Last year I started dipping my toes into watches. Not ultra-luxury nor cheap things, but rather some proper tool and dive watches.
For the past couple of years I have begun to procure some higher-quality tool/dive watches. Mostly for reliability, function and then form. As a recreational SCUBA diver and sometimes-adventurer, I want to ensure I have something rugged and reliable on my wrist. As ex-Military and ex-law enforcement, I also want something that’s “bad-ass”-reliable, yet stylish and somewhat of a conversation starter. Something notable. A watch that would get a nod. More recently, however, I have wanted to support Canadian brands specifically, and Marathon has been on my radar for a while.
I have been thrilled with all aspects of my experience with Marathon – from the amazing customer service, the support in customization and of course, the quality and comfort of the watch itself.
The Maple Leaf edition of the 41mm GSAR is a special edition variant of the Government Search and Rescue watch Marathon has had available for years. Issued to Military and Search & Rescue personnel worldwide, it is a solidly-built reliable tool watch which easily navigates extremes of depths, pressures, temperatures and shocks. It features a Sellita SW200-1, self-winding automatic movement with Incabloc shock absorber and 26 jewels for accuracy and a 41hr power reserve. The lume is provided via MaraGlo and tritium gas tubes for easy legibility. A screw-down crown and scratch-resistant sapphire crystal complement the stainless steel case for a water resistance of 30ATM (300m/1000ft). More than I’ll ever need. I suppose if I went overboard at some point and the crabs ate my body, I could be identified by the watch. The customized engraving and “Frankensteining” of the parts to create a unique timepiece for me says a lot about the company as well as the individual piece.
Full specs for the watch itself are available HERE and HERE on the Marathon site.
My watch from Marathon is a bit of a custom-Frankenstein: it is a 41mm GSAR with Stainless Steel bracelet, BUT with a Red Maple Leaf, rather than the grey one. Marathon had this combo with a slightly older movement years ago in a 41mm case and when they upgraded the internals also moved on from the Red Maple. So, that means Marathon currently only has a Red Maple on the 46mm or the Arctic White 41mm. They were super-kind to customize mine with a red leaf on the black face and then do some fantastic case engraving as well.
First impressions: this watch is SOLID. I own other tool watches (Doxa Sharkhunter, Momentum SQ30 Eclipse, Scurfa MS-25 PVD, Citizen Pro Diver, and others) but this one is an absolute unit. It sits a bit tall but not to the point that it impedes anything I wear. It fits well on my wrist and the bracelet and watch are both comfortable to wear. I thought that the crown might dig in a bit but I was pleasantly surprised that it never does.
I have worn this watch a lot, in both outdoor and work environments and have had zero issues. Accuracy has been spot on with no issues other than when the reserve runs out and I have to re-set the time. I have since received a watch winder and when it’s spinning it maintains accurate time to the extent that I can’t really tell any deviation. Though it is a lot taller than some of my other watches, it is still unobtrusive and wears easily in any context. The crown doesn’t dig into me in any way, which was a concern when I initially tried it on.
The Tritium lume is wonderful at night. I have had no issues with it. It is bright and clear and legible in the dark. By far it’s the brightest late-night watch I have. The indices are clearly marked and the different colours make telling the time easy.
On thing I will say is that I have not taken it diving…yet. I will be sure to do so the next time I go and update this post when I do. Suffice it to say, I left it in a waterfall for an hour and it just got cold – no skew in timekeeping or function at all. I do wear it in everything else I do, so rough days, workouts, building and getting dirty has zero negative effect on it. Perfect.
The extra care and work the Marathon team put in to this piece – and how they cared about the entire process was a refreshing change from the world of customer experiences which have seemed to have gone downhill over the past several years. The Marathon crew was awesome in that they delivered my watch to me at the Toronto Timepiece Show ( https://www.timepieceshow.com ), which was a nice treat as I got to meet the fine folks involved in making it happen.
Another thing I am fond of with my Marathon GSAR is that, amongst watch nerds and “operational” types, it has instant caché and recognition as a solid watch. Reliable reputation and it’s also a cool watch to discuss with other nerds like me. Though it’s not a Rolex or Omega, I feel that, in a pinch, it could be traded for something like safe passage or some food or money during an emergency while abroad. The bezel, with its solid clicks do make rudimentary navigation by watch easier. Of course, in these days of crazy tariffs and whatnot, paying less for a watch because there’s no import fees or duties, can make it a more affordable watch than some alternatives.
Bottom line: this is an awesome TOOL WATCH. Hands-down, it’s a workhorse which embodies the ethos of “use your tools”. It does what it’s supposed to do: it keeps accurate time, in harsh conditions, is comfortable, reliable AND it looks sharp. The heft of it makes you know it’s there. The look of it draws the eye. The insides keep the time and lets you forget about having to check it it’s working or not.
Marathon offers several variants of their 41mm SAR watches. For me, this was the perfect one.
