With a name inspired by military divers, the original 1993 Frogman was built to satisfy the needs of serious divers in demanding underwater operations. Thirty years later, the MRG-BF1000R-1A continues the Frogman tradition of durability and rugged reliability with a sense of style and the latest leaps in technology.

This 200-meter diver sports the original’s iconic asymmetrical resin-molded design but is crafted of high-grade titanium for comfort, durability and corrosion resistance. The beefy, multisurface bezel and colorful dial accents catch the light at any angle, making for a glittering yet masculine piece of eye candy. The sapphire-crystal screw-lock case back features a vapor-blue deposition and an engraved image of the original, first-generation Frogman character.

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Even more functional than it is fashionable, this rugged watch runs on solar power and can automatically correct the time using radio signals or a Bluetooth connection to a smartphone. The featurerich dial shows 24-hour time and an alternate time zone. The right-hand subdial indicates which of the watch’s myriad modes is currently active. It includes a stopwatch, countdown timer, daily alarm, dive mode and a tide tracker.

All functions, except for the tide tracker, can be set and operated fully from either the Casio app or the watch’s four-button operation and screw-down crown.

The tide tracker mode provides the local time and tide info for a user-specified port. It was especially useful while conducting a series of dives at Blue Heron Bridge in Riviera Beach, Florida, a site where visibility is heavily dependent on the tides. The segmented tidal graphic on the subdial is intuitive and easy to read, allowing for a reliable, easily accessible tide reference in the field.

G-Shock Mr-G Frogman GMRG-BF1000R-1A

MSRP $5,000

Movement Solar-powered quartz movement

Power Reserve Approximately 5 months

Water Resistance 200 meters/660 feet

Case 56 mm

Material Titanium with deep-layer hardening and DLC coating, Dura Soft fluoro rubber strap

Crystal Spherical sapphire with anti-reflective coating

Website gshock.casio.com

This watch doesn’t have a rotating elapsed timing bezel. Instead, dive mode tracks up to two hours of dive time using the primary hour, minute and second hands, while time-of-day is displayed on the alternate time zone subdial. It can also track the diver’s surface interval. The watch will create a dive log for each session, which includes start and stop times, duration of dive/surface times,and location information. The watch can store 30 onboard logs, which can be viewed and downloaded via the Casio app. I didn’t need to use it during my shallow, sunlit dives, but there is also a builtin LED light that can be used to illuminate any secondary data that isn’t accompanied by luminous markers.

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Overall, Mr-G Frogman is a capable,feature-rich dive watch whose high-end styling gives it an air of sophistication that is sure to garner attention on the dive boat or during everyday wear. It remains true to its roots as a rugged, reliable tool watch built for extreme conditions and is packed with functionality that will have gear heads pouring over the manual with glee.

A SITE TO BEHOLD

Frequented by frogmen and frogfish alike, Blue Heron Bridge is one of the most popular and most accessible shore dives in the continental United States. The site sits under its namesake bridge in Riviera Beach, Florida, and is accessed via the beach at Phil Foster Park. Parking and entry are free. About 24 feet at its deepest,the site’s sandy bottom harbors an endless variety of smaller marine life, including mantis shrimp, sea robins, nudibranchs, octopuses and more. Larger animals, like sharks, rays and even manatees, are also seen here. Diving is done during the two-hour window straddling high tide for optimal visibility. A dive flag is required.