[Baby-G Review] MSG-400G-1A — beauty and strength in one case

Not often you can see an overview of women’s watches on our blog. And this is not because of the ignorance of the female half about the existence of such, and not even because of the weak interest of girls in watches as an accessory, but rather because of the obvious numerical superiority of male models. Everything seems to be logical here – the stronger sex has G-Shock, Edifice, ProTrek, Outgear, and these are only top-of-the-line ones. And what does the weak have? Only Baby-G and Sheen can be fully named, and the latter are not very popular on our continent [more in Asia]. Maybe that’s why the Casio decided to refresh their rather old, but interesting G-MS line – a kind of analogue of the well-known G-Steel. And today I have just one of the brightest representatives of this series on my review – MSG-400G-1A1ER.

The name “G-Ms” hints at such an offshoot from the main direction of Baby-G towards the predominance of metal in the watch case. Although the manufacturer does not say this officially, I personally consider the MSG series to be a compromise between the classic durability of the Baby-G and the elegance of the Sheen line. For a modern lady, just a sporty image and impact resistance are no longer enough – give her much sophistication.

It seems that this time the Japanese have come close to the ideal size of women’s watches with shockproof characteristics – 45.6 × 41 × 13.5 mm. Agree, less is simply nowhere else. No, you can certainly sacrifice security or a useful place on the dial, but we don’t want Casio products to turn into cheap Chinese? In the near future, the manufacturer is unlikely to abandon its philosophy [talking about the G-Shock and Baby-G lines] – durability above all.

The case is half metal and half polyurethane. It is a combination of materials of different density and other physical characteristics that guarantees the reliability of the case. Although, if we are talking about women’s watches, then the girls pay more attention precisely to the appearance, so the metal insert was worked out at the highest level – a symmetrical shape, clear edges, a matte finish on top and a nice gloss on the sides. In favor of elegance is its color – pink gold, if not mistaken. The steel part itself, apparently, is solid and visually separated only by the fastening of the strap.

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The strap mount seemed to me very convenient and practical. If in standard models for a horizontal position [when the dial looks up] the watch had to be bent very much, then here is a completely different principle. Both parts of the strap have a special hole at the ends, exactly repeating the size of the mount itself. When you bend the strap, this mount clearly enters the hole in the strap, thereby preventing unnecessary bends. The screws holding the pins fit well into the overall style of the case and are not recessed into polyurethane – a trifle, but it is also striking.

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The bezel is polyurethane [to absorb direct blows], but the ring located under it is apparently steel [I could be wrong]. Even despite the impressive thickness of the bezel [exactly 3 mm], the case does not seem bulky at all. If you remove it, yes, the watch will become even thinner, but the glass will remain without any protection.

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I really liked the strap – thin, flexible, durable and light. At the end of the strap there is a special tubercle for more reliable fixation in the holder. He doesn’t interfere with clocks – you need to put a little pressure on him. The recesses on the inside of the strap are apparently made to better fit the wrist [or maybe just a design decision].

The clasp and the strap holder are made of steel, and the holder even has an engraving “G-MS” – so as not to forget about the difference from the classic Baby-G.

In addition to the task of reducing the dimensions of the case, the task of reducing the weight of the watch, which the Japanese coped with a bang, is also relevant. Despite the presence of metal, the MSG-400 is almost not felt on the wrist, and for girls this is important [few people like to wear a “cobblestone” on their hand].

The dial is reminiscent of the GA-110 and BA-110 series – the same hour markers, the same multilayer structure and very similar hands. Thanks to the golden hour markers, the readability of the analogue part of the dial does not raise questions. What can not be said about the digital display – all the same, small numbers and letters on the inversion display are also not quite clear. At night, the Super Illuminator saves the situation only partially – the LED is weak, even the arrows with marks are difficult to see, not to mention the electronic window. The arrows have a luminescent coating, but there is not much sense from it. Although all this is my personal opinion, maybe someone will not notice such subtleties.

A tiny indicator [at the 1 o’clock position next to the inscription “LT in the form of one block on a digital display shows the status of auto-backlight.

“Specifications of MSG-400”]

• Case / bezel material: Resin / Stainless steel
• Resin Band
• Neobrite
• Shock Resistant
• Mineral Glass
• 100-meter water resistance

• LED light (Super Illuminator)
  Auto light switch, selectable illumination duration (1.5 seconds or 3 seconds), afterglow
• World time
  31 time zones (48 cities + coordinated universal time), daylight saving on/off, Home city/World time city swapping
• 1/100-second stopwatch
  Measuring capacity: 59’59.99”
  Measuring modes: Elapsed time, split time, 1st-2nd place times
• Countdown timer
  Measuring unit: 1 second
  Countdown range: 60 minutes
  Countdown start time setting range: 1 to 60 minutes (1-minute increments)
• 5 daily alarms
• Hourly time signal
• Hand shift feature (Hands move out of the way to provide an unobstructed view of digital display contents)
• Full auto-calendar (to year 2099)
• 12/24-hour format
• Button operation tone on/off
• Regular timekeeping
  Analog: 2 hands (hour, minute (hand moves every 20 seconds)), 1 dial (world time hour and minute)
  Digital: Hour, minute, second, pm, month, date, day
• Accuracy: ±15 seconds per month
• Approx. battery life: 2 years on SR726W × 2 Size of case : 45.6×41×13.5mm
• Total weight : 42g

At 9 o’clock there is a small window with two hands, it is easy to guess – this is a time display in another time zone. Probably convenient for frequent trips to the same place, although my wife called the function useless [I will not argue on this issue])).

I was pleased with the ability to move the arrows to the neutral position [Hands Shift] so that they do not interfere with reading information from the digital display. At the 2 o’clock position there is even a small indicator in the form of a triangle, which blinks during the activation of this function.

The basic set of features has remained unchanged – a stopwatch for 60 minutes with an accuracy of 1/100 second, a timer for one hour, five independent alarms, world clock and auto calendar. Water resistance is standard for this type of watch – 100 meters [you can swim and dive]. The MSG-400 runs on two batteries [one separately for backlighting], and their life is 2 years.

Conclusion

MSG-400G-1A1 is first of all a watch with its own unique image, combining strength characteristics and sophisticated appearance. Dimensions and weight have been reduced to the minimum that modern materials can now afford. Not the last role is played by an interesting strap fastening, which prevents its bends. In this scenario, functionality goes to the background, but how many girls prefer Baby-G because of their capabilities?

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Firstly published, but we carefully translated into English.