When Casio’s British arm needed a spread of historical G-Shocks for a recent photo shoot, it did not call headquarters in Japan. Instead it turned to the south coast of England and Jude Hutchings, a lifelong fan who has worn Casio watches for nearly 50 years.
It started with a digital watch he received as a child. Today the collection numbers more than 300 pieces, spanning everything from retro calculator models to cult G-Shock references. Hutchings spoke to me this week about how it all began, why 'the square' still reigns supreme, and how Casio built one of the watch world’s most devoted followings.
About Time: How did this all start, then?
Jude Hutchings: I got a Timex digital watch when I was six. I'm 54 now. That was gifted to me by my granddad, because my grandma bought it for him. It was digital and brand new, and he couldn’t read the display. So they posted it down to me. I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. The only person I knew with a digital watch was the headmaster.
I wore it all that year at school and then I went to Argos with Dad and said, ‘Can I have a Casio please?’ Because you’d see them in the newspaper ads, or in the Argos catalogue. And it went from there. I would wear it till it fell apart. I had a paper round. I'd save up for months, and I'd get another one.
I never went for any other brand. Casios just looked right. They looked so futuristic.
AT: You were at school in the 1970s and 1980s, a big time for kids and Casio.
In secondary school it was mainly the calculator ones. I remember doing a maths exam and having mine taken off me, just in case I was tempted to use it. My form tutor used to borrow it to do her sums, and she always used a biro on my buttons.
That whole year my Casio calculator had red and blue buttons with ink all over them. At the end of the year she asked where I got it, wrote down the model number, and she went and bought me a replacement.
AT: When did you start to think of this as a collection?
I think it stems from going through them so quickly as a kid. You’d go out, fall off your bike and scratch one up. Even at that young age I was rotating three, four or five watches.
Then it hit the 90s, and in 1994 I got my first G-Shock. As we know, those are more built for task. And it went from there. I counted them the other day. The collection is pushing 300 now, maybe just over. I never set out to have this amount. I’m wary of the term 'collector'. I’m more of a fan. But when you get to this silly amount you think, 'Oh God, what’s happened?'
AT: Do you know what the whole lot is worth?
We had the house contents insured, and I asked the bloke what I should do about the watches because I haven’t got receipts for a lot of them and some weren’t bought new. He basically said he couldn’t really insure it properly, because the value could be anything upwards of GBP20,000. If you look at what some of the older ones go for, and if you got top dollar for everything you might get GBP50,000. Which is mad when you think about it.
AT: You could have bought a proper watch for that.
One or two proper watches!
AT: Here’s a test of the true fan. How do you set the date on a G-Shock?
So, it’s the top left button to get into your settings mode. Then it’s the B button underneath to scroll through to the date. And then, depending on the reference, it will be the C button or the D button to bring them up and down. Then back to the B button to go across to the month.
AT: Well done. Which models do you find yourself wearing most?
I’m stuck in the past, really, because everything is the DW-5000 or 5600 series. That’s the original classic, and the square fits my wrist perfectly. My other go-to model is more the streetwear side of it, the DW-6900 range.
AT: Where do you keep them all? And do you make sure all the alarms are switched off?
I’ve got the alarms switched off on all of them. But there’s always one when Daylight Saving Time changes that will go off in the middle of the night and you’ll never know which one it is.
I did have to buy a cabinet, Johnny. I said I never would. But when it got to 100-plus they wouldn’t go in the drawer anymore. I did the right thing, though. I went to the British Heart Foundation and picked up a cabinet from there. The rest are in Amazon 12-slot or 24-slot watch boxes, stacked up. And don’t even get me started on the packaging, because then you’ve got all the boxes.
AT: Of course. Casio really go to town with their packaging, don’t they?
It’s a nightmare. I’ve ended up buying two or three foldable trunks which have all the packaging in them, and the rest is in boxes stacked in the attic. I’ve got a lot of friends who collect trainers, and that’s even worse.
AT: The upside of Casio is they’re affordable. The downside is the sheer number of models. How do you decide what to buy?
I know a lot of people fall into the trap of chasing collaborations or anniversary models and then never wearing them. When I started, there wasn’t really the internet like there is now. I’d just see one in a high street jeweller’s and, if I liked it, I’d buy it. So most of my older ones were simply off the shelf. As I got more into it, I did start to appreciate a good colourway, especially those bright yellow Casios from the 1990s. I’ve got a few collaborations too, but only if there’s something in it for me. If I don’t know the brand or don’t like it, I’m not interested. In the end I just buy what I like.
AT: Have you got a particular favourite?
Yeah, it’s my star watch. The DW-5600C-1V from 1991, which is the one Keanu Reeves wears in Speed. It’s got the full metal case and the screw-down caseback, whereas all the later ones are in plastic bodies. It just looks right [it's shown in the GIF above]. Keanu has it on his wrist in Speed, when he’s on the bus. If I had to get rid of all my watches and just keep one, that would be the one I’d keep. It’s basic, but that’s the one I love best.
AT: Have you still got any on your wish-list?
Well, a grail watch is still the original DW-5000C from 1983. But they’re ridiculously expensive now, and they have been for the last decade, because once someone digs one out or realises what it is they can charge a fortune for it. And I refuse to pay the flipper prices on eBay or at auctions.
AT: How much do they go for, Jude?
There was a good one at auction the other day and it was GBP2,500.
AT: I guess you could sell a few and fund another one, couldn’t you?
I did use to buy and sell a bit, but my partner would always say, ‘Have you actually made any money on the ones you’ve got rid of?’
And I’d say, ‘Well, I did, but then I went and bought another one with it’. So it just becomes this never-ending cycle.
About 13 years ago, when I really fell down the rabbit hole, I’d buy anything and everything on eBay thinking, ‘I’ll fix that one.’ Then it turns up and you realise you can’t get the right part, or the bezel, or the strap.
The problem is, when they arrive, I’m terrible at selling them on. I just want to keep them. It’s hard to let them go. There’s something very tactile about it, a man and a watch.
AT: Since you mentioned it, what does your partner make of your 300 watches?
Well, number one, she doesn’t know there are 300. She occasionally does ask, and I sort of go deaf for a few seconds. She never really got it, because her thinking goes, you’ve got a watch, it tells the time, why do you need another five, ten, twenty? She understands a bit more now, but only in the same way that she likes teacups.
AT: How many teacups has she got?
Well, it’s more than ten.
AT: Is it more than 300?
Oh God, no, I hope not. Unless she’s secretly stockpiling them.
AT: Are you active on Reddit and in watch forums?
I’m not on Reddit, but I used to be in the G-Shock Facebook groups before moving over to Instagram. One of the best things about this whole collecting bug is the number of people I’ve met around the world who share the same Casio passion. I’ve made some really good friends through it who I’ve never actually met in real life. I’ve got mates in Australia and America now who grew up exactly the same way, just on the other side of the world, wearing Casios and Timex as kids. And the nice thing is, if I need a part or I’m trying to identify something, I can message someone in the community and they’ll help. It really is a global thing.
AT: Why do you think Casio and G-Shock have endured for so long, appealing to everyone from kids and skaters to serious watch collectors?
I’ve always thought that, for every generation of kids, the first thing is that they’re affordable and they always look good. If you buy something you can afford when you’re young, you get attached to it and stick with it.
For me there was also that line Marty McFly says in Back to the Future–that all the best stuff is made in Japan. That always stuck in my head.
Then with G-Shock, the colourways just dropped straight into streetwear. They became the instant accessory. You’d get a new pair of trainers or a new outfit and think, I need a G-Shock to go with that. They’re tough and built for tasks, but they also fit that streetwear world perfectly. And they’re not snobby. From military people to kids to serious collectors, everyone seems happy wearing a Casio. I can’t really think of another brand that works across all those worlds in quite the same way.
The square shape in particular, out of everything I’ve seen in watches, they just nailed it.
And the accuracy is incredible. My atomic ones never miss a beat. At two in the morning they sync themselves automatically, so they’re always bang on. I set all my other watches off one of those.
AT: Have you ever been out to Japan?
I haven’t. But it’s my goal to go to Japan and spend all my time browsing watch shops, second-hand markets, taking in the whole culture of it, the birthplace of it and just enjoy it. I’m a total Japan person anyway. I just can’t get enough of it.
You do get a lot of Japan domestic-market G-Shocks which we don’t get in Europe. The UK seems to miss out a lot of the time on some of the best collaborations and big releases.
AT: Any you regret missing out on?
Yeah, I would have loved one that came out in Japan, an Akira movie collaboration, because I loved the film. They never came over here. I have seen a few, but they’re pushing GBP1,000 plus. The other watch I would really love, in fact I’d probably say over the Akira one as a grail, is the DW-5900, which is what Marcus wears in the original Bad Boys movie.
AT: Ha–good reference.
I had one circa 1996. That was a weird one actually, because it didn’t have a backlight, which is crazy for a Casio. The resin literally rotted off mine within a year because I did a lot of swimming and stuff. It fell to pieces, so I got rid of it. I’d love to find one of them.
AT: And do you actually wear them all, or are some still in the boxes unopened?
They all get worn. Sometimes I’ll have three different watches on in one day as I swap. When you get that many, sometimes you think, ‘Oh, I haven’t worn that one for a year.’ But it’s nice to open another case and revisit them.
I know people who buy a limited edition or collab and I go, ‘Are you going to put it on?’ And they say, ‘Oh no, it’s going in storage.’
I hate that. They think in ten years’ time it’ll be worth double or triple. Just go and enjoy it while you’ve got it.
AT: Be honest: can a man wear a Baby-G?
Personally, no. And I’m small-wristed, about six and three-quarter inches, but I’ve never gone for it. I have got one Baby-G here, a collaboration model, the I.C.E.R.C. ‘Save the Planet and the Oceans’ one. But really it’s too small for me. So in answer to your question, no, I won’t wear one.
AT: Have you met anyone with a bigger Casio collection than yours?
On Instagram you see people who seem to have nearly every model and every variation. A lot of them seem to be millionaires in Asia, or they have some kind of access to Casio. If I’ve got one of something, they’ve got fifty. But that side of it doesn’t really interest me. Some people are just jumping in, grabbing things quickly and trying to resell them. I just enjoy the watches. If I go out without one on, which might happen once a year if you’re in a rush, I feel naked without it.
AT: Is there any end in sight to all this?
I will admit, the last few years I have slowed down. Sometimes when something’s released I think I really want it, and then I let it pass just to test myself. You have a week of being like, ‘Oh, I’m gutted, I should have got that, it’s sold out.’ But then you realise you can live without it.
I’ve been wearing Casios for what feels like forever. Sometimes I think, what is your cut-off point in age? Should you still be wearing a bright pink G-Shock when you’re 60? And then I think, well, it doesn’t matter.
AT: Have you got any watches that aren’t Casios?
I’ve got three Seiko 5s. Two of them were given to me. I will wear them. They’re not Casios, but they are Japanese. I do love that look of the Seiko 5, the SKX range, but it hasn’t got the same pull. When you’ve got a mechanical watch on for two or three days, you get that sort of feeling of, ‘Oh, this is a real watch.’ The weight on the wrist for a start. But it still doesn’t matter. I always fall back to Casio.
AT: Finally, if someone was new to the hobby, to G-Shock, where would be a good place to start?
Go and get yourself a DW-5600 or the GW-M5610 solar version. You could wear that watch for its whole life and you’ll be happy. Multi Band 6, atomic timekeeping, it’s never going to die on you.
AT: Anything else you’d like to add?
I just think it’s crazy that it’s coming up to half a century of having a Casio on my wrist. It’s 50 years from a kid at the age of six being given a digital watch, and it ignited this whole fire for the watch world.
It all comes back to a man and a watch. Nothing else really matters, as long as I’ve got one on my wrist.
AT: Thanks very much, Jude. Congratulations on your collection.
Let’s not call it a collection, Johnny. I’m just a fanboy. Something’s just grown over time.
AT: At least it’s not teacups.
Oh God, yeah. Can you imagine the cabinet for the teacups?
