The MRG-G2000HT “Kasumi Tsuchime” was launched in Singapore on 21 September 2017 at the Taku “Sushi & Wagyu & Craft Bar”.
Where there any other special Casio G-Shock MRG timepieces exhibited? Yes, there were. There was this sneak peek into a Casio G-Shock MRG (in video above and image below) that will only available in November 2017 and its price is “to be confirmed”.
The video above is our quick take on 3 generations of the Luminox US Navy SEALs watches – the 3000 Series (1994), 3050 Series (2007) and 3500 Series (2017).
The story of Luminox and its close links with the US Navy SEALs began in the early 1990s. In 1992, Chief John Engraff of the US Navy SEALs initiated the search for a dive watch with reliable illumination in darkness.
Why? Well, the elite force he represented needed such a timekeeping instrument for their night missions.
In 1993, he tasked Chief Nick North to source for such a watch. Chief North was then the Senior Public Safety Engineer and Operations Specialist. North subsequently discovered Luminox at a trade show.
That same year in 1993, Luminox created the first dive watch model. This was then developed into the original Navy SEAL dive watch that was introduced in 1994.
The commercial model, in the same style as that supplied to the US Navy SEALs, was launched in 1994 as the Luminox 3001 Original Navy SEAL. It is categorised under the Original 3000 Series.
The watches for the US Navy SEALs weren’t just laboratory-tested but field-tested as well.
Chief Engraff of SEAL Team Five actually tested a modified Luminox watch for one year. “I wore the Luminox dive watch during physical training, running the obstacle course, on run-swim-runs, parachute jumps, while firing heavy weapons, and on numerous operations during a six-month overseas deployment,” he recalls.
The watch exceeded his expectations. “They worked great,” says Chief North, adding that after the East Coast (SEAL) team began issuing the Luminox watches, the West Coast team followed suit.
These marked the beginnings of a long-term partnership with Luminox becoming the watch of choice for the US Navy SEALs.
Over the years, the Luminox Navy SEAL Series evolved and significant milestones were achieved. One such model is the 3050 Series. Introduced in 2007, the 3050 Series features a case and uni-directional bezel made of carbon compound.
In 2017, the Luminox Navy SEAL collection further evolved with the launch of the 3500 Series which is presented with a darker dial and housed in a carbon case compound. This is a modern design interpretation of the 3050 Series yet it retains the model’s “turtle-shape” case.
