A Watch Built for the Outdoors

Mechanical watches are technically archaic and inferior items of drugs. Contemplate {that a} $50 G-Shock is extra correct and sturdy than mechanical watches costing many occasions extra. And {that a} Garmin Fenix smartwatch has insane capabilities that six-figure, high-horology timepieces can’t beat.

However whenever you purchase a smartwatch you’re shopping for a bit of know-how, and tech has a shelf life. There’ll all the time be a brand new Apple Watch and meaning your present one will inevitably acquire mud in a drawer.

Then again, a mechanical watch is one thing you purchase and put on for all times. You can say they’re purposeful vogue. Or you’ll be able to recognize the old-world craftsmanship that also exists in Swiss watch factories. To me, they’re half device, half cool, and half memento — each little scratch a watch picks up is a reminiscence of an journey and it wears these scuffs like a high quality patina. 

For those who’re in search of an automated watch that may stand up to a life lived open air, the Marathon GSAR is among the finest choices. Right here’s what I consider the GSAR after carrying it for over a month and a few insights from an interview with Mitchell Wein, President of Marathon Watch Firm.

• Value: Round $1,600 on a rubber strap and $2,000 on the bracelet 
• 300 meter water resistance 
• Case Materials: 316L stainless steel
• Sapphire crystal with AR coating below the crystal
• Drilled lugs 
• Motion: Sellita SW200-1
• Lume: Tritium fuel tubes on the hour markers and hour, minute, and second hand. MaraGlo on the 12 o’clock bezel marker. 
• Two-year warranty 
• Made in Switzerland
• Thickness: 1.37 mm/0.54 inch (measured)
• Width: 45.9 mm/1.79 inch (measured from case to crown)
• Case Width: 41 mm/1.61 inches (measured)
• Weight: 118.2 grams/4.169 ounces (weighed with rubber strap)
• Lug to Lug: 47.6 mm/1.87 inches (measured)
• 20 mm lug width 
• Date window at 4:30

Marathon GSAR Evaluate

Motion

In-house actions are cool, however I’m not satisfied they’re superior. For instance, let’s say one in every of my COSC-certified, in-house Tudor actions wants service. A Tudor service heart is the one place I’d wish to open the caseback and that received’t be low cost. However the Marathon GSAR makes use of a fairly frequent motion that’s simple and cheap to service. If for some motive it wanted to get replaced, that’s not too costly both. 

A Sellita SW200-1 is one in every of Sellita’s premium actions and you may count on its accuracy to be +/- 4 seconds per day. I hand timed my GSAR at a +3 seconds per day common over every week. The SW200-1 includes a three place crown: The primary place is for handwinding. The second units the date. The third place stops all three arms (hacking) and units the time.

Mechanical actions are intricate and delicate. Repeated impacts like smacking your watch on a door body, capturing a pistol, or swinging a hammer could cause a mechanical watch to lose its accuracy and even break. So a watch that’s meant for use within the open air wants some sort of safety.

Marathon makes use of their Incabloc shock absorber to guard the SW200-1. In accordance with Wein, the shock absorber protects the fragile elements of the motion from issues like dropping the watch or hitting it towards one thing. It would additionally defend the motion from intense vibrations. 

“The Incabloc system employs a spring-loaded, lyre-shaped mounting mechanism with jeweled bearings across the stability wheel, offering help and safety,” he says. “These bearings shift and curve to soak up the impression when the watch is uncovered to shock.” 

The Marathon GSAR’s Dial 

I put on dive watches, although I don’t dive, primarily as a result of they’re simple to learn in all situations — and so they look cool. With a diver on my wrist, I can rapidly have a look at the time whereas paddling a kayak, climbing a steep hill, biking, or rolling out of the mattress in the course of the night time to feed my child. 

The distinctive factor concerning the GSAR is that it’s simple to learn the precise time. I can scan the watch and understand it’s 11:22 a.m. the place most of my different divers I’d understand it’s round 11:20 at a look. Wein says that’s a part of the watch’s supposed design. 

“We work in collaboration with navy and authorities entities when growing every of our watches to make sure they meet the required specs for the top person and their wants,” he says. “With that in thoughts, we guarantee our watches are simple to learn at a look as oftentimes the wearer is below intense stress and should have the ability to depend on their watch to be simple to learn and correct always.” 

To me what makes the GSAR really easy to learn is that the white arms are broad, making them stand out towards the black dial, however they taper right down to an excellent high quality level that lands proper on the finish of the clearly-defined minute markers. The second hand has the identical high quality level, however it’s painted crimson for added readability. 

The dial has plenty of textual content that features the Marathon brand, automated designation, depth ranking, 24 hour markings, and the radioactive labels. Whether or not or not that’s an excessive amount of textual content is only a matter of non-public choice. For me, the high quality font that Marathon makes use of helps scale back the cluttered feeling and general I just like the dial’s look.

One other level of competition is the 4:30 date window, which might throw off a watch’s sacred symmetry. However people who love the 4:30 date window will say that it’s the very best compromise as a result of it doesn’t reduce off any of the hour markers. Whereas I personally like a 6 o’clock date, I don’t thoughts the GSAR’s placement and by no means discovered it obtrusive. I do suppose a no-date model would look spectacular. 

Bezel 

The 120 click on unidirectional bezel has deeply satisfying clicks. You’ll be able to really feel the clicks set in place and so they have a definite tone. My pattern has good bezel alignment with no backlash. I additionally just like the grippy edge that makes it simple to show in all situations. 

The one disadvantage is that because of the distance between the bezel and dial, it’s arduous to completely align the bezel with the arms. I believe markers on the chapter ring would have helped with alignment. 

Lume 

The GSAR’s radioactive tubes present infinite, legible glow and are a factor of magnificence. There’s an orange tritium tube at 12 o’clock and the opposite hour and hand markers are inexperienced. There’s utilized lume on the 12 o’clock bezel marker. 

Most watches use utilized lume which must be “charged” by publicity to mild after which it should glow brightly for a couple of hours at midnight. Using radioluminescence is a signature characteristic of the GSAR and although it’s not as awesomely brilliant as utilized lume, it creates a relentless glow.

“The encapsulated tritium tubes in our watches will glow 24/7 for as much as 20 years, permitting the wearer to maintain time even in full darkness,” Wein says. “Tritium has a 12.5-year half-life, so as soon as the tritium tubes hit that age they may start to dim.” 

Tritium is a radioactive substance and that’s why there’s a radioactive and H3 image printed on the dial. You’ll additionally see engraving on the caseback indicating Marathon’s license from the Nuclear Regulatory Fee to make use of tritium. It’s price noting that you just’re not exposing your self to dangerous ranges of radiation by carrying a Marathon watch. 

When your tritium tubes begin to dim in a dozen years, you’ll be able to ship your watch to Marathon’s service division and so they’ll set up a dial and arms which have recent tubes. That substitute will value you round $360, however it should embody a primary service, too. See Marathon’s watch service price sheet for extra info. 

Dimension and Weight 

The 41mm GSAR wears smaller than its specs and, for my 7.5-inch wrist, it’s an ideal match. It’s a tall watch and it probably received’t match below a go well with cuff, however that wasn’t a part of my testing course of neither is it what this watch is meant for. 

I bought my Bremont S501 as a result of it sat too tall, which made it awkward to put on. However the GSAR hugs my wrist higher than the S501 did, and it by no means felt cumbersome. One other little bit of perspective is that I went from carrying a Tudor FXD, which is a skinny, titanium watch, to the GSAR. I didn’t discover an enormous distinction in consolation going from the FXD to the GSAR. 

Anthracite Coating

I examined the Anthracite GSAR, which is the tacticool all black variant. I believe blacked-out watches look nice, however I’m all the time apprehensive concerning the end chipping off after I inevitably whack my watch on one thing. I talked to Wein concerning the sturdiness of the Anthracite end. 

“The Anthracite GSAR is sort of scratch resistant as there’s an additional layer of PVD on the metal giving it extra safety from beauty injury,” he says. “The PVD coating we use is nearly similar to the DLC, offering intense scratch resistance although not fairly as sturdy as DLC coating.”

All of the images you see on this overview have been taken on the finish of my testing interval and also you’ll discover there’s not a scratch within the end. I actually didn’t child the watch and caught it on a couple of arduous objects over the past month. However, if you happen to’re apprehensive concerning the end chipping, there are a number of uncoated options of the GSAR that look unbelievable as effectively — together with the white-dialed Arctic that’s a stunner. 

Bracelet and Straps 

My GSAR got here with a stainless bracelet, however after a couple of days carrying the bracelet, I swapped it for a rubber strap. The bracelet was snug and effectively completed — I favored its taper and its low-profile clasp. However, for me to put on a bracelet it must have on-the-fly micro adjustment. I stay in a scorching, humid surroundings and my wrists will swell or shrink as I am going from being lively open air to recovering within the AC. The GSAR’s butterfly clasp didn’t provide me that flexibility so I put it on a Zealande rubber strap and by no means regarded again. 

You’ll be able to order the GSAR with a rubber strap and that’s the model I might get. It might even be a wonderful candidate for an elastic Erika’s MN strap or a NATO. 

How It Stacks Up Towards the Competitors 

My watch habit is concentrated on device watches. So I’ve a number of of the GSAR’s direct opponents in my watch case and I’ve totally researched many others. Listed below are 4 glorious divers which can be price contemplating together with the Marathon. 

The Seiko SPB453 is a couple of hundred {dollars} cheaper than the GSAR on a rubber strap and it has timeless attractiveness. I personal the older model (the SPB143) and it’s one in every of my favorites. 

One other inexpensive watch is Christopher Ward C60 Trident Pro 300. These watches are identified for his or her superior ending and worth for the greenback. They use the identical motion because the GSAR and can be found on a very nice bracelet for $1,095. 

I believe Sinn shares plenty of the identical design ethos as Marathon and it’s protected to say if you happen to’re a fan of 1 model, you’ll probably benefit from the different. The Sinn U50 makes use of German submarine metal and it’s engineered to be an exceptionally sturdy watch. Sinn additionally makes the U50 Hydro, which is full of oil to make the watch simpler to learn underwater and it will increase the water resistance from 500 meters to five,000 meters. That’s some insane over engineering, however very cool. The U50s are $2,500 to $3,700 relying on the mannequin. 

For my part the Tudor Pelagos FXD is the very best device watch accessible, however you’ll pay for the privilege. You should buy two GSARs for the value of 1 FXD. 

Learn Subsequent: Best Dive Watches

Remaining Ideas on the Marathon Search and Rescue Diver 

The Marathon GSAR has its origins with Canadian Search and Rescue divers and has since been used my members of the navy, leisure divers, and watch collectors. This isn’t a watch that’s made to sit down in a case or be babied. It’s a person and it features good in that position.

I’ve discovered it to be a enjoyable, sensible, and comfy watch to put on. I like that it’s constructed robust with lively customers in thoughts and that it has a definite look. However I can’t say if you happen to ought to add one to your watch assortment or not. Solely you’ll be able to reply that query. It’s a mechanical watch so it’s not one thing you purchase with full logic. You must like it and it has to deliver you pleasure whenever you put on it for it to be price shopping for.