Casio's $80,000 Sapphire G-Shock Is Its Priciest Watch Ever

Casio has priced a new sapphire-crystal G-Shock at $80,000, making the MRG-D5000 the most expensive watch the company has ever sold, Wired reported. Only 20 units will be built, putting a watch from a brand known for sub-$90 digital timepieces in the same bracket as a Patek Philippe or a Porsche Macan, according to the outlet's comparison.

How much does the new sapphire G-Shock cost, and how many exist?

The MRG-D5000 is the flagship of a three-watch line Casio calls the "Blue Rose Project," Wired reported. Casio will produce 20 examples of the MRG-D5000 at $80,000 each. Two lower-priced companion models round out the collection: the MRG-B5000SA-2 at $9,500, and the GMW-B5000SB-1A at $850, Wired reported. The spread — from $850 to $80,000 inside one collection — is itself notable for a company whose broader catalog includes watches that sell for under $90, per Wired.

When did Casio first show a sapphire G-Shock, and why wasn't it sold?

The idea traces to November 9, 2017, when G-Shock creator Kikuo Ibe displayed three sapphire-crystal prototypes — clear, ruby and sapphire blue — at the G-Shock 35th Anniversary Celebration at Madison Square Garden, Wired reported. Each prototype reportedly took over a month to machine because sapphire was so difficult to work with at the time. Despite carrying Tough Solar power and Multiband 6 radio timekeeping, the prototypes could not pass G-Shock's shock-resistance standards and were never sold, functioning instead as a demonstration of engineering ambition, according to Wired.

What changed between the 2017 prototype and the 2026 MRG-D5000?

Casio describes the new watch as the result of an "eight-year project," timing that lines up with the years following the 2017 Madison Square Garden unveiling, Wired reported. The 2017 prototypes needed metal bracing to hold their crystal sections together, which Wired noted is part of why they failed toughness testing. The MRG-D5000, by contrast, is a fully functional G-Shock. Casio's MR-G engineering team found that splitting the outer case into multiple interacting components dispersed impact more effectively than a single-piece shell, a technique first used on the titanium MRG-B5000 in 2022 and now reengineered for sapphire, according to Wired.

How does the sapphire case achieve G-Shock's toughness standard?

Casio calls the approach the "Multi-Guard Structure." The company told Wired the design draws on traditional Japanese timber-frame joinery, using interlocking pieces rather than concentrating stress around screw holes or other features that could crack brittle crystal.

"Multi-Guard Structure" — Casio's term for an interlocking, multi-piece case built to disperse impact away from stress points, adapted from traditional Japanese timber-frame joinery, Wired reported.

The bezel and outer case of the MRG-D5000 are machined entirely from blue sapphire crystal ingots that are grown over several months before cutting, according to Wired. The brand's own prior sapphire attempt in 2017 could not meet the shock-resistance bar; Wired's reporting indicates the multi-piece construction is the specific engineering change credited with closing that gap in 2026.

What other watches are in the Blue Rose Project collection?

Casio named the line after the blue rose, which does not occur in nature and is used by the company as a symbol of "making the impossible possible," Wired reported. Alongside the $80,000 MRG-D5000, the collection includes the $9,500 MRG-B5000SA-2 and the $850 GMW-B5000SB-1A, giving buyers sapphire-adjacent design at sharply different price points within the same release, per Wired.

What materials and finishing details set the MRG-D5000 apart?

Unlike the 2017 concept watches, the MRG-D5000 does not pair its sapphire case with a matching sapphire strap. Wired reported the production watch instead uses a rubber strap molded with a raised brick pattern that echoes the texture on the watch face. Casio finished the MR-G mark, the words "Shock Resist" and other dial lettering in 24-carat gold, according to Wired's reporting.

Taken together, the timeline Wired laid out runs from a non-sellable 2017 show prototype, through a 2022 titanium case redesign that proved the multi-piece impact-dispersal concept, to a 2026 production sapphire watch that Casio says finally clears G-Shock's own durability bar — at a price the brand itself calls a departure from its budget reputation.

Wired's full report, including additional images of the watch, is available at wired.com.