What do you get when you throw Japanese watch manufacturer Casio, Grammy Award-winning guitarist and songwriter John Mayer, and watch enthusiast website Hodinkee into a (proverbial) blender? Evidently, something that looks like the above watch.

Cool, right?? The new ref. 6900 is inspired by the Casiotone SK-5 sampling keyboard, a 1980s favorite of musicians young and old that Mayer played while growing up. (Many musicians have cited the Casiotone line as an early musical inspiration.) The G-Shock ref. 6900. first launched in 1995, is beloved by watch devotees of all stripes and often serves as the backdrop for streetwear collaborations.

jm g shock

Hodinkee

In bridging the gap between vintage musical inspiration and modern horological standout (both of which are made by the same company), Mayer chose to highlight the SK-5’s Dayglow-esque palette of yellow and teal on the new watch’s slate grey body. Said Mayer: “When Casio approached me about the possibility of working together on a G-SHOCK, it actually timed out really well. I had already been pretty deep into wearing the ‘Mudmaster’ models, and something felt cosmically right about a G-SHOCK being the first watch collab I’ve ever done. Casio keyboards came to mind as much as the watches did. Then I remembered how important the Casiotone SK-5 was in my life, and it got exciting really fast. It’s the perfect bridge between my double life as a musician and a watch enthusiast.”

For those unfamiliar with the ref. 6900, it features a 53.2mm-wide resin case, a Japanese quartz movement, and is chock-full of functionality, including a 24-hour clock, a stopwatch, a countdown timer, a multi-functional alarm, and more. They’re also so tough that they’ve become a military favorite. (Mine still has mud in the buttons. And it still works.)

The limited edition Casio G-SHOCK Ref 6900 byJ ohn Mayer is available now from the Hodinkee Shop, G-Shock’s website, G-SHOCK Soho and select G-SHOCK boutiques for $180.

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