap is then tucked into the 2 remaining buckles, as shown above.

The picture above shows the excess strap tucked into the 2 buckles a little clearer.

As you can see, the strap has made the watch a little bulky for my wrist. It is comfortable to wear, just too bulky for my 13" small wrist. Don't get me wrong, it looks cool, it's just to 

big for me. 

I soon reverted to the original plastic strap for comfort reasons.

I still love this watch, even after 13 years of owning it and wearing it over that long time span. It has so many useful functions, water resistant, shock proof and replacement parts are readily available! I would imagine the GW-M5610, will be just as tough and will be another version that will never let you down in any situation. 

If (and this is just my humble opinion, because this watch is quite expensive) you are a true Casio crazy owner, then you should have this watch in your collection.

However, I do intend to change the bezel very soon for a metal bezel finished in chrome. It will be fitted with a brand new and a genuine Casio plastic strap.

In fact, I may purchase a brand new and genuine GW-M5610 and modify that and leave the trusty 5600 in it's retirement position.

The GW-M5600 (above) at the bottom of the picture

I hope you have enjoyed this post and maybe learned a little about Casio watches.

Until I update this post, take care CasioTribe people.

14/3/22

Casio Tribe 2022