UBS

When the Casio G-Shock 6900 came out in 1995, it had big shoes to fill. More than a decade after the original iconic rectangular silhouette introduced the most popular shock-resistant watch to the world, the original DW-6900-1V incorporated several key design elements from earlier G-SHOCK models, including the “Triple Graph” display from the DW-5900C and a prominent front backlight button from the DW-6600. It combined them to get what is often seen as one of the most recognizable silhouettes in the world.

Now, thirty years later, the 6900 series is still going strong. It’s in no small part due to the influence of this silhouette as seen in pop culture, adopted by musicians, athletes, and the streetwear scene in the nineties and early 2000s. It would be remiss of us not to mention the 6900’s ability as a canvas for collaboration, certainly with celebrity watch collectors like John Mayer and Ed Sheeran in recent years.

But in the same way that vintage collectors obsess about gilt dials and bezel insert variations, the 6900 has been loved by die-hard digital watch collectors thanks to the sheer number of variations found throughout the line’s multi-decade (and counting) run. Yes, rugged utility is a given, but variations like transparent resin cases, mirrored dials, and protective bullbars are just a few examples of collectible quirks that make the entire line so diverse.