GAC-2500 G-Shock's £110 all-analogue cushion case

What is new about the GAC-2500?

The GAC-2500 belongs to the 2500 Series, which Casio Europe announced on 22 October 2026. T3 reports a UK release date of 7 November. It is the resin entry point to a range of nine watches; the metal-clad GMC-2500 and the bracelet GMC-2500D sit above it. Casio says the design draws on the 1983 DW-5000C, the original G-Shock, but this time the case wraps an analogue dial instead of a digital screen.

That is the headline. Most G-Shocks either hide a small LCD among the hands or are fully digital. Here there is no screen at all. The dial carries hour and minute hands, a small seconds sub-dial at 9 o'clock and what Casio calls a Multi-Mission Date window at 3 o'clock: a three-digit rolling date that can also show elapsed stopwatch minutes and calendar settings. On the black GAC-2500-1A the date wheel is colour-matched to the case, which WatchGecko singles out as a neater finish than the grey wheel on the steel models.

The other novelty is the minute hand. Notebookcheck and Oracle of Time both describe it as held magnetically, so a hard knock can shift it briefly before it settles back into place. Casio calls this the Shock Release Hand. It is a clever answer to the old problem of analogue hands taking damage in a drop.

Online, the series has picked up the nickname "CasioNaut" because of the rounded, shouldered case. That is fan shorthand, not Casio's description.

How big is it, and how will it wear?

Casio quotes 46.7 x 44.5 x 12.7 mm and 47 g. In practice that means a case about 44.5 mm wide, under 47 mm from top to bottom, and fairly thick at 12.7 mm. The short height is the useful number: it is shorter than the GA-2100's 48.5 mm, so the watch should sit within the width of most wrists from about 16 cm upwards. WatchGecko makes the same point, noting that the 2500 Series wears better than the GA-2100 despite being slightly thicker.

At 47 g on a bio-based resin strap, it is very light. The strap fits wrists from 145 to 215 mm, according to Casio. If you have a slim wrist under 16 cm, the width may still look chunky; it is a G-Shock, after all.

What movement does it use, and how accurate is it?

It runs on quartz, module 5757 according to G-Central, powered by a CR1025 battery. Casio rates accuracy at plus or minus 15 seconds a month and battery life at about two years. There is a Second Hand Sleep function that stops the small seconds hand to save power; G-Central reports this stretches battery life to about five years, though Casio's UK page gives only the two-year figure.

Functions are deliberately simple: a full auto-calendar to 2099, a 1-second stopwatch that counts to 29 minutes 59 seconds, hand shift and an amber LED light with afterglow. There is no alarm, no countdown timer, no world time, no solar charging and no Bluetooth.

How well is it built?

• Water resistance: 200 m, so swimming and snorkelling are fine.
• Shock resistance: full G-Shock construction, with the magnetic minute hand as extra protection.
• Crystal: mineral glass, which is tougher than acrylic but scratches more easily than sapphire.
• Case and strap: resin and bio-based resin.
• Lume: Neobrite on the hands, plus the amber LED.

It is assembled in Thailand, according to Casio's UK listing.

Is it good value against its rivals?

The UK RRP is £110, the figure T3 published at launch and the regular price at UK authorised retailers. The obvious comparison is Casio's own GA-2100, which WatchGecko lists from £99 in resin. That watch gives you an alarm, a timer, world time and a three-year battery for less money, but it splits the dial between hands and a small LCD. The GAC-2500 asks roughly £11 more for a cleaner, fully analogue face, the rolling date and the magnetic hand.

If you want metal, the GMC-2500 starts at about £230 with a metal-clad bezel and the GMC-2500D bracelet model is about £300, per T3. The resin version keeps the look for well under half of that.

What is the catch?

Features. For a G-Shock at £110 it does surprisingly little: WatchGecko lists the missing alarm, timer, world time, Bluetooth and solar as its main reservations. You also get mineral glass rather than sapphire, a 12.7 mm case that will not slide under a tight cuff, and a battery to replace every couple of years unless you use the sleep mode.

It is also brand new. The watch only reached UK shops in November 2026, so there is no meaningful owner feedback yet on how the magnetic hand or the date wheel hold up over months of use.

“A G-Shock with nothing but hands, a rolling date and a minute hand that shrugs off knocks.”