Uchikura & Co., LLC

Kikuo Ibe: The Engineer Who Refused to Let a Watch Break
 
When people think of revolutionary inventions, they often imagine creating something entirely new. Kikuo Ibe took a different approach. He simply asked:

 

"Why does a watch have to break when you drop it?"

 

In 1981, Ibe, an engineer at Casio, accidentally dropped and shattered a pocket watch that had been given to him by his father. That moment inspired him to create a watch that could survive almost any impact.

 

Many believed it was impossible.

 

Instead of giving up, Ibe and his small team spent years experimenting. They reportedly tested more than 200 prototypes, even dropping them from the windows of Casio's research building to learn how they failed. Through constant trial and error, they developed a hollow internal structure that allowed the watch module to "float" inside the case, absorbing shocks rather than transmitting them directly to the movement.

 

The result was the G-SHOCK, introduced in 1983.

 

Ibe designed it around the famous "Triple 10" concept:

 

Survive a 10-meter drop
Resist 10-bar (100-meter) water pressure
Provide a 10-year battery life
At the time, many people questioned whether there was a market for such a rugged watch. Today, G-SHOCK has become one of the world's most recognizable watch brands, trusted by military personnel, police officers, firefighters, athletes, adventurers, and millions of everyday users.

 

Kikuo Ibe's story is a reminder that innovation often begins with a simple question and the determination to solve a problem others accept as inevitable.

 

Sometimes the greatest inventions don't create a new need—they eliminate an old frustration.