Marathon watch

[jeffboehm]

Hi fellow sufferers of wisitis
I am a novice watch lover and relatively new to this forum. I am first and foremost a Rolex fan, but I have a discovery I would like to share. Has anyone heard of the Marathon brand? I met up with a friend of mine recently who is a diver with the Canadian Navy and was on his way to a diving trip near the north pole. So I asked him what watch he uses. He pulled up his sleeve and showed me the watch that he was issued by the Navy. A brand called Marathon. A real honest to goodness diving watch. Its a canadian based company and also used by the US marines. I instantly fell in love with it and bought one from a Dive/Army supply store (not a jewellery store) in Vancouver, BC for under $1,000. I cannot say enough good things about this watch. It is a robust solid true diving watch with a unique look, distinctive bezel, automatic movement with date which is accurate so far for me to about 1 second per day (impressive). Its 41 mm and has a thick sapphire crystal and tritium tube lumes and a tough rubber band. Its my first tritium watch and I love it because I can read it in ANY light conditions. It has a manly functional military look to it which is hard to find these days it seems. I have heard watch lovers talk and write about needing a "beater" watch and this is perfect for that job, especially for me since I build houses for a living and now I can leave my rolexes at home while working and not feel like I am cheating on them because this watch is up to the task. I think this may be one of the best kept secrets in the world of horology. Does anyone out there have one and share my enthusiasm? I would like to hear what other TRF members have to say.

[Dan Pierce]

More than a couple Marathon fans here on TRF. Bought my first back in 2005 but eventually gave it to my son [who loves that watch]. Regretted not having one so I picked up one of the last sterile dial Marathons from 2006.
I was lucky to stumble across Jim Madrid, a member of the original SAR design team, who was making a small run of custom 12 hour bezel inserts. A feature that makes this indestructible tool watch the perfect traveler as well.
dP

[Armyguy03]

Thanks for posting this. I totally forgot about this watch and wanted one modified for a US Army insignia on the clasp (can't really go rocking the Navy one, LOL). Gonna check today. Looks awesome by the way! The Navy also still issues Seiko 009's as well. Another great watch.

[kilyung]

Are the Marathon watches custom engraved? Could I get a specific seal put on?

[Chopped54]

I love my JSAR!
Solid, Solid watch!!
I just wished the JSAR was offered with a mechanical movement vs quartz...




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nauticajoe]

I like the Marathon's.

[Alcan]

Here's a quick wrist shot of my SAR

[belk7]

A whole lot of value with Marathon. A few different looks for the SAR:

[Time Collector]

I love my GSAR, and yes the value is definetly there. The Marathon company will sell their watches at a discount for all of the forum members who have served in the military, all you have to do is show them proof of service like (DD Form 214, old ID card, Discharge papers or picture of yourself in uniform ) and they will sell you the watch at the military rate.

[gaopa]

Like you, Jeff, I'm a Rolex fan and enjoy my white dial 40mm EXP II. However, I think any good watch collection should have at least one Marathon watch. Mine is my trusty Marathon TSAR, the least expensive Marathon and it has a quartz movement. It has proved to be a great watch. Cheers, Bill P.

[WatchTimes]

Originally Posted by kilyung

Are the Marathon watches custom engraved? Could I get a specific seal put on?

No they wont do customs

[Frogman4me]

Search and rescue :)

[Ray T]

got a excellent g-sar that i wore prior to rolex. still sits in my watch case.

[Chopped54]

Originally Posted by Ray T

got a excellent g-sar that i wore prior to rolex. still sits in my watch case.

Interested in selling??


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[Time Collector]

Tough as nails! As mentioned before, I think every collection should have a Marathon in it. I use this one as my beater, so it always travel with me and the funny thing is people are always asking what type of watch is that.

My purchase was inspired by Dan Pierce and his wonderful SAR, after seeing his for the first time I immediately went on the hunt for one. Thanks Dan!!!!!!

[Alcan]

Originally Posted by kilyung

Are the Marathon watches custom engraved? Could I get a specific seal put on?

Originally Posted by WatchTimes

No they wont do customs

Nope, but sometimes the stars align. Dan Pierce in Kentucky had a SAR with the maple leaf buckle. I (in Canada) has a SAR with the US Navy buckle......

Two quick emails and we each had the right buckle.


The internet can sometimes be a wonderful thing.

[Dan Pierce]

Originally Posted by Alcan

Nope, but sometimes the stars align. Dan Pierce in Kentucky had a SAR with the maple leaf buckle. I (in Canada) has a SAR with the US Navy buckle......

Two quick emails and we each had the right buckle.


The internet can sometimes be a wonderful thing.

dP

[Dan Pierce]

Originally Posted by Time Collector

Tough as nails! As mentioned before, I think every collection should have a Marathon in it. I use this one as my beater, so it always travel with me and the funny thing is people are always asking what type of watch is that.

My purchase was inspired by Dan Pierce and his wonderful SAR, after seeing his for the first time I immediately went on the hunt for one. Thanks Dan!!!!!!

Thanks for the kind words, Anthony!
dP

[asadtiger]

Marathon

[marathonmatt]

Get a SAR. You will not be disappointed. The things are just about indestructible, as I can (unfortunately) demonstrate.

Mine hit the street crystal down in a 60kph bike crash, and I slid across the street with the watch beneath me. The bezel took the hit, crystal survived, still works fine and is still water tight.

As I live in Western Australia and there are no SAR parts here, I used my wife's emory board to sand what remained of the black coating off the bezel to make it somewhat monochromatic. Might get a new bezel next time I am on that side of the globe.

Cheers,

Matt

p.s. Get the bracelet. It's worth the extra bucks.

[marathonmatt]

...and damage.

:)

[belk7]

Re linking previous photos.....played around (a little too much, apparently) with updated photobucket.

[Maxfli]

Originally Posted by jeffboehm

Has anyone heard of the Marathon brand?

Oh yeah! As others said, every collection should have one. Tritium tubes, military dial, 500m WR and built like a tank — tool watches don't come more toolish than this. Like Dan Pierce's, mine has a custom 12-hour bezel from Jim Madrid in SF.

[marathonmatt]

Originally Posted by Maxfli

Oh yeah! As others said, every collection should have one. Tritium tubes, military dial, 500m WR and built like a tank — tool watches don't come more toolish than this. Like Dan Pierce's, mine has a custom 12-hour bezel from Jim Madrid in SF.

SWEET WATCH, Max!

[vman]

This is a sweet watch. If my adventures call for a mechanical time piece, this will be it.

Very well done!