Few cities are part of the global launch of a watch of which only 800 units will exist worldwide. Barcelona has been one of them. The Japanese multinational Casio has made the Catalan capital one of the stops on the international launch of the new MR-G Frogman watch, the edition with which it celebrates the 30th anniversary of MR-G, its most exclusive collection. Manufactured entirely in Japan, the model combines traditional craftsmanship, luxury materials, and resistance for dives up to 200 meters.
The choice of the city for this presentation goes beyond a simple presentation of a limited edition for collectors. It also reflects the importance Barcelona has acquired for the company over the last two decades. It was here where Casio established its headquarters for the Iberian Peninsula in 2006, located in the Torres Diagonal Litoral, from where it still coordinates its activity in Spain and Portugal today. Now, the city has once again taken a prominent place in the multinational's strategy as one of the stops on the international tour with which it has presented this new piece. A tour that started in Japan and has also passed through other strategic markets, such as Germany, as well as other cities in Spain, such as A Coruña.
More than a simple presentation, Casio wanted to bring a small corner of Japan to Barcelona to introduce attendees to the culture, craftsmanship, and philosophy that inspire this new piece. The chosen setting for the presentation was also not accidental: Grau jewelry store, a family business with more than 75 years of history and with branches in Barcelona, Lloret de Mar, Sabadell, and Blanes, has consolidated itself as one of the references in high watchmaking, being an official distributor of brands such as Cartier, Rolex, or Tudor.
The experience has been conceived as an immersion in Japanese culture. The presentation of the watch was led by Tatsuya Izaki, Head of Research and Development at G-SHOCK, who traveled from Japan to share the philosophy and craftsmanship behind the MR-G collection. While Izaki guided attendees through the creation process of each piece, the chef of the Japanese restaurant Santoku La Barra (Madrid) did the same with an omakase menu, the Japanese tradition of letting the chef guide you. Two parallel voices that championed the value of craftsmanship, precision, and Japanese artistry, principles that also define the MR-G philosophy.
From a calculator to one of the most recognized watches in the world
Founded in 1946 in Tokyo, Casio began developing electronic devices such as calculators, musical instruments like keyboards, and cameras. However, innovation soon extended to wristwatches. The G-SHOCK collection, which includes this new piece, was born from engineer Kikuo Ibe's challenge to create a watch that wouldn't break when dropped, after seeing his own shatter in an accidental fall in the office.
For more than two years, Ibe developed over 200 prototypes that he tested by dropping them from the window of Casio's research center in Japan. In 1983, that work resulted in the first G-SHOCK, the DW-5000C model, which marked the beginning of a collection that today exceeds 100 million units sold worldwide.
In 1996, within the G-SHOCK universe, the MR-G line was born, which transferred that same philosophy to high-end watchmaking, with top-quality materials and a luxury-oriented approach. Today it has more than 135 models. "MR-G is innovation and excellence," summarized François Vilaprinyó, director of Casio Iberia, during the presentation. This idea is what the brand wanted to capture in the new model presented in Barcelona, the MRG-BF1000EB, a special edition of the emblematic Frogman, originally launched in 1999, created to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the MR-G collection.
"Its design is inspired by brinicles," Tatsuya Izaki explained. These are ice columns that form under the sea in polar waters and slowly descend, freezing the saltwater they encounter. Casio wanted to reproduce this natural phenomenon in the watch's aesthetic, but also in its features: it can be submerged up to 200 meters and maintains the resistance DNA that characterizes G-SHOCK. Only 800 units will be manufactured worldwide, all of them numbered and with a retail price of 8,800 euros.
More than a watch, Casio has presented it as a collector's item that summarizes three decades of MR-G's evolution. For Barcelona, the event also symbolizes the strategic role the city maintains for the Japanese multinational. Two decades after establishing its headquarters for the Iberian Peninsula here, Casio has once again chosen the Catalan capital to be part of one of its most exclusive international launches.