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Grayman watches

14K views 81 replies 40 participants last post by  Jash 
#1 ·
Was thinking the other day that my watch might be a giveaway as to my profession. I see a lot of videos of people discussing grayman concepts and then wearing a big ole g-shock to give themselves away. Mine's a square g-shock so maybe not as noticeable but I'm in a large city where people have somewhat abandoned watches in favor of smartwatches, checking the time on their cell phones, or fashion watches. I see a few g-shocks around but not so many.

It also doesn't help that where I live I'm one of the few pale faces and people may assume I'm LEO anyway.

What do you think? Would a square g-shock be as much of a giveaway? Or am I already screwed by my mix of ethnicity and location? Would it be hugely noticeable if I covered it up with a buff or something?
 
#2 ·
So what 'profession' is associated with G Shock watches?

I think 'bling' of any kind can be an attractive nuisance to the wrong element. As you say, you probably already shine like the proverbial 'diamond in a cat's ass' so other than not wanting to look affluent or just carrying visible 'goodies, I doubt a particular watch would be the trigger in targeting you. And unless you're working as an undercover agent, if people assess you as probably LEO, that's probably a deterrent.
 
#3 ·
So what 'profession' is associated with G Shock watches?
Current or former military, law enforcement, serious security. I don't really see many people who don't fit that bill wearing them.

I think 'bling' of any kind can be an attractive nuisance to the wrong element. As you say, you probably already shine like the proverbial 'diamond in a cat's ass' so other than not wanting to look affluent or just carrying visible 'goodies, I doubt a particular watch would be the trigger in targeting you. And unless you're working as an undercover agent, if people assess you as probably LEO, that's probably a deterrent.
True. I just don't want to attract the attention of the law enforcement types either in a bug out scenario.
 
#6 ·
Might actually help the haggling.
If they think you don’t have the money they think they have you over the barrel. If you go in there like you’re loaded don’t say you can’t spend that much, say you’re unwilling to pay that much, they’ll see dollar signs walking out the door if you don’t close the deal.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I don’t think it much matters, lots of people wear g-shock watches, not just “operators”. Someone who knows who is on the lookout for someone who is trying to be low key will probably notice more about you than just your watch.

G-shock watches have actually been hot with fashionable urbanites, you might be mistaken for a rapper

http://www.gangstagroup.com/casio-g-shock/
 
#9 ·
I don't think watches are a big give-away but 511 cargo pants or shirts, Logo wear and or tactical boots or even certain types of shoes and sunglasses are.... cooperating bad guys told me so. When I am in riskier countries, I like to wear a polo shirt with the logo of some south american soccer team with a soccer ball embroidered on it.
 
#12 ·
EXCELLENT!

On that subject, in all sincerity, always make sure whatever sports team logo you wear doesn't incite unwanted attention from opposing fans. We had a guy who wore a Manchester United windbreaker to a pub in Edinburgh once. Thought it would be a 'cute conversation starter'. He literally got beat down by two or three FEMALE Scottish soccer hooligans.

He claimed it was a 'mob' but nope...the security cam footage clearly showed it was only two women -albeit a very healthy pair of Scottish lasses- who took him down and then a third who joined in on the 'shoe-ing' and spitting on his face.

LOL
 
#11 ·
I think a G shock says “Nothing to steal here, I’m old fashioned and not keeping up with the times.”

But I wear one most of the time.:thumb:

However...I have the slightly blingy metal band/case version, I have the larger rubbery dive model, and the smaller non-blingy aftermarket Velcro banded model that looks a lot like a $30 Timex or any other cheap plastic case sports watch.
 
#22 ·
I'm one of about 6 white people in an apartment block which houses at least 1000 people, in an area where white folks are scarce to begin with. People assume I'm a cop anyway. I had one guy across the hall tell me that about a week after I moved in. As Targe pointed out, I'm about as inconspicuous where I am now as a bear in a herd of ducks.

I do love my black and silver pro-trek, but I keep it at work and I need something for a bug out bag.
 
#27 ·
One thing about bugout bags is they often get stashed and forgotten. Meds and batteries go bad. An analog, non electric ("wind up") watch as suggested by someone else makes a lot of sense for a bugout bag for that reason. (Plus, analog watches can also be used for navigation).
Mine sits beside my door facing a window. Plan is to get the solar g-shock which has a 10-15 year expected battery life and fasten it around the grab handle at the top facing the window to keep it charged.

I know a reasonable amount about mechanical watches. Most aren't that durable, and accuracy is an issue. Losing a few seconds a day isn't great and if you rotate through your mechanical watches on a daily basis like I do and don't own a watch winder, you could end up grabbing a dead one on your way out the door.

For that matter, anybody have suggestions on a Self Winding / Automatic watch durable enough for a bugout scenario?
Seiko SKX007
Even after years of neglect, hard use, and lack of service, I've yet to see one actually die.
Well, not sure how much accuracy on the actual time is needed in a SHTF scenario....but no good reason to lose accuracy.

Thanks for the suggestions on the other watches: I'm going to give those some serious thought! I think I've been lagging on the horological component in my bigger plan.
 
#28 ·
Well, not sure how much accuracy on the actual time is needed in a SHTF scenario....but no good reason to lose accuracy.

Thanks for the suggestions on the other watches: I'm going to give those some serious thought! I think I've been lagging on the horological component in my bigger plan.
Accuracy and it being potentially dead. It's replacing the battery every 2 years on a regular digital watch, winding the watch as or after I've bugged out (if the oils haven't dried up), or just knowing it will work.

My theory with BOB's is I should be able to grab it, my shoes/jacket/outerwear, and my EDC gear and be okay. I only care about the watch because my EDC watches are more fashion than function when off duty.
 
#26 ·
On the other hand, the wife is always pestering me for keeping my nice shiny Motorola Razr V3M which still works on Verizon for now.

She says it doesn't project the "high tech image" I am supposed to have in my business. I should have a smartphone, she says. ( they are all garbage for phones in my opinion).

Anyway we went out for dinner the other day and she was quite miffed that the 20 something hostess was all gaga over my phone and wanted to know what service it was on, etc.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk
 
#32 ·
I've been known to take the good watch off and shove it in my pants pocket. If I'm doing the mass transit thing or there's any possibility of going into a "less good" area, I have a cheap kid's waterproof analog watch. Fits me because of my size, not likely to be targeted, and really, really doesn't scream cop, military, etc. That way, I don't have to pull out my cheap phone to see what time it is, either :)
 
#34 ·
I have been wearing the Timex Ironman for over a decade. I also keep a couple spares stashed. You can buy it at any Walmart and I have found them to be as tough as the G-Shock I had at one point. The battery seems to last forever.

 
#39 ·
I feel a little embarrassed that I, a retired federal cop, did not know what a G-Shock watch was. Had to look it up. I wear simple analog Timex or Casio watches from WalMart for EDC. I had a Rolex GMT and Submariner years ago in the Army. Sold them for far more than I paid at the Exchange and never looked back. Inexpensive analog for me.
 
#40 ·
Man, that is unusal. Cops and military usually have their black Gshocks glued to their wrists. Two of the three parents in my kids school wearing black gshocks turned out to be cops. The other one is a paramedic.
I go for a bit more bling.:D:

retired this Gshock after learning its a limited edition, these days going pretty high prices.
 
#41 ·
I stopped wearing watches for a while after 4 soul brothers drove up when I lived in L.A. to ask me what time it was. I looked at the watch to tell them the time and when I looked up the gun was in my face. Luckily just robbed. But some brothers make a game of asking whites for a match and shooting them if they don't have one.

...as I said in previous posts, I try to avoid talking to people.
 
#43 ·
I am not sure I understand. Wearing a GShock watch in your world is associated with military/law enforcement? Do you know who wears GShock around here? Every single boy in junior high and they have a different color to go with every pair of shoes, every single coach of any sports team, swimmers, marathon runners and a whole lot of others wear them. I have never associated a GSHOCK with military or leo. I probably have 4 that I no longer wear because I wear a fitbit now.

People mistake me for military sometimes because of my awesome beard and build. I hate buying things that make me look military when I'm not but I like to support veteran owned businesses and their stuff usually screams military. I bought a few shirts from GruntStyle. I tried to find the most unmilitary looking ones they have but even the logo alone looks military. They are just incredibly comfortable and have a lifetime warranty. Who puts a lifetime warranty on a shirt? Black Rifle Coffee gear looks the same. Carrying a gun doesn't really help either.
 
#44 ·
I am not sure I understand. Wearing a GShock watch in your world is associated with military/law enforcement? Do you know who wears GShock around here? Every single boy in junior high and they have a different color to go with every pair of shoes, every single coach of any sports team, swimmers, marathon runners and a whole lot of others wear them. I have never associated a GSHOCK with military or leo. I probably have 4 that I no longer wear because I wear a fitbit now.
There are a few people here and there who wear the colorful ones for fashion, but yeah, black g-shock here is basically MLEO, or former. On top of that I also live in an are where being white, and having a Scottish background is enough to have people peg me as MLEO.

I hate the colored ones because they're super bright. It's hard to find the square solar-atomic in anything other than black and if I can, they're real expensive.
 
#51 ·
I wanted the GMT as it was popular with my (general aviation) flight instructors pre army. I felt it would look cool as I cranked on my old Jeppesen flight computer in a 150 when I got out of the Army. I am amazed at what is out there now days compared to my slide-rule and the old Jeppesen. More surprised at what those watches cost now. Getting old sucks.
 
#52 ·
Older wind up and auto watches are one of my weaknesses. Seiko, Hamilton, marathon, Alpina, all have some good prospects. A good hard look at pawn shops can met a decent one for not much. I even snared a decent Omega Auto for around $250.

I wore a wind up on 10 deployments through the years. It started with a Hamilton Khaki wind up. There were several others over the years, but my last deployment I wore a Hamilton khaki auto.
 
#71 ·
Same here. For a while there I was contemplating getting one of those triple sensor, solar powered wrist computers. Then I asked myself "watch or steaks?"

Steaks won. To be honest I find it difficult to not know where north is. Barometer? Not necessary, general education about the weather and current conditions do me well enough.

Altimeter? Hmm, good topo map works well and knowing your AO, don't need one.

I don't consider myself anything special, but as someone who considers themselves self reliant and such I don't find it necessary to have anything special.

Heck I don't expect the following
"I was drugged and left for dead in Mexico - and all I got was this stupid T-shirt".
 
#55 ·
Casio g-shock atomic solar MTG-900 in stainless steel. I've had two over the span of about 20 years, best watches I've ever owned. Looks classy enough to wear anywhere, but still has that cool factor. I get compliments all the time on it.

Prices vary from $90-100.
 
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