Casio has been rolling out commemorative editions over the course of the year, to mark the 35th anniversary of the G-Shock. The best known is of course the G-Shock ‘Full Metal’, a remake of the original 1983 model. Now that’s been joined by the G-Shock Glacier Gold, a quartet of translucent “jelly” models with bright gold accents that are variations of popular models in the current catalogue.

All four watches have gold-plated dials, screws, backs and buckles, along with matching translucent straps, as well as case back bearing the anniversary logo.

The first two are vintage remakes. One is the DW5035E-7, with its distinctive oblong case shaped like that of the original G-Shock DW5000 of 1983. And the other is the DW5735E-7, which is based on the DW5700 of 1987, one of the earliest round G-Shock watches.

Both of these have the same movement and are functionally identical, with functions including stopwatch, countdown timer and alarm. And they also have screw-down case backs, instead of a back secured by four screws.

The next pair is based on more recent designs. The GA-735E is oversized and 53.4mm in diameter, and based on the GA-710. It has both an analogue and digital display, along with the most electronic functions of the range, including a 31-time zone world time and 1/10th of a second countdown timer.

The smaller GA-835E is 48.6mm in diameter, with slightly fewer functions than its oversized cousin. It’s a variant of the GA-810.

Price and availability 

The Glacier Gold series is already available in stores. In Japan all four share the same retail price of ¥24,300 including local taxes.

Overseas the retail prices differ between models: the DW5035E-7 and DW5735E-7 are priced at US$220 or S$339, while the GA-735E and GA-835E are US$190 or S$249.

Jean-Claude Biver has confirmed he is giving up operational duties at the watch brands owned by the world’s biggest luxury group – Hublot, TAG Heuer and Zenith – according to a report in Reuters which cited a phone call with Mr Biver.

According to a subsequent LVMH announcement, the 69-year old will stay on as “non-executive Chairman”, having taken charge of the division in 2014. Despite the reduced role, Mr Biver is still scheduled to attend several events organised by Hublot and TAG Heuer over the rest of the year, according to insiders who spoke with your correspondent.

Long rumoured but only just confirmed, the announcement means the charismatic entrepreneur often regarded as the greatest turnaround artist in watchmaking is finally stepping back. This comes after a three-act career in which he resurrected Blancpain, rejuvenated Omega and rescued Hublot. With Mr Biver having lost a significant amount of weight over the last three years, the Reuters also report cited unspecified “serious health problems” as the crucial factor behind his decision.

Confirming news first reported by French business magazine Challenges (which was also picked up by Dutch watch blog Monochrome), the LVMH announcement also confirmed that Mr Biver will be succeeded by Stephane Bianchi, most recently the chief executive of French cosmetics firm Yves Rocher, effective November 1, 2018. Mr Bianchi will also be the chief executive of TAG Heuer, with the heads of Zenith and Hublot reporting to him.

And Frédéric Arnault, the youngest son of Bernard Arnault, is now the Strategy and Digital Director of TAG Heuer, the biggest brand in the watch division.

Source: Reuters, via CNBC

Updated September 21, 2018: Included LVMH announcement dated September 21.

One of Tissot’s historical claims to fame is its invention of the first mass-produced antimagnetic wristwatch, the Antimagnetique. Tissot introduced in the Antimagnetique in 1930, though antimagnetic pocket watches had been invented in the late 19th century. Like many other magnetism-resistant timepieces, including modern-day ones, the Antimagnetique relied on special materials for the escapement, specifically a hairspring made of a palladium alloy.

Iterated across different cases, dials and movements, the Antimagnetique line remained in production up until the mid 1950s, by which time a modicum of magnetism-resistance had become a standard feature of most wristwatches. This year the Antimagnetique makes a comeback, at least stylistically, with the Heritage Petite Second, a remake of an Antimagnetique from 1943. And like most Tissot watches, it’s a strong value proposition for notably little money.

While both the remake and original are equivalently affordable in their time, the modern-day Antimagnetique is a substantially more robust watch, illustrating the tremendous advances in watch manufacturing. Like many other entry-level watches of the period, the original had a case made of chromed nickel, which tends to wear away and pit over time.

In contrast, the Heritage Petite Second has a stainless steel case that’s a large 42mm in diameter. It has polished top surfaces and brushed sides, with sharp, faceted lugs as well a “box-type” sapphire crystal to mimic the domed PlexiGlas on the original. And it’s rated to a respectable 50m.

As with all Heritage models, the Heritage Petite Second features Tissot’s historical 20th century logo. The dial has a clean, silvered finish with a vertically brushed surface, framed by a thin bezel, both of which leave the watch looking slightly larger than it actually is.

Large Arabic numerals are printed in black lacquer, matching the slender, leaf-shaped hands. The retro styling even extends to the recessed sub-dial at six o’clock, with the seconds indicated by a lance-shaped hand.

The Heritage Petite Second remains an epitome of the classic, mid-century “tool” watch. Because despite the large size, the proportions of the original have been preserved thanks to a suitably large movement and also a relatively narrow lug width.

It is powered by the hand-wound ETA Unitas 6498-1, a large movement originally developed for pocket watches. Visible through the sapphire case back, the movement is stock, but still dressed up with Geneva stripes and blued screws, giving it an appealing aesthetic for the price.

Antimagnetique was not to be

Though the prototype pictured features the charming “Antimagnetique” script below the logo, the production model unfortunately will do without it.

That is because the watch is not antimagnetic beyond the norms for a modern movement. According to the criteria laid out in ISO 764:2002 for “magnetic resistant watches”, a watch must resist a direct magnetic field of 4,800 A/m, which is merely a quarter the pole strength of a common household magnet.

In contrast, modern day antimagnetic watches boast magnetism resistance more than 20 times that, thanks to either soft iron shielding (also known as a Faraday cage) in the case of the Rolex Milgauss, or proprietary alloys in the escapement with Omega’s Master Co-Axial METAS.

But for just under US$1000, Heritage Petite Second represents great value, combining bona fide historical styling and solid build quality.

Price and Availability

The Heritage Petite Second (T119.405.16.037) is priced at US$995 or S$1510, and is already available at Tissot boutique and retailers.