Hands-On: G-SHOCK’s Hidden Glow Vol. 2 Has Lumed Dials for Nighttime Visibility

This might very well be the year of the lume for Casio. Just a couple of weeks ago, Casio gave its Pro Trek line a phosphorescent treatment. But a few months back, its sub-brand G-SHOCK unveiled the Hidden Glow Series, featuring glowing dials on several of the brand’s most popular models. 

Now, G-SHOCK is back again with Vol. 2 of its Hidden Glow Series, but has made some welcomed improvements on both the overall aesthetics of the watches and the glow-in-the-dark effect itself. We were fortunate enough to get hands-on with the trio of models — the GA700HDS-7A, GA2100HDS-7A, and DW6900HDS-7 — to see what really makes them so special.

Spec Sheet

A worthy sequel to its predecessor, the Hidden Glow Series Vol. 2 swaps the darker aesthetics of the previous release with a mostly-white colorway. While the former was designed so their dark gray cases and bands disappeared in the glow of the dials, this follow-up allows for the lighter watch elements to almost interact with the luminescent glow. 

The glow itself comes from phosphorescent resin, precluding the need for a backlight at night — but G-SHOCK has noted that the glow may vary depending on the watches exposure to light. Otherwise, you can still use the Super Illuminator LED to light the dial, which is manually activated by a button on all three watches.

The first Hidden Glow release featured a bright green color as its glow-in-the-dark effect, which we noticed blended in a bit too much with the green lume on the handsets. But this follow-up opts for a blue glow instead, inspired by bio-luminescent plankton, which really pops against the green Neo-brite lume treatment on the hands. This won’t make much of a difference for the 6900, which is all digital, but the ana-dig 2100 and 700 models (meaning they have both analog and digital displays for telling the time) now have some excellent dial depth at nighttime. However, in daylight, the monochromatic white across the dial (with blue accents) is still delightfully intact.

All three watches feature the aforementioned summer seas-inspired white case, bezel, and band made of a resin material (bio-resin in the case of the 2100) and have blue elements all throughout. If you’re going for more of a whiteout look, the blue on the 2100 is very sparse, limited to just the handset and day indicator. The blue is much more present on the 700 and 6900, featured on the Super Illuminator LED buttons and around the outer edges of the dials. These might be better if you’re trying to color-match your attire.

Spec-wise, these timepieces don’t differ much at all from past iterations. This means the same case sizes as the standard editions, along with the same 3- to 5-year battery life and functionality. And of course, all three boast incredible shock resistance and 200m of water resistance, so you can take them virtually anywhere. 

Appealing to the everyday adventurer who prefers serious wrist presence, the 700 is the largest of the bunch, measuring a monstrous 53.4mm across with a 57.5mm lug-to-lug and 18.5mm thickness. But it still just weighs about 2.6oz; despite the size, it feels great on the wrist, especially after wearing it all day. 

Packed with features such as a stopwatch, a world timer, and up to 5 alarms, the 700 has the large dial to help you benefit from all of this. I love the Hand Shift feature, which briefly moves the hands out of the way so you can read the digital information. There’s also superb visualization of the countdown seconds, where each “10” unit (up to 60) gets ten tick marks. Likewise, it’s always obvious which setting you’re in based on the dedicated mode indicator graph. The digital time is also clear as day across the bottom of the screen, unlike the digital screen on the 2100, which might be too small for some people.

Speaking of the 2100, it’s arguably G-SHOCK’s most versatile model, with a refined look, sporty octagonal bezel design, and minimal digital features. However, this streamlined look has always appealed to me, and is possibly at its most stunning here in all-white. Measuring a modest 45.4mm across with a 48.5mm lug-to-lug and 11.8mm thickness, it also has the stopwatch, world timer, and 5 alarms like the 700, and benefits from the useful Hand Shift function as well. Of the three watches, this was the most comfortable on my wrist, thanks in part to it weighing about an ounce less than the other two.

If you want something a bit more sporty and retro-inspired, the purely-digital 6900 is a solid choice. I was using this model the most when accessorizing with my blue-heavy wardrobe since this color pops the best off of its white base. I also prefer the more nostalgic aesthetic and decidedly playful appeal, while the phosphorescent resin effect looked the most stunning on this one due to the way the darker digital elements balanced the blue glow at night. On the other hand, the 6900 has the fewest features — but that doesn’t mean it’s barebones. You still get the stopwatch, a multi-function alarm that flashes when it’s going off, and a full auto calendar. Measuring a deceptively large 50mm with a 53.2mm lug-to-lug and 18.7mm in thickness, the 6900 is still somehow almost as heavy as the larger 700, but feels more compact on the wrist thanks to the favorable dimensions.

It’s funny how, despite being a watchmaking bellwether in terms of style and tech, G-SHOCK is still a benchmark for toughness. All three of these models feel great on the wrist and provide some serious presence that adds to whatever you’re wearing. But they’re also superb choices for hiking and swimming. While the phosphorescent resin brings a gorgeous nighttime effect, the trio of Hidden Glow watches would be go-to timepieces anyway. This time around, the Casio sub-brand focused on pleasing visual aesthetics regardless of the glow-in-the-dark party trick, and even improved upon that aspect as well with more nuanced color instead of an all-green display. Whichever you choose — 700, 2100, or 6900 — you really can’t go wrong.

Priced at just $110 for each model, the Hidden Glow Series Vol. 2 is now available from Casio’s G-SHOCK store.

Recap

G-SHOCK Hidden Glow Series Vol. 2

G-SHOCK made the perfect summertime watches with its Hidden Glow Series Vol. 2, featuring phosphorescent dials that glow blue at nighttime. These are available in the 700, 2100, and 6900 series models.

Learn More: G-SHOCK