CasioMen's GW-7900-1CR G-Shock Digital Display Quartz Black Watch

I own about ten G-Shocks. Why? I have no idea honestly.... They're relatively cheap and come in so many styles and colors it's hard not to get carried away with them. As tough and functional as they are, there is no denying the G-Shock is just plain fun too. I feel like a bit of a kid when I wear them in the best possible way. I also do a lot of outdoor activities including bike commuting to my desk job so it's nice having a watch that is going to take some abuse. As much as I love my mechanical watches, the G-shock really is the more practical option on a day to day basis.This one may be my favorite, and if it is not my favorite it is easily in the top five. Despite its heafty size it actually wears somewhat compact. Compact for a G-shock anway. This is largely due to the little "wings" on the underside of the strap that keep the band hugging the wrist instead of flairing out like a lot of large G-shocks do. I tend to gravitate toward this watch over my other G-shocks for this reason alone.I also appreciate the extra functions on this watch. I live near the Pacific Ocean so the ability to track and predict the tides is actually usefule for me, and a lot of fun. Once the watch is property set up I find it to be shockingly accurate. So hey cool!! I also find that the buttons on this one are a nice compromise of tough and robust without being too hard to push, unlike say the Mudman for example which can be difficult to opperate, especially in the cold. The light being on the front of the watch is also a huge bonus. I like when Casio puts the light button on the front as opposed to the side. Much more useful when I'm wearing gloves on cold winter days.I don't know why this watch is a bit more difficult to find with the positive display but I think it is worth the effort. Some g-shocks look more interesting with the negative display but it is no secret it is much more difficult to read them. So if you can find this model with a positive display I'd argue it is worth the effort.

A couple of notes first:1, You'll see this watch (GW7900-1AL) also listed as the GW7900-1ER. (not sure why but they're the same watch.2, You wont find a listing for this watch on the normal G shock site, but if you go to Casio.uk, you'll find it listed.. not sure why but maybe it's not an official US version..3, This is the same watch as the GW7900-1B, but with the normal face (black numbers on light background) instead of the grey numbers on black background.. and yes this version is MUCH easier to read than the blacked out version. I ordered the blacked out version and had a hard time reading the time except under the best of lighting conditions...Returned it and got this version and have loved it ever since..OK.. now onto the review....This watch for some reason does not seem as large as other "large" watches I have .. I think because its all black, it looks smaller on the wrist than other watches. Also, the wings under the strap keep the watch from rotating on your wrist so it doesn't feel bulky or heavy when you're wearing it. Overall its very comfortable.The layout is good, buttons are standard G shock and all work easily.The face is nicely laid out with both time and day and date visible (or you can switch the day-date to a second time zone if you prefer).The moon phase and tide graph show you the current condition of both and are easy to read and understand (the instruction manual goes into great details about them).Of course this watch has all the standard features, 5 alarms, stopwatch, countdown timer etc...What really makes this watch a great value for the $100 price tag is the Atomic time keeping feature and the Solar powered battery. Having these two features makes this a "fire and forget" watch.. set it and never have to adjust the time or replace the battery.My watch has no problem picking up an atomic signal every night around 2 am, and the time is perfectly in sync with my cell phone time.The Solar powered battery so far has been great. The watch arrived with the power meter in the medium charge range.. I decided to give it a boost overnight by setting it directly under an LED desk lamp with the bulb about 2" away from the face of the watch.. Sure enough by morning the meter was showing High charge and hasn't moved since. The manual goes into great detail about how the solar panel charges the battery and regarding how long it takes to charge it under different lighting conditions. Note.. the solar charger is not a fast charging system.. It's designed to basically keep the battery full if it's out in direct sunlight for a certain time period daily.. Incandescents and flourescent lights are all but useless to charge the battery..(READ the instruction manual so you won't think the solar charge feature isn't working).The only issues I've had with this watch so far are:1, Having hairy arms (like a gorilla), I've found my hairs getting caught between the band and the wings under the band. This isn't a big deal, but if your hairy and adjust the watch on your wrist..you'll notice it.2. The Automatic Light Feature... when I first got the watch I could not get the automatic light feature to function.. up to the point I almost sent the watch back for an exchange. I tried and tried and only saw the light come on once or twice in the first hundred tries... (and yes I followed the instructions on how to properly do it.), but just had no luck. Well. after about the second day of wearing this watch, the Auto light featured seem to start working a bit more regularly, and now after a week, it's working just fine. I'm not sure why but it seems to have "broken in" and now works just about every time I try it.(UPDATE) 6 month review.. This watch is looking and working fantastic after half a year of daily wear. (see image showing June date).. There are no scratches in the glass, nor wear on the bezel, and everything is tight. The atomic timing feature has been spot on, and the solar power has stayed in the high zone since day two.. (im only outside about an hour a day, most days). Highly recommend this watch...

The Casio 7900-1 is a great watch. It displays all that one needs day, date, and of course time. Once you start to toggle you get timers, stopwatch and alarms. You also get moon phase and tides, which is pretty cool. I have many watches, and i keep coming back to G-Shock digitals. I have to have day/date on my watches, and also it needs to be legible, and it needs to either light up or have really really good luminance. I understand the feeling an owner of a watch would want in a mechanical/automactic watch. It's so cool one feels when they truely "connect" to a mech watch, the procedure they go through to keep it going and accurate. As i go through life, and what i want during my day, one thing that never bothered me until now, is the weight of the watch. I have a beautiful diving watch, swiss made, a real stunner, but it's way too heavy. I have no dought it's as tough as a G-shock, shows me all that i require on a watch, and really looks good, but again it feels like a brick on the wrist, so i dont wear it. The weight of the resin G-shocks are almost 2/3 less of a stainless steel watch, and for me that means something. Also this watch is solar powered and adjusted by a passing satellite, which means the accuracy is about +/- 15 seconds a month. So in conclusion, a watch that offers everything i want, has a light, many features, tough and durable, solar powered, light weight and for the cost, maybe in some case 10 - 20 times less than the traditional analog mech/automatic watches.