I have a confession to make: I (politely) turn down 90% of press junkets offered to me. So, when Casio reached out to me earlier this year with the opportunity to visit their Yamagata factory and the Tokyo headquarters, I was not too sure. I thought about it for three days on how this would be different from any other watch factory visit, and how I would narrate my visit without the usual “Maison’s” PR team influencing my writing.
There were two reasons I accepted Casio’s invitation. First, Casio is unlike any other watch company, so it will make for an interesting visit and observations. And second, Casio culture is different from other watch companies, including their PR and marketing folks. They are transparent about everything; they allowed me to ask the tough questions and did not influence my story. I will touch on both points further in this article.
There were three journalists on this trip including me, so it was a small group for this visit. We visited Casio’s Yamagata factory the first day, their museum in Tokyo the following day, and on the final day we visited the headquarters to meet and interview executives overseeing the watch division. All three visits were so different from each other – the first was so technical, the second was all about design and history, and the final visit was about strategy.
For our visit to the Yamagata factory, we woke up early to take the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Higashine city, in Yamagata prefecture, where the factory is located. Higashine is known as the “The Fruit Kingdom” since it produces 75% of the delicious cherries in Yamagata, among other fruits like apples and pears.
The Casio factory was built in 1979 and was operational by 1980. There are six other high-tech factories in Higashine that started around the same time due to government incentives, including 3M and Kyocera. Other than the government incentives, factory president Shinichi Kimura tells us that Yamagata is the only prefecture where the population is not declining. This is a big consideration for the companies located here. According to the World Bank, elderly people aged 65 and over now make up nearly 30% of the population in Japan.
During his introduction to the factory, Kimura stated that along with electronics (scientific calculators, medical devices, and now AI pets), all the high-end G-SHOCKs and some of the basic models are made in this factory. The R&D is conducted in the Hamura location in Tokyo, so this is strictly a manufacturing facility. However, the process and technology are taken from this factory to Casio’s other major factories in Thailand and China.
I worked for a semi-conductor company, so my first impression as we started the tour was that the Casio factory was not any different with its high-precision machines, micro-electronics, and the clean rooms. By the end of the tour, I had changed my mind.
All the watch production is done in the building aptly labeled “G.” The G unit was built in 2018, but during the 2020 pandemic, the production dropped significantly, only to resume to full production in 2022.
G-SHOCK watches are built on the premise that they are extremely tough and can endure a lot of abuse. While the initial test for functionality is conducted at Hamura R&D in their “torture chamber,” the mold design, case cutting, and watch movements are manufactured to a high standard at the factory so the watches can pass these grueling tests.
Instead of taking you through each part of the factory tour, I will highlight the three most impressive moments on what makes this factory stand out from other manufacturers. The fourth moment is also worth detailing. It happened during our Q&A session with Kimura, after the tour.
The first moment was dramatic when Kimura opened the blinds to the factory windows. On the left side was the fully automated production line of the basic Casio A159 model. The robotic machines work around the clock to crank out thousands of watches per day. It did not start this way. The A159 used to be hand assembled like the higher end watches. In 2018, Casio figured out how to automate the hand assembly process and reduce the cost by 50%. This is peak efficiency and is reminiscent of what I witnessed at the Volkswagen automated car assembly in Dresden few years ago.
On the right side, which consisted of one large floor room and a few smaller rooms, is Casio’s Premium Production Line (PPL). Casio produces the G-SHOCK MRG, MTG, Oceanus, and B2100 models here. It was impressive to see the array of small robotic machines and engineers working in an assembly line. Casio refers to them as technicians that go through various degrees of certifications and a tough interviewing process, but for an ex-semi-conductor employee, they looked and behaved like highly skilled engineers.
There is not a single watchmaker in Casio’s PPL division, where 3,000 watches are made in an 8-hour shift. Yet, the result is a mass of digital watches, some even with elaborate cases. Anything made in collaboration with traditional craftsmen is done at the artist’s studio and then sent to Casio. The final assembly is done at the factory. Only the highest certified technicians handle the top-of-the-line models. We observed them operating at dizzying speed and precision to produce gear wheels and rotors, align the analog hands, and test the accuracy of the movements.
Ultimately, watches are about design and chronometry. Casio technicians use a combination of automation and hand finishing for mold designs. The same goes for movement assembly – automation of assembling and accuracy check by technicians. In the other smaller rooms, technicians use technology to make decorations on the bezels, case, and dials. They use nano techniques like direct vapor deposition and laser welding. Normally I would see a watchmaker or engraver use traditional watchmaking tools, but this was equally impressive.
The second most impressive thing about the factory was how they earthquake-proofed it. Japan has numerous active fault lines, and you can feel the building shaking as a normal experience during the day. I could not understand why all the robotic machines were sitting on these odd-looking tables. Kimura explained that these are special tables with bases that can move as the ground moves yet keep the machines steady. I have been to semi-conductor plants in Singapore, China, Germany, and in Texas, and there the preparations are made on a structural level. Their buildings are made to endure earthquakes. But this was really next level.
The third impressive observation was Casio’s use of various high-tech materials and techniques. For example, giving a metallic appearance to resin. The resin band that looks like a metal bracelet is finished with vapor deposition to give it that metallic appearance. The same applies to bezels and markers. Also impressive is the shock resistant full metal models. They have the same toughness as resin watches. Unlike traditional lugs, full metal cases have a three-pronged structure where the strap is attached, to disperse the shock through their use of the brand’s Core Guard Structure and Alpha Gel (αGEL). One of the factory managers offered to drop an egg on a pad made of Alpha Gel, and I took the liberty to toss it high up in the air and let it drop. To everyone’s relief it did not break, but the manager seemed confident.
After the factory tour, we had a Q&A session with Kimura. I happened to ask the first question which led to some gasps from the PR team and others sitting in the debriefing room. I asked a simple question: is Casio a watch company or technology company? The answer is complicated. Casio is clearly not a watch company in the traditional sense, yet it is not a tech company like Apple. Casio watches function as a hybrid between functionality of a traditional watch but also offer technological features as an option. Unlike tech wearables, G-SHOCK features are not software dependent, and can function in perpetuity, as long as the watch is functioning as well. The same goes for G-SHOCK production – it uses technology to give the same finishing as a traditional watch, but a lot of the manufacturing is automated. Rolex makes a million watches with automation as well.
I had to gasp when Kimura states that nearly 70% of the overall Casio business is watches. I would have thought consumer electronics would have been Casio’s majority business. He states it was true until twenty years ago where calculators and music instruments dominated the business. However, Casio watches are the primary business of the company and growing rapidly. I knew Casio was in a unique position, but until now, I did not comprehend it fully. It was fascinating how Casio pivoted to watches as smart phones killed the calculator, point-and-shoot camera, music player market, and many other consumer electronics.
The second day was a memorable trip to the Casio Museum. Technically, it is Mr. Toshio Kashio’s home in the upscale suburban neighborhood of Setagaya, converted into a museum. Kashio’s sense of style is evident in the architecture of his home and manicured garden. The same sense of style is present in his first calculators and electronic keyboards. I can find many Polaroids from the 80s with me holding a Casio keyboard pretending to be in the Flock of Seagulls.
Kashio started the watch journey with the Casiotron model in 1974. Casiotron was the world’s first digital watch equipped with an auto-calendar function, also known as a perpetual calendar. But it was his employee, Kikou Ibe, that changed the course of the company in the 1980s. I would say it saved the company.
On the final day, we visited Casio HQ in the Shibuya neighborhood of Tokyo. We met with Shinji Saito, General Manager and Chief Producer of the Product Planning Department within Casio’s Timepiece Division. I was expecting him to show us spreadsheets with numbers and talk about market share. Instead, in his soft spoken and calm demeanor, he tells us that G-SHOCK is a fusion of technology and craftsmanship. His team focuses on functionality but also on playful design creations. His product roadmap takes into account many variables, including balance of functionality and design, and experimenting with new materials like sapphire and ceramic.
According to Saito, Casio has produced approximately 160 million watches over the last 40 years. Currently, the GA-2100 is their most popular model, and colored dials are in high demand. G-SHOCK collabs are also popular – from musicians, to athletes, to streetwear companies. Even though base models are global, they keep the collabs regional. Most of the collabs are for the U.S. market – in fact, U.S. collabs are in high demand even in Japan.
In his presentation, Saito mentioned G-SHOCK magazine, which was created for the U.S market. I was not aware that there is G-SHOCK magazine in the U.S., apparently only available in the New York flagship store. I managed to get my hands on a couple of the magazines after the trip, and it is a high-quality lifestyle magazine covering creative arts, streetwear, photography, music, and skateboarding.
We also met with Takahashi Oh, Executive Officer and Senior General Manager of Casio’s Timepiece Division. What stood out from our discussion was that Casio is constantly looking for that next thing out there and experimenting to see what could work. The first example is Moflin, Casio’s AI pet which costs about $500, and it is their foray into AI tech.
The second example is the new mechanical Edifice limited edition watches that retail for $280-$300. These watches are made in Casio’s Thailand factory and using third party movements, which are also manufactured in Thailand. This could be an interesting strategy, one that Seiko and Citizen would be worried about in the future. I do not think it would take Casio very long to mass manufacture mechanical watches. Honestly, Casio would have great success if they made the same watch with a solar powered movement. Using a third party mechanical movement seems like a step back. Casio is all about design and functionality.
I was also curious what the Casio employees wear at the HQ. I noticed that executives wore G-SHOCK ring watches with their normal G-SHOCK watches. Two employees showed us their watches. One of them was a modded 5600 with a metal bracelet from another G-SHOCK. He said even Kikou Ibe approved of this modding. Another employee, who previously worked with Casio USA, stated that he hunts for original and rare G-SHOCKs which are hard to find.
On the final evening, we had dinner with the Casio U.S. team. I had to ask how the new tariffs impact pricing and business. It was explained that pricing is expected to go up beginning in September, and the price increase will vary depending on the model. The business in the U.S. could be impacted, but sales across the rest of Asia are on the rise. Japan accounts for nearly 20% of overall sales, and the Indian market growth is ascending sharply.
No matter what happens in the near future, I am convinced that with Casio’s rare combination of high-tech capabilities, young consumer demographics, and pop culture credibility, they have the right ingredients for long term success. Even the Swiss maisons would be envious of this. Casio
All images provided by Casio