gold defender iii : dw-056gm-9jf – azure dragon of the east

built around the classic dw-5600, the gold defender dw-056gm-9jf offer very subtle design details that may not make its membership in the series obvious.

unlike certain collaboration models and special editions that try to milk the watch’s limited real estate such as plastering the straps with logos/prints or over-elaborate designs on the display, the dw-056gm retains much of the visual elements of the basic dw-5600.

a thin yellow thin bordering the edge of the “dial” (do we call the face of digital watches a dial?) is followed by a second thicker border of the same colour.

the closest thing to gold on the watch is probably the lcd display that possess a slight gold/yellow tinge rather than the standard clear display. the bezel and straps are a standard black though the straps are of a different variety from the standard dw-5600. the strap retainer is also double-holed on the reverse side. lastly, the buckle is slightly bigger as well.

and of course the presence of the defender in question. in this case, the dw-056gm is badged as the azure dragon of the east. the dragon greets you when the backlight is activated, and a small illustration of the dragon in profile is printed on one of the straps.

extracted from wikipedia:

“The Azure Dragon is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It is sometimes called the Azure Dragon of the East (東方青龍 / 东方青龙 / Dōng Fāng Qīng Lóng.

In Japan, the Azure Dragon (Seiryuu) is one of the four guardian spirits of cities and is said to protect the city of Kyoto on the east. The west is protected by the White Tiger, the north is protected by the Black Tortoise, the south is protected by the Vermilion Bird, and the center is protected by the Yellow Dragon.”

~ by sgshock on June 4, 2009.