Below is a picture of my made-in-Japan CASIO G-Shock model DW-6900. It is an authentic G-Shock and worth every penny of the $100 or so it cost.

There is an authentic CASIO made-in-China version G-Shock DW-6900 sold in the USA in stores like K-Mart and Walmart which goes for about half the price of one made in Japan. The watches are virtually identical, except for the word “JAPAN” on the caseback of the one made in Nippon.

 
Looking at G-Shocks for sale on eBay recently, I was impressed by the number of $25 made-in-China-fakes on the auction site. Many of these counterfeits have the word “SPORT” on the dial at 12 o’clock, rather than the word “CASIO.” In fact, one characteristic of many of the fakes is the lack of the word CASIO anywhere on the watch or in the description of the product. The fakes look authentic and may even use original equipment manufacturer parts.

There’s lots of talk about China becoming a leader in technological innovation in the new decade. There are many reasons for these predictions, one being lax government regulation. In the field of bioengineering for instance, it may be possible for Chinese companies to explore paths prohibited in Western nations due to ethical concerns.

Post World War II Japanese companies made advances in technology in accordance with copyright, trademark, and patent laws. I wonder if China will be able to copy, or even surpass, the Japanese example while ignoring intellectual property rights? Of course, to be fair, we should note eBay is a US company.