Casio G-Shock GW-200TC-3V Frogman

I was reminded recently that 61 years ago today Thor Heyerdahl and his crew started their voyage to prove Heyerdahl's theory that ancient South Americans could have sailed to and traded with Polynesia. Their trip covered over 4000 miles and took 101 days on a very primitive sailing raft named the Kon-Tiki. What does this have to do with watches? Well, because Heyerdahl was friends with former Eterna boss Dr. Rudolf Schild-Comtesse, he and his team wore Eterna watches on their historic journey. And because their journey was so well publicized (Thor Heyerdahl's book about it was translated into 66 languages) in 1958 Eterna decided to make a watch called the KonTiki and has been making various models with this moniker ever since. I don't have any pictures of the watches that Heyerdahl or his crew wore, nor the very first KonTikis, but I assume both were similar to this. What does this have to do with the watch I'm wearing today? On the surface, nothing, but I unfortunately don't own an Eterna (either an older KonTiki Super or newer Israeli Defense Force-issued one would suit me just fine, thanks) nor do I have any real "sports watches" from the 1940s or 1950s. So, letting my mind wander a bit, I thought "What would Thor Heyerdahl wear if he was taking his trip today?" His personal associations notwithstanding, I don't know why he wouldn't wear a G-Shock, especially a Frogman like this, which is not only durable, but powered by the sun as well. Perhaps a Wademan, with its compass, or a Casio Pathfinder with a whole slew of functions would also be suitable, but one would think he would have more sensitive and practical navigation gear as well as GPS so having these functions in a watch would probably be redundant. Of course, the cynical side of me can see Heyerdahl and his crew being sponsored by Corum, Ulysse-Nardin, Rolex or any number of other high-end sailing watch manufacturers, making the most practical choice somewhat academic. So, with all that being said, today's Frogman is functionally the same as my red-strapped Triple Crown of Surfing Frogman but tends to be a little more understated.

Casio G-Shock GW-200TC-4V Frogman

To brighten things up on this dreary Wednesday morning, I decided to wear my red and black "Triple Crown of Surfing" Frogman. It's a big watch but quite comfortable due to the wide strap and offset face. While it appears to be mostly plastic, the actual case is highly polished titanium with a plastic covering. It's solar powered and has all the typical digital watch functions plus a number that are unique to the Frogman series. The "Multi Site Memory" comes pre-programmed with time zones of popular scuba diving sites like Tahiti, Galapagos Islands and Cayman Islands to name a few. You can also program your own locations and time zones. There is an ID entry function that lets you store your blood type, passport numbers and the like, and a dive time log that I've never bothered to figure out since I don't scuba dive. It's an impressive watch, not just for its physical presence but also for the impressive array of features. They have become very collectible in recent years and new Frogman models tend to sell out at retailers fairly quickly. I have a number of them and they'll all make their way to this blog eventually. (I added some new photos to Monday's post so feel free to check them out.)