# Condensation behind glass? Leak G-shock?



## Vaiar (Apr 30, 2009)

Hi,

Since two years I own a Casio *DW-5600E *and wear it during week days and recreational activities as a functional watch. Due to my rock climbing hobby and sometimes physical holiday jobs it is now full of scratches and dents. I bought a G-shock precisely to withstand a little abuse. 
However, since this winter I noted that after a long bicycle ride from university (or a job on the side) in cold weather condensation droplets formed behind the glass :-|, often so densely that I couldn't read the time anymore. The condensation would go away when indoors after a certain time. Does this mean my G-shock has a leak that lets sweat or rain etc. in? Last summer I swam in the Atlantic Ocean with the watch on my wrist and I had no problems whatsoever. I tried to test for a leak by leaving the watch for a few hours in a bucket of water, but no water seemed to have gotten inside.

What's your take on this?


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## Lexxorcist (Jun 14, 2007)

I would say if it's been in the same conditions before with no sign of condensation, it may be leaking. However, it's not that uncommon for moisture (possibly from humidity in the factory) to be trapped in the watch, and not show itself until subjected to the right conditions.

You could remove the back and carefully dry it out inside with a hairdryer (others may suggest other methods which will also work), then replace the back making sure the gasket is in place, and lubricated with silicone grease if it looks dry. Then see if it happens again. If it does, there is most likely a leak. It could be either the gasket for the back that needs replacing, or the gaskets on the buttons.

Often the drying out trick works, and it's just moisture that's always been in there (or been there since a battery change).

The battery change 'How To' at the top of the main forum page will help with removing the back. Be careful not to tip the watch over with the back off, as the little springs for the alarm can easily fall out and get lost.


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## tribe125 (Mar 7, 2006)

Hello Vaiar, and welcome to the forum.

Two possibilities, I guess. It's not completely unknown for some humidity to be trapped in the watch during manufacture. This can then appear in particularly cold weather. This can be remedied by opening the watch and gently using a hair-dryer.

However, this seems like a new problem, not one that has been there all the time. The problem also seems quite serious. Are the screws on the case-back reasonably tight (there is no need for them to be _very_ tight)? If the screws are OK, then maybe the case-back gasket might have deteriorated. It might also be out of position if the watch has been opened and re-closed for any reason (such as a battery change).

If you're happy to investigate it yourself, take the back off and check the gasket. There should also be some silicone grease on the gasket. If it has dried out, apply some more. Alternatively, take it to a jeweller.

Perhaps one final possibility is that the crystal is cracked. Are any of the scratches on the crystal, and is it possible that one of them is actually a crack?


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## Joakim Agren (Feb 12, 2006)

There is this thing called a dew point, it is the temperature when free vapour in air gets temporary turned into a liquid that can form on solid matter. Under normal air pressure this is usually around 4-5 degrees celsius, at even colder temps below 0 the liquid turns into a frozen solid and forms ice on the crystal. If the internals of your watch reaches 4 degrees trapped moist inside can form dew on the crystal. If this dew quickly dissapears after the watch warms up it is not in any danger.

If you find it annoying though you can open up the watch and dry out the air witha hair dryer...

If the moist do not dissapear within minutes then it is a true leak and you need to fix that.


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## Vaiar (Apr 30, 2009)

Thanks for the helpful answers guys! The condensation rapidly disappears when the watch gets in a warmer environment. In fact, I only had this problem when it was freezing outside or near freezing (with the watch experiencing below 0 temperatures on my bike ride). Based on your posts its probably the little moisture in the air trapped in the watch during manufacturing. I won't try to open the watch in order to engage it with a hair dryer, as I am too afraid to cause a real and definite leak.


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## tirat (Mar 5, 2008)

Hmmm??? Last night I just noticed my 5600E does the same fogging thing only difference is that it happened when I took a very hot shower(hotter than a hot tub/spa). I could see some fogging around what appears to be an unsprayed portion of the underside of the crystal...o| Sorry out of words to describe it correctly.

What I'm trying to say is that if the underside of our G-shock crystals were sprayed with anti-fogging stuff before final assembly...that the large middle area of the crystal is where there wasn't any fogging.


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## Joakim Agren (Feb 12, 2006)

tirat said:


> Hmmm??? Last night I just noticed my 5600E does the same fogging thing only difference is that it happened when I took a very hot shower(hotter than a hot tub/spa). I could see some fogging around what appears to be an unsprayed portion of the underside of the crystal...o| Sorry out of words to describe it correctly.
> 
> What I'm trying to say is that if the underside of our G-shock crystals were sprayed with anti-fogging stuff before final assembly...that the large middle area of the crystal is where there wasn't any fogging.


You should not see any fogging up on the inside of the crystal when showering in hot water, only on the outside. If you see fogging on the inside you have a leak.:rodekaart


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## mattchrono (Mar 13, 2008)

Hi

An old G of mine fogged a little in very cold conditions when biking. Open it up put it in a bag with a packet of silica gel and lube the seals or replace if tatty and all should be well:-!

Matt


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## tirat (Mar 5, 2008)

Joakim Agren said:


> You should not see any fogging up on the inside of the crystal when showering in hot water, only on the outside. If you see fogging on the inside you have a leak.:rodekaart


Aww this is bad news big time...I really like this watch. I never opened it but I have worn either this or the F-91W for the past 3 years in and out of the pool/hot tub/hot shower...man sad to know the F-91W has been luckier at withstanding the pool/hot tub/hot shower routine :-( This is a real bummer since I've seen G-shocks withstand boiling in water in home-made torture tests.

Anyways I'll just go on with my routine and let this sucker die so I can have an excuse to get an updated/upgraded 5xxx series.


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## Darth Hotdog (Oct 25, 2011)

Great explanation, that's a load off!

Thanks,


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## Nightshift (May 22, 2012)

The only time I ever see fogging inside the crystal of my watches is when I press the button underwater.


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## lvt (Sep 15, 2009)

It sounds weird to me, from what I know a 200m G-shock's buttons can be used underwater, I've done it countless times.


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## Tick Toc (Oct 28, 2012)

My G-Shock also had some fogging in it when going from a hot environment to a cold environment (ie. from a hot shower to an air conditioned room or to outside cold). The fogging went away in less than 5 minutes. I recently changed the battery in my watch and I let the watch air out during the process. While changing the battery, I took out the gasket and cleaned the groove where the gasket sits and then well oiled the gasket with silicone oil. I resealed the watch and since I did all this, I haven't seen any condensation in my watch. I believe that there are molecules of water present inside the watch from the place of manufacture. If the watch is assembled in a humid environment, there will be moisture present inside the watch. That's why you have the fogging occurring.


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## LUW (May 17, 2009)

Tick Toc said:


> I believe that there are molecules of water present inside the watch from the place of manufacture. If the watch is assembled in a humid environment, there will be moisture present inside the watch. That's why you have the fogging occurring.


Exactly. Though some hear refuse to acknowledge the fact, this is is reason that explains 95% of the cases of fogging, _specially_ if the watch was assembled in Thailand.


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## Watch_Geekmaster (Oct 4, 2014)

Condensation appearing on the inside of the watch crystal of a G-Shock or other Casio watches is not a new phenomenon, in fact there are many threads on this topic right here in the G-Shock forum (and sister Digital/ABC forum) dating as far back as 2006. It's not a rare phenomenon either, as it's reported here for many models of G-Shocks and Protreks. I was thinking whether I should start a new topic on this, or re-use one of the older threads. So I decided to revive this old thread, due to the appropriateness of the title and that the discussions from the older members were going in the right direction.

I would like to use this thread as the main thread for discussion of this particular topic, as well as to share my experience and remedy for this condensation issue. I have two watches that experienced this issue: a DW5600E and a G9000 (see pics below). Both were bought new, though the DW5600E was likely on the shelf of the store for a long time. The DW5600E was manufactured in China. The G9000 was manufactured in Thailand. The watch cases were never opened by me prior to the development of the condensation issue. Condensation would appear going from a warm environment to a significantly colder environment. Also I observed during a flight, the condensation would appear with lesser difference in temperature under the lower pressure of the airliner cabin (above 10,000ft). This is normal according to the ideal gas law (PV = nRT).

















As you can see the DW5600E is the worse of the two. I suspect it's not just because the trap moisture from manufacturing, but also somehow it's taken in more moisture. It's most definitely due to me constantly exposing the watch to moisture (hand washing, dish washing, shower, etc.) during the past 1.5 years of use. May also due to me living in a climate that the temperature goes from 100F in the summer to 10F in the winter, and due to me being a frequent traveler exposing the watch to lower cabin pressure (22 inHg).

Anyway, last week I decided to open the 5600E. I lifted the whole module out (pretty easy) from the case. I cleaned the inner side of the watch crystal with rubbing alcohol and able to make it clearer. I then put the watch case, case back and module into a closed container with some desiccant (silica gel) for 1 week.








I re-assembled the watch 2 days ago, and made sure to lubricate the gasket with some silicone sealant to ensure a good seal. So far the condensation has not reappeared, even going from warm indoor environment to sub-zero temperature outside.

Whether Casio can alleviate this condensation issue by better environmental control of their manufacturing facilities, obviously we don't know without knowing what type of controls they are already using. If they can improve that, it will be great certainly.

Here's a list of other threads related to this topic. Note, it's no way a complete list, as there are too many to list.

https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/fogging-going-hurt-my-watch-34004.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/dw6600-crystal-fogging-8100.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/fog-watch-46178.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/anyone-had-their-g-shock-fog-up-like-281880.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/fogged-up-muddie-282260.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/do-your-g-shock-screen-fog-up-when-its-cold-environment-224685.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/casio-g-shock-dw6900ms1-screen-fogged-up-pics-included-944879.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/gxw-56-fogging-up-635260.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/fogging-normal-474862.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/new-g-shock-misted-up-normal-527823.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/brand-new-gd-350-fogging-up-997988.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/gd-350-fogging-up-cold-942443.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/fogging-crystal-6900-a-483683.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/aww-crud-condensation-my-ga-100-a-491848.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/ga10...nside-crystal-concern-not-really-1300490.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/weird-issue-gw-a1000-981105-2.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/condensation-inside-g-shock-pictures-included-779748.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/fog-under-glass-2123234.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/casio-dw-9052-moisture-question-269567.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/hazing-condensation-fogging-gx-56-how-do-i-fix-2525642.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f296/condensaci%F3n-gwn1000-2904594.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/my-n...ny-gwg-owners-had-fogging-issues-4525647.html
https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/g-shock-mudman-g9000-question-4482657.html

https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/g-shocks-made-thailand-more-likely-fog-up-732825.html
This one has some very interesting points, from member Metatime about the condensation issue was also evidenced in other watch brands, and from member Mitch100 about the permeability of water vapor.



metatime said:


> I was just reading through an earlier thread and the issue of fogging under the crystal came up. Many blamed this on the more humid climate of Thailand and that just doesn't make sense to me. Condensation in watches is not uncommon. I am not sure we can blame Thailand's climate
> 
> We all know from elementary science that condensation occurs when warm air hits a colder surface that is below the dew point. So, if moisture was already present in the watch, simply venturing into a very cold outdoors after keeping the watch on indoors for long enough ought to trigger condensation. Or if we want to experiment scientifically, we would heat up a watch then rapidly cool it and observe. We would certainly not heat it up in water so we can be sure the condensation, if any, has to be due to water vapour already present in the watch and not from elsewhere. We would not otherwise be able to rule out vapour diffusion from an external source.
> 
> ...





Mitch100 said:


> If you have a watch with a well seated gasket in good condition then liquid water is not a threat. The high attraction of water molecules to one another creates a surface tension that would prevent transmission.
> 
> Water vapour is another matter. Molecules of water vapour will diffuse through the gasket and over time humidity will equalise inside and outside the watch.
> 
> ...


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## GaryK30 (Dec 14, 2014)

Watch_Geekmaster said:


> I re-assembled the watch 2 days ago, and made sure to lubricate the gasket with some silicone sealant to ensure a good seal. So far the condensation has not reappeared, even going from warm indoor environment to sub-zero temperature outside.


Do you mean silicone grease rather than silicone sealant?


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## Watch_Geekmaster (Oct 4, 2014)

GaryK30 said:


> Do you mean silicone grease rather than silicone sealant?


The same stuff shown in this picture:








It says sealant, but yes, it's just grease. Definitely I didn't use my caulk. ;-)


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## Watch_Geekmaster (Oct 4, 2014)

A few recent threads were talking about moisture inside watch, so I decided to bump this thread up for an update and quick summary.

More than 1.5 years later since my post above, another G of mine was observed to have condensation inside. Here's a picture of my GA800 few months earlier.







So now total of 3 Gs I own were observed with condensation inside. The DW5600E which I fixed as detailed above have not observed condensation again. That means the remedy above works.

My post above is a little TLDR, since I was trying to describe my own experience as well as summarizing other threads. So here's a quick Q&A to summarize the issue and hopefully will help others understand better.

*1. Is it a rare phenomenon when condensation starts to form inside the watch crystal?*
Ans: No. It happens frequent enough as evidenced by the many threads here and my own experience.

*2. What could be the cause of the condensation?*
Ans: It could be from trapped moisture during the manufacturing process. But more than likely it could also be moisture introduced later by the wearer. The rubber gasket is not meant to block off all moisture. Water vapor can easily get through, especially in environments with large fluctuations in temperature and/or air pressure. Most G-Shocks are using 4 screws for holding a metal back panel. Such design works when submerged underwater by using the water pressure to press against the back panel and gasket. In another word, it is using water to prevent itself from entering the watch! Above water, the only pressure against the seal is normal atmospheric pressure and pressure from the screws holding the back panel down. So it's actually not as water tight as it could be underwater. From use, the screws could come loose and the gasket could age, those will further degrade the water resistant capability of the watch.

*3. Could the watch be damaged by the condensation?*
Ans: In most cases, no. In most cases, observing a circle of condensation under the watch crystal is only an indication of a small amount of water inside. It's not enough to cause damage to the internals of the watch. Unless you have large amount of water intrusion, then it's a different story.

*4. How to fix this condensation issue?*
Ans: You can remove the condensation by open the watch up, then put it inside a sealable container with desiccant for a period of time. After that close the watch up by: making sure the rubber gasket is functional and properly lubricated and seated; and then tighten the watch back properly. In rare cases, the moisture leak could also come from aging of crystal gasket or button / crown gaskets, not just the back gasket. Make sure to replace all aged gaskets with new ones, if needed.


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## Moh_GA200 (Feb 22, 2021)

Vaiar said:


> Hi,
> 
> Since two years I own a Casio *DW-5600E *and wear it during week days and recreational activities as a functional watch. Due to my rock climbing hobby and sometimes physical holiday jobs it is now full of scratches and dents. I bought a G-shock precisely to withstand a little abuse.
> However, since this winter I noted that after a long bicycle ride from university (or a job on the side) in cold weather condensation droplets formed behind the glass :-|, often so densely that I couldn't read the time anymore. The condensation would go away when indoors after a certain time. Does this mean my G-shock has a leak that lets sweat or rain etc. in? Last summer I swam in the Atlantic Ocean with the watch on my wrist and I had no problems whatsoever. I tried to test for a leak by leaving the watch for a few hours in a bucket of water, but no water seemed to have gotten inside.
> ...


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## MikeRa (Oct 23, 2021)

Just to show you some pictures about the same condensation problem.

This is a 1.5 years old














GST-W310D, cased in Thailand. I am still gathering power to have it opened, dried and siliconed.


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## D. A. (Tony) Vader (Nov 11, 2020)

Initially, I red the title of this old thread as:

_Conversations _behind glass (which sounded interesting)

I thought, don't we have a *G-Shocks and beer* thread already? Whiskey, Wine or Rum now, maybe?


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## GrouchoM (Jul 11, 2013)

The moisture was(most likely) from after manufacturing. ALL watches let water vapor (the gas phase of water, not the liquid nor solid phase) through the gaskets. It's a slow process, but not absurdly slow. Leave a watch in a very humid climate for a long time and the internal humidity will increase measurably. Then, quickly cooling the crystal will make the internal vapor condense on the underside... it doesn't take much vapor to trigger the fogging. It should go away relatively quickly when the temperature becomes more uniform throughout the watch. 

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk


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## Undo Button (Sep 20, 2021)

*” If the watch is assembled in a humid environment, there will be moisture present inside the watch. That's why you have the fogging occurring“*

Plausible, but most people are too woke and easily offended nowadays.

That's why my GST B100-cased in China, displayed severe fogging when exposed to cold air blower in the car. Really fast. NEVER happened or almost never for the Made In Japan MTG B1000.

It could be due to quality of the watch as they sit at different price points, it could be due to being assembled in hot tropical humis climate.


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## GrouchoM (Jul 11, 2013)

So, you don't think the assembly area at Casio in Thailand uses air conditioning? Wouldn't all Thailand manufactured ones exhibit this, then? 

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk


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## hoss (Nov 1, 2014)

GrouchoM said:


> So, you don't think the assembly area at Casio in Thailand uses air conditioning? Wouldn't all Thailand manufactured ones exhibit this, then?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk


Who knows what the Casio manufacturing facility in China and Thailand have to prevent moist from getting inside their G-Shocks during manufacturing. We will never know this.
I have a lot of Thailand and China made G-Shocks and the only one that showed a little bit of moisture inside of it was my DW6600 and that one was made in China. The moisture disappeared after a few minutes and it’s totally disappeared since I’ve opened up the back cover of the same watch to replace the battery. It’s normal for moisture to appear inside the watch underneath the crystal if they were assembled in a humid environment. I believe that G-Shocks are sealed up pretty good to prevent water intrusion.


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## TalkingClock (May 9, 2021)

D. A. (Tony) Vader said:


> Initially, I red the title of this old thread as:
> 
> _Conversations _behind glass (which sounded interesting)
> 
> I thought, don't we have a *G-Shocks and beer* thread already? Whiskey, Wine or Rum now, maybe?


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## GrouchoM (Jul 11, 2013)

hoss said:


> Who knows what the Casio manufacturing facility in China and Thailand have to prevent moist from getting inside their G-Shocks during manufacturing. We will never know this.
> I have a lot of Thailand and China made G-Shocks and the only one that showed a little bit of moisture inside of it was my DW6600 and that one was made in China. The moisture disappeared after a few minutes and it’s totally disappeared since I’ve opened up the back cover of the same watch to replace the battery. It’s normal for moisture to appear inside the watch underneath the crystal if they were assembled in a humid environment. I believe that G-Shocks are sealed up pretty good to prevent water intrusion.


How did you keep the humidity to zero in your home? I assume you have VERY dry skin and tumbleweeds instead of plants.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk


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## hoss (Nov 1, 2014)

GrouchoM said:


> How did you keep the humidity to zero in your home? I assume you have VERY dry skin and tumbleweeds instead of plants.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk


Hahaha…You just made me laugh.
There’s humidity everywhere around here. In the wintertime it’s dryer though. My DW6600 is the only G-Shock that showed moisture. All my other G-Shocks never showed any moisture inside the case. The humidity in my DW6600 went away after I replaced the original battery many years ago. I just did another battery replacement earlier this year and the inside of the watch case is still dry without any signs of moisture.


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## GrouchoM (Jul 11, 2013)

The external and internal humidity of your watch is always VERY slowly trying to equilibrate. The seals are not 100% gas proof and gas holds water vapor. If you leave your watch in a rainforest for a year and then put an ice cube on its crystal, you'll see plenty of condensation.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk


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## Snyde (Mar 5, 2016)

GrouchoM said:


> The external and internal humidity of your watch is always VERY slowly trying to equilibrate. The seals are not 100% gas proof and gas holds water vapor. If you leave your watch in a rainforest for a year and then put an ice cube on its crystal, you'll see plenty of condensation.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk


Science


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## FROG (Nov 17, 2009)

Undo Button said:


> It could be due to quality of the watch as they sit at different price point, it could be due to being assembled in hot tropical humis climate.


fake news. Everybody knows that the tropical rain forest electronics factory only makes coconut radios.


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## GrouchoM (Jul 11, 2013)

FROG said:


> fake news. Everybody knows that the tropical rain forest electronics factory only makes coconut radios.


Surprisingly, these radios work. I know.... I've seen "Gilligan's Island".

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk


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## D. A. (Tony) Vader (Nov 11, 2020)

Undo Button said:


> *” If the watch is assembled in a humid environment, there will be moisture present inside the watch. That's why you have the fogging occurring“*
> 
> Plausible, but most people are too woke and easily offended nowadays.
> 
> ...


So, CASIO's factories outside Japan don't have AC / climate control and operate instead in buildings with open windows? (and, probably, with ceiling fans for cooling)

I highly doubt it.

For global companies like CASIO, the local climate should have absolutely no impact on the quality of the final goods.

I think fogging is a _real _problem (even though I've never experienced it myself on any of my G-Shocks, regardless of price point or site of manufacture). Fogging is the result of moisture condensation inside the watch. I don't know where the moisture is coming from (maybe from operating the buttons underwater; from a cracked or old o-ring; etc). But I think the theory that this is somehow related to the country of origin of the watch (specially in humid climates) is not true.

This is CASIO's factory in Thailand:



















I didn't have time to find inside pictures but all of CASIO's factories are highly automated, so, it should be similar to this one:










As you can see, no ceiling fans, no open windows (source: NIKKEI-Asia).


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## lvt (Sep 15, 2009)

Your human body is leaking everywhere, so stop blaming the watch.


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## Rocket1991 (Mar 15, 2018)

D. A. (Tony) Vader said:


> So, CASIO's factories outside Japan don't have AC / climate control and operate instead in buildings with open windows? (and, probably, with ceiling fans for cooling)
> 
> I highly doubt it.
> 
> ...


That very much image of any respectable automated manufacturing around the world. These i saw in Canada looked like this or worse. My point there is about 0 point banging on door of Casio manufacturing been not on the level of best out there. Casio proved it to be very competent.


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