I just received this watch and have been using it daily. The packaging was excellent, the shipping time was longer than expected due to the inclement weather back East.

My present Casio, the JC-30 has been in service for several years and is finally showing wear and tear. I hope this new Casio watch lasts as many years as the JC-30.

The GWM850-1CR is a sleeker Casio G Shock model than many of the other Casio G Shocks on the market today. It is not as extreme in the height, width and overall size of the watch. It has a sleek and solid appearence and will not stand out on the wrist.

The bezel is made of a clean, smooth appearing stainless steel and will also provide damage protection from everyday use.

The face of the watch is a light shade of gray, with black colored data such as the day, date and time. The face of the watch has a clean and uncluttered appearance with the top window displaying the day and the date. The day and the date is hard to read, the letters and digits are very small. Unless you have excellent eye sight or glasses, this could be a slight problem. This is the only complaint I have about this watch. The top window also displays world time when this feature is activated.

The bottom window displays the horizional battery charge, the solar battery strength, snooze, alarm, sig alerts, solar cell and the time. The numbers are easy to read and the bottom window is well designed.

Directly above the watch data is a textured dark gray colored front with two windows that is both functional and gives the watch a better appearance and quality than you would expect from a watch at this price point.

The four buttons A,B,C,D are well placed and have a slight elevated protective perimeter from the body of the watch so the buttons can not be pressed inadvertently. It takes a bit of pressure to activate the button. Button L, located at the botton center of the watch will provide back light to the watch in low light conditions. The back light is adequate, but not really bright.

The wrist band is made of a textured resin material with duel clasps. The wrist band appears to be molded or structured around the watch and it gives a good looking appearance. I'm hoping that the wrist band is made of a strong and long lasting resin. It is not known how difficult it will be to replace the wrist band when it wears out.

This watch has many features, such as atomic time keeping, solar power, standard or military time format,(12/24) world time, stop watch, count down timer, rally feature, multiple alarms, snooze, hour beeper and auto (EL) back light. The audible alerts are not loud, rather the sound is soft and muted. The watch also has a automatic power saver shutdown in darkness. This feature saves power during non-operation.

The watch also comes with an impressive 119 page manual that provides detailed information about the watch features, functions and how to operate the watch.

Unless you are a rocket scientist or a brain surgeon, it will take a little time and a little effort to understand the methods and procedures to operate all the features:)

Pros: Solar powered, atomic timekeeping, sleek smooth appearing stainless steel bezel and packed with many features. Great watch at price point and well worth the price.

Cons: The top window that displays the font/lettering/numbers for the day and date are small to read.

Conclusion: All in all, this is a well designed watch with a standard size and sleeker design. Also, it is a great watch for the price point.

Update: As of March, 2015, I have owned this watch for over five years and it has performed perfectly.

I wear it everyday and the watch takes significant use and impacts in the work environment. Due to the great construction materials, the watch and the resin wrist band have held up extremely well. There have been no defects in construction materials and the performance of the watch.

I'm very pleased with the quality and features of this watch.

Jon Green