UNION Brings Pan-African Flag Colors to New G-SHOCK Watch

Shortly after announcing the enthusiast-dubbed "CasioNaut" watch, Casio has unveiled a new G-SHOCK model and collaboration with Chris Gibbs and his UNION Los Angeles team.

The new DW-5600RBG is based on the DW-5600 and features an octagonal case that pays homage to the very first G-SHOCK (DW-5000C).

For the project's inaugural launch, Gibbs and company has drawn inspiration from Marcus Garvey's Pan-African ideology, which ultimately inspired David Hammons to develop the African-American Flag in 1990. An official press release for the UNION x Casio G-SHOCK DW-5600RBG doesn't make any mention of Hammons nor his design, but the treatment applied to the watch is unmistakably the artist's.

In any case, the bold red, rich green, and black base rooted in Garvey's Pan-African flag are a cultural identifier for Gibbs on a personal level and UNION as a business. Flag-inspired details are printed onto the watch's face, extending onto the LCD backlight to create a striking look. UNION's Frontman logo (which captures Sidney Poitier as Walter Lee Younger in the 1961 film adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun) appears on the digital screen when the LCD light is on, and is also engraved on the back of the case.

Gibbs also brings red, green, and black touches to the G-SHOCK's three band loops.

The special-edition watch is priced at $165 and arrives in custom packaging.