A Watch Constructed for the Open air

Mechanical watches are technically archaic and inferior pieces of gear. Consider that a $50 G-Shock is more accurate and robust than mechanical watches costing many times more. And that a Garmin Fenix smartwatch has insane capabilities that six-figure, high-horology timepieces can’t beat.

But when you buy a smartwatch you’re buying a piece of technology, and tech has a shelf life. There will always be a new Apple Watch and that means your current one will inevitably collect dust in a drawer.

On the other hand, a mechanical watch is something you buy and wear for life. You could say they’re functional fashion. Or you can appreciate the old-world craftsmanship that still exists in Swiss watch factories. To me, they’re part tool, part cool, and part memento — every little scratch a watch picks up is a memory of an adventure and it wears those scuffs like a fine patina. 

If you’re looking for an automatic watch that can withstand a life lived outdoors, the Marathon GSAR is one of the best options. Here’s what I think of the GSAR after wearing it for over a month and some insights from an interview with Mitchell Wein, President of Marathon Watch Company.

• Price: Around $1,600 on a rubber strap and $2,000 on the bracelet 
• 300 meter water resistance 
• Case Material: 316L stainless steel
• Sapphire crystal with AR coating under the crystal
• Drilled lugs 
• Movement: Sellita SW200-1
• Lume: Tritium gas 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 Review

Movement

In-house movements are cool, but I’m not convinced they’re superior. For example, let’s say one of my COSC-certified, in-house Tudor movements needs service. A Tudor service center is the only place I’d want to open the caseback and that won’t be cheap. But the Marathon GSAR uses a pretty common movement that’s easy and inexpensive to service. If for some reason it needed to be replaced, that’s not too expensive either. 

A Sellita SW200-1 is one of Sellita’s premium movements and you can expect its accuracy to be +/- 4 seconds per day. I hand timed my GSAR at a +3 seconds per day average over a week. The SW200-1 features a three position crown: The first position is for handwinding. The second sets the date. The third position stops all three hands (hacking) and sets the time.

Mechanical movements are intricate and delicate. Repeated impacts like smacking your watch on a door frame, shooting a pistol, or swinging a hammer can cause a mechanical watch to lose its accuracy or even break. So a watch that’s meant to be used in the outdoors needs some type of protection.

Marathon uses their Incabloc shock absorber to protect the SW200-1. According to Wein, the shock absorber protects the delicate parts of the movement from things like dropping the watch or hitting it against something. It will also protect the movement from intense vibrations. 

“The Incabloc system employs a spring-loaded, lyre-shaped mounting mechanism with jeweled bearings around the balance wheel, providing support and protection,” he says. “These bearings shift and curve to absorb the impact when the watch is exposed to shock.” 

The Marathon GSAR’s Dial 

I wear dive watches, even though I don’t dive, mainly because they are easy to read in all conditions — and they look cool. With a diver on my wrist, I can quickly look at the time while paddling a kayak, climbing a steep hill, biking, or rolling out of the bed in the middle of the night to feed my baby. 

The unique thing about the GSAR is that it’s easy to read the exact time. I can scan the watch and know it’s 11:22 a.m. where most of my other divers I’d know it’s around 11:20 at a glance. Wein says that’s part of the watch’s intended design. 

“We work in collaboration with military and government entities when developing each of our watches to ensure they meet the necessary specifications for the end user and their needs,” he says. “With that in mind, we ensure our watches are easy to read at a glance as oftentimes the wearer is under intense pressure and must be able to rely on their watch to be easy to read and accurate at all times.” 

To me what makes the GSAR so easy to read is that the white hands are broad, making them stand out against the black dial, but they taper down to a super fine point that lands right at the end of the clearly-defined minute markers. The second hand has the same fine point, but it’s painted red for added clarity. 

The dial has a lot of text that includes the Marathon logo, automatic designation, depth rating, 24 hour markings, and the radioactive labels. Whether or not that is too much text is purely a matter of personal preference. For me, the fine font that Marathon uses helps reduce the cluttered feeling and overall I like the dial’s look.

Another point of contention is the 4:30 date window, which can throw off a watch’s sacred symmetry. But those that love the 4:30 date window will say that it’s the best compromise because it doesn’t cut off any of the hour markers. While I personally like a 6 o’clock date, I don’t mind the GSAR’s placement and never found it obtrusive. I do think a no-date version would look spectacular. 

Bezel 

The 120 click unidirectional bezel has deeply satisfying clicks. You can feel the clicks set in place and they have a distinct tone. My sample has perfect bezel alignment with no backlash. I also like the grippy edge that makes it easy to turn in all conditions. 

The one drawback is that due to the distance between the bezel and dial, it’s hard to perfectly align the bezel with the hands. I think markers on the chapter ring would have helped with alignment. 

Lume 

The GSAR’s radioactive tubes provide endless, legible glow and are a thing of beauty. There is an orange tritium tube at 12 o’clock and the other hour and hand markers are green. There is applied lume on the 12 o’clock bezel marker. 

Most watches use applied lume which needs to be “charged” by exposure to light and then it will glow brightly for a few hours in the dark. The use of radioluminescence is a signature feature of the GSAR and even though it’s not as awesomely bright as applied lume, it creates a constant glow.

“The encapsulated tritium tubes in our watches will glow 24/7 for up to 20 years, allowing the wearer to keep time even in complete darkness,” Wein says. “Tritium has a 12.5-year half-life, so once the tritium tubes hit that age they will begin to dim.” 

Tritium is a radioactive substance and that’s why there’s a radioactive and H3 symbol printed on the dial. You’ll also see engraving on the caseback indicating Marathon’s license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to use tritium. It’s worth noting that you’re not exposing yourself to harmful levels of radiation by wearing a Marathon watch. 

When your tritium tubes start to dim in a dozen years, you can send your watch to Marathon’s service department and they’ll install a dial and hands that have fresh tubes. That replacement will cost you around $360, but it will include a basic service, too. See Marathon’s watch service price sheet for more information. 

Size and Weight 

The 41mm GSAR wears smaller than its specs and, for my 7.5-inch wrist, it’s a perfect fit. It’s a tall watch and it likely won’t fit under a suit cuff, but that wasn’t part of my testing process nor is it what this watch is intended for. 

I sold my Bremont S501 because it sat too tall, which made it awkward to wear. But the GSAR hugs my wrist better than the S501 did, and it never felt cumbersome. Another bit of perspective is that I went from wearing a Tudor FXD, which is a thin, titanium watch, to the GSAR. I didn’t notice a huge difference in comfort going from the FXD to the GSAR. 

Anthracite Coating

I tested the Anthracite GSAR, which is the tacticool all black variant. I think blacked-out watches look great, but I’m always worried about the finish chipping off when I inevitably whack my watch on something. I talked to Wein about the durability of the Anthracite finish. 

“The Anthracite GSAR is quite scratch resistant as there is an extra layer of PVD on the steel giving it more protection from cosmetic damage,” he says. “The PVD coating we use is almost comparable to the DLC, providing intense scratch resistance though not quite as strong as DLC coating.”

All the photos you see in this review were taken at the end of my testing period and you’ll notice there’s not a scratch in the finish. I certainly didn’t baby the watch and caught it on a few hard objects over the last month. But, if you’re worried about the finish chipping, there are several uncoated options of the GSAR that look fantastic as well — including the white-dialed Arctic that’s a stunner. 

Bracelet and Straps 

My GSAR came with a stainless bracelet, but after a few days wearing the bracelet, I swapped it for a rubber strap. The bracelet was comfortable and well finished — I liked its taper and its low-profile clasp. But, for me to wear a bracelet it needs to have on-the-fly micro adjustment. I live in a hot, humid environment and my wrists will swell or shrink as I go from being active outdoors to recovering in the AC. The GSAR’s butterfly clasp didn’t offer me that flexibility so I put it on a Zealande rubber strap and never looked back. 

You can order the GSAR with a rubber strap and that’s the version I would get. It would also be an excellent candidate for an elastic Erika’s MN strap or a NATO. 

How It Stacks Up Against the Competition 

My watch addiction is focused on tool watches. So I have several of the GSAR’s direct competitors in my watch case and I’ve thoroughly researched many others. Here are four excellent divers that are worth considering along with the Marathon. 

The Seiko SPB453 is a few hundred dollars cheaper than the GSAR on a rubber strap and it has timeless good looks. I own the older version (the SPB143) and it’s one of my favorites. 

Another less expensive watch is Christopher Ward C60 Trident Pro 300. These watches are known for their superior finishing and value for the dollar. They use the same movement as the GSAR and are available on a really nice bracelet for $1,095. 

I think Sinn shares a lot of the same design ethos as Marathon and it’s safe to say if you’re a fan of one brand, you’ll likely enjoy the other. The Sinn U50 uses German submarine steel and it’s engineered to be an exceptionally durable watch. Sinn also makes the U50 Hydro, which is filled with oil to make the watch easier to read underwater and it increases the water resistance from 500 meters to 5,000 meters. That’s some insane over engineering, but very cool. The U50s are $2,500 to $3,700 depending on the model. 

In my opinion the Tudor Pelagos FXD is the best tool watch available, but you’ll pay for the privilege. You can buy two GSARs for the price of one FXD. 

Read Next: Best Dive Watches

Final Thoughts 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 military, recreational divers, and watch collectors. This isn’t a watch that’s made to sit in a case or be babied. It’s a user and it functions perfect in that role.

I’ve found it to be a fun, practical, and comfortable watch to wear. I like that it’s built tough with active users in mind and that it has a distinct look. But I can’t say if you should add one to your watch collection or not. Only you can answer that question. It’s a mechanical watch so it’s not something you buy with complete logic. You have to love it and it has to bring you joy when you wear it for it to be worth buying.