Over the past 18 months, multiple speculative searches for some kind of Shinya Nakano edition watch have consistently come up empty. It felt odd that a prominent Japanese MotoGP rider would somehow go without a watch partnership, in particular with a Japanese brand.
Then a recent unrelated search abruptly uncovered a long-running Casio G-Shock collaboration with Nakano’s lifestyle brand, 56design. The special editions were released in the Japanese market from 2008 until 2018, and left a surprisingly small digital footprint. Many had limited distribution, including exclusive availability in 56design stores or through domestic motorcycle magazines. Further digging also uncovered a G-Shock model directly tied to Nakano, dating back to his premier class debut.
It’s strange that watches from the 2010s can already be this difficult to trace.