A Coveted Icon
Legend has it that back in the ‘80s, the National Basketball Association had certain rules in place for its professional players that prohibited them from wearing any other color than what was on their team uniforms and their shoes had to have a certain percentage of white on them.
So, in 1984, when rookie Chicago Bulls shooting guard, jersey number 23, stepped out onto the court with a black and red pair of sneakers, with minimal white on them, said player received a stern (but brief) letter of warning from the NBA Commissioner at the time, David Stern.
The shoes in question were a prototype variation of the Nike Air Ship, designed by a certain Peter C. Moore for the sportswear brand, custom made for the inimitable, Michael Jordan.
Some versions of the story go further to say that there was a $5000 fine imposed for if Michael were to wear the prototype after the warning had been issued. Michael apparently went on defy the commissioner and continued to wear his custom sneakers on court and Nike, (probably very happily) footed the fine.
Of course, that last bit of the story could very well have been a great marketing ploy that has now become part of the lore. But what is certain is that that pair of prototypes went on to become the legendary Air Jordan 1s. To date, Nike has continued to produce the Jordan 1 in countless variations with hordes of Jordan fans and sneakerheads coveting every new pair announced.
Why are the Air Jordan 1s — and the complete Air Jordan lineage for that matter — so popular today, more than ever before? The answer there, is the word: nostalgia. It is the generation of kids who grew up watching Michael in his prime, dreaming of playing “just like Mike,” who are now of age to pursue their sneaker dreams on their own terms.
Now available on Shop.Revolution.Watch
A parallel can be drawn, today, in the universe of watches with an icon that also happens to be a creation of the 1980s: the Casio G-SHOCK DW-5000C, the very first in the lineage of the world’s toughest watch, invented by the one and only Kikuo Ibe.
Particularly after the release of the all Full Metal series, which was made in the likeness of the DW-5000C, there has been an unprecedented rise in level of interest in the watch within the watch collecting community, and the public in general.
This über-cool modern interpretation of the original square G-SHOCK clearly has moved this band of individuals by the sheer force of nostalgia. In this regard, we at Revolution were particularly hoping to see the Full Metal take on 21st century metals and alloys beyond the traditional stainless steel.
Therefore, when our friends at Casio Singapore shared with us that there was an all titanium variation in the pipeline, they locked in our undivided attention. Through their immense generosity, the Singapore team created the opportunity for us that we would be the first to globally offer a small run of the Full Titanium GMW-B5000TB for purchase, on an online platform.
For this small run, Casio has designed an exclusive presentation case, etched with Kikuo Ibe’s signature and the words of his famous personal motto: “never give up!” Additionally, as a result of the partnership forged, we at Revolution have produced a brief publication, authorized by Casio, mapping out the journey of the DW-5000C into the Full Titanium GMW-B5000TB.
Last, but definitely not least, individuals who purchase the Full Titanium GMW-B5000TB from Shop.Revolution.Watch stand an opportunity to attend an exclusive intimate sit-down dinner event in Singapore, with the father of the G-SHOCK, Ibe-san himself.
