Hodinkee, the leading destination for all things watches and horology, has collaborated with musical artist Ed Sheeran and continued partners, G-SHOCK to announce the G-SHOCK Ref. 6900 – Subtract By Ed Sheeran For Hodinkee.
Across 2020, 2021, and 2022, Hodinkee launched a trio of G-SHOCK watches designed in partnership with musician John Mayer, each selling out in a matter of minutes. As a follow-up to the three-part collaboration, Hodinkee and John Mayer are back with a new project that expands upon the legacy created by Mayer and paves the path for new individuals to design their own G-SHOCK collaboration with Hodinkee. The project allows individuals to step outside of their traditional creative spaces to design an artist-inspired collaboration with G-SHOCK and Hodinkee, curated by John Mayer. Each collaborator is connected to Mayer via music, design, and, of course, watches. Throughout the remainder of 2023, Hodinkee and G-SHOCK will launch three new artist collaborations that will be available for purchase in the Hodinkee Shop.
Up first is the G-SHOCK Ref. 6900 – Subtract By Ed Sheeran. Over the past few months, Ed Sheeran has been spotted wearing a mysterious yellow G-SHOCK while on tour across the United States (see here + here), leading to speculation amongst fans online and on social media that he was wearing a custom G-SHOCK made for the tour or an unidentifiable, not-yet-released limited edition—well, the secret is finally out.
Sheeran has been a long-time fan of Hodinkee and has been a contributor for several years. He’s written for the site and has participated in a very special episode of The Collectors Edition with Ben Clymer. Today, musician, collector, and watch enthusiast John Mayer sat down with none other than Ed Sheeran for a monumental episode of Talking Watches on Hodinkee (link to the episode to follow once live). The two are longtime friends, occasional duet partners, and they are both obsessed with watches. Sheeran and Mayer sat for over two hours, chatting about Ed’s extensive and impressive collection of watches, what each and every one symbolizes for Sheeran, and how his taste has continued to evolve alongside his record-setting career.
The tour of Sheeran’s collection includes the aforementioned yellow G-SHOCK, and with the publication of Talking Watches, he formally introduced to the world the G-SHOCK Ref. 6900 – Subtract By Ed Sheeran For Hodinkee.
The G-SHOCK Ref. 6900 – Subtract By Ed Sheeran is inspired by the album artwork for Sheeran’s latest album, Subtract. Subtract is the fifth and final album in a series of mathematics-inspired releases, and it is seen as Sheeran’s most vulnerable and touching album to date, featuring music that Sheeran describes as “honest and true” to where he was in life during the recording. This raw self-expression carries itself through the design of the album’s namesake watch.
“To give people a watch that is as exciting to you as anything else in your collection helps bring people who are interested in watches and interested in Ed’s music into this world so that they can participate.” – John Mayer
The G-SHOCK Ref. 6900 – Subtract By Ed Sheeran features a resin case and strap dominated by a bold and bright yellow—a daring color but one that works surprisingly well on the wrist. The entire dial features an abstract interpretation of Ed’s face, as well as a sketched subtraction sign at 12 o’clock, as seen on the Subtract album cover, pulling in muted reds, oranges, greens, and blues, while the iconic G-SHOCK “Triple Graph” display features yellow surrounds, complementing the yellow case. Solid black text is used across the case, drawing the eye to the Mode and Start/Stop indicators and the Adjust and Split/Reset indicators. As a final nod to the album, the strap is adorned with black watercolor splatters that pull from Subtract’s peripheral artwork.
The watch’s caseback features an engraving of the Ed Sheeran and Hodinkee logos. The G-SHOCK Ref. 6900 – Subtract By Ed Sheeran is shipped in G-SHOCK’s iconic octagonal tin, with custom packaging artwork that makes it feel as though you are holding the Subtract album in hand.
You can purchase the G-SHOCK Ref. 6900 – Subtract By Ed Sheeran for $185 USD in the Hodinkee Shop on October 18th at 11:00am ET. Interested customers are encouraged to sign up for early access and additional information from Hodinkee at https://le.hodinkee.com/g-shock-for-hodinkee.
Technical Specifications:
- Model: The G-SHOCK Ref. 6900 – Subtract By Ed Sheeran
- Functions: 1/100th Stopwatch (24 Hr.), Countdown Timer (24 Hr.), Multi-Function Alarm, Flash Alert, EL Backlight, 12/24-Hour Time Formats
- Material: Resin (case & strap), Stainless Steel (buckle)
- Dimensions: 53.2 diameter x 50.0 lug-to-lug x 16.3mm thick / 67g
- Crystal: Mineral glass
- Caseback: Stainless steel screw-back (4-screws)
- Dial: Yellow with black, red, blue, and green accents
- Lume: Electro-luminescent backlight with Afterglow
- Caliber: Module 3230
- Power Reserve: Two-year battery (CR2016 cell)
- Water Resistance: 200 meters
- Bracelet/Strap: Resin strap
- Lug Width: 25.8mm
- Manufactured: Japan
Media Contacts
Hodinkee: Hodinkee@derris.com
G-Shock: Gshock@5wpr.com
About Hodinkee
Hodinkee is building a better world of watches. Founded in 2008 by Benjamin Clymer as a watch blog, Hodinkee is now a multi-channel online destination for watch enthusiasts, including: print, digital, and video content; an e-commerce platform as an authorized retailer of over 40+ brands in every style and price point along with a wide assortment of pre-owned and vintage watches; and best-in-class services like Hodinkee Insurance. With years of experience and expertise, Hodinkee’s work brings every aspect of the watch world to life through color-rich journalism, meticulous engineering of Limited Edition timepieces, and curation of the most extensive assortment of watch brands and accessories to shop. As a true destination for everything watch-related, Hodinkee has built a dedicated community that’s brought the brand to the forefront. Headquartered in NYC, visit www.hodinkee.com.
About G-SHOCK
CASIO’s shock-resistant G-SHOCK watch is synonymous with toughness, born from the developer Mr. Ibe’s dream of ‘creating a watch that never breaks.’ Over 200 handmade samples were created and tested to destruction until finally in 1983 the first, now iconic G-SHOCK hit the streets of Japan and began to establish itself as ‘the toughest watch of all time’. Each watch encompasses the 7 elements; electric shock resistance, gravity resistance, low temperature resistance, vibration resistance, water resistance, shock resistance and toughness. The watch is packed with Casio innovations and technologies to prevent it from suffering direct shock; this includes internal components protected with urethane and suspended timekeeping modules inside the watch structure. G-SHOCK is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and since its launch, it has continued to evolve, continuing to support Mr. Ibe’s mantra “never, never give up.” Visit www.gshock.casio.com/us/
