The new lunar year is upon us and you know what this means. This means merchandise ushering in the new Chinese zodiac animal is starting to enter the market. Like the year before and in the past few years, Casio is commemorating the new zodiac animal with the Casio G-Shock “Dragon Rising Over The Four Seas” (transliteration: long teng si hai) collection.
In case you don’t know, the Chinese zodiac animal Rabbit will make way for the zodiac animal Dragon on February 10, 2024. There are two models in this collection, namely “Golden Armor Divine Dragon” (transliteration: jin jia shen long) MTG-B3000CXD-9A, and “Pure Blue Dragon” (transliteration: chi zi qing long) GA-110CDY24-4A.
The former is a black and gold MTG-B3000 wristwatch featuring a metal bezel made of layered composite stainless steel and laser engraved with a dragon scale pattern. As far as the dragon element goes, the scales are the only telltale sign of its nod to the Year of the Dragon.
Around the back, though, the case boasts an engraved image of an abstract dragon by China’s renowned seal carving master and Vice President of the Xiling Seal Carving Society Han Tianheng.
The MTG-B3000CXD-9A is presented in a limited gift box that includes a retro gold transfer bead rope bracelet by MONOLOGUE [CH] featuring a dragon head sculpt.
Meanwhile, the GA-110CDY24-4A is red with a blue accent timepiece based on the GA-110. The analog/digital watch’s spokes as well as the inner dial are in baby blue, while the indices are in dark blue (indigo, maybe?). The buttons are in baby blue too which offers a nice contrast against the predominantly red wristwatch.
The watch band features a graphic of a dragon soaring through the clouds, presented in a calligraphy style. The clouds are in the same baby blue while the abstract dragon is a darker shade of blue (again, indigo, maybe?). Strangely, there is no mention of the case back.
So I am guessing there’s nothing significant around the back? Anyhoo, rounding up the dragon-themed design is a calligraphy of the word “dragon” in Chinese and red on the bridge/spoke at 3 o’clock. The GA-110CDY24-4A comes in unique packaging with a drawer-style opening complete with a tiny drawer pull.
The package does not end at the box. It comes with a transparent shopping back with red handles and features light and dark blue graphics of a dragon soaring amongst the clouds on both sides.
The Casio G-Shock “Dragon Rising Over The Four Seas” collection is set to be released in China this month (November) with the MTG-B3000CXD-9A going for 8,088 yuan [CH] (approx. US$1,110) and the GA-110CDY24-4A, 1,290 yuan [CH] (about US$177).
Images: Casio [CN].
Hat tip: G-Central.
