John Mayer’s G-SHOCK watch is inspired by the ‘80s Casio SK-5 sampling keyboard he played as a child

He’s used to playing G strings, but now guitar dreamboat and renowned timepiece enthusiast John Mayer has his own signature Casio G-SHOCK watch. What’s more, in a nostalgic move, this new piece of wrist furniture is inspired by the Casio SK-5 sampling keyboard that Mayer owned as a child.

The watch is a collaboration with horology specialist Hodinkee, and was designed by Mayer himself. It’s based on the iconic Casio G-SHOCK 6900, which was originally released in 1995, and mirrors the colour scheme of the SK-5.

“When Casio approached me about the possibility of working together on a G-SHOCK, it actually timed out really well,” says John Mayer, with pun possibly intended. “I had already been pretty deep into wearing the 'Mudmaster' models, and something felt cosmically right about a G-SHOCK being the first watch collab I’ve ever done.

“Casio keyboards came to mind as much as the watches did. Then I remembered how important the Casiotone SK-5 was in my life, and it got exciting really fast. It’s the perfect bridge between my double life as a musician and watch enthusiast."

In an interview with Hodinkee, Mayer says that he started out by designing the watch in Photoshop, and ultimately Pantone-matched the colour of the plastic on his SK-5. The watch measures 53.2mm in diameter, is 16.3mm thick and holds a Japanese-made quartz movement. Functions include a 24-hour clock, a 1/100th stopwatch, a 24-hour countdown timer, a multi-functional alarm, flash alert, and EL backlight.

So, it’s a ‘90s watch inspired by an ‘80s keyboard, updated for the 21st century. If it were a song, Mayer says: “It would have to be cool and future-leaning. And driving and anthemic. Power of Love, by Huey Lewis? That feels right.”

You can find out more and order the Casio G-SHOCK Ref. 6900 by John Mayer on the Hodinkee website. It costs $180.