- Tritium Gas Tubes for an unmatched illumination
- Top Notch quality materials
- Easy to swap bands (with a stainless steel one)
- Tough case
- Quite expensive
Outstanding!!! I absolutely love this watch… Overall construction is excellent.
Tadpole, Amazon customer
I love it and highly recommend it if you can afford to drop the money. You won’t be disappointed.
Ryan Brummond, Amazon customer
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Marathon is well known for manufacturing tactical equipment for the US and Canadian Government. Luckily enough the products are also available to the market to those who can afford it. With their SAR watch line, a new profile of watches has been introduced to the market, with currently no true competitor. The Marathon WW194006 or shortly GSAR comes with a tactical feel to the table for divers both amateurs and professionals.
The image below is of the USMC version of this Marathon, i.e. the so-called US Military version, not the government one.
The swiss automatic movement is as you may already know, precise as long as you frequently wear the watch because the mechanism uses the movement of your hand as a power source. I would like not to concentrate too much on this aspect since there are other things which are, in my opinion, more important, like the design.
It comes with a stainless steel case and a sapphire crystal window for added resistance to both scratches and shocks, and a rubber band that fits very well on the wrist. The screw down crown is pretty standard and stiff so it doesn’t move when it is not intended. While a stainless steel bracelet is a better choice in my opinion (you can buy one for around $100) the rubber band that you get in the box is still good. I haven’t found it to be uncomfortable when wet and it can be worn with a wetsuit or any kind of equipment.
Below you can see how great the tritium tubes illuminate the index hands and hour markers in low light.
Since the tritium-based illumination is so good, you can dive in deep waters without worrying that you won’t be able to read the time. The same applies to the bezel which has a luminous indicator on top, and since it is unidirectional it won’t go backwards so that you lose track of your diving time.
As I mentioned before the window is made of a really tough Sapphire Crystal, and on the dial, you can see that there is a small date window, two thick index hands for hours and minutes and one thin hand for seconds. Other than that the Arabic numbers indicating the hours do not have any kind of illumination so all that you will be able to see during dark periods will be the markers and hands along with the arrow on the bezel.
In the image below you can see how the watch looks on the wrist with a stainless steel bracelet.
The Marathon GSAR remains one of the best choices for the tactical diving watch market. It comes with an unmatched manufacturing quality and lots of features to enjoy; probably one of the best investments for your money when it comes to a diving watch.
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Features List:
- 300 meters / almost 1000 feet water resistance
- Tritium based illumination
- Automatic Swiss movement mechanism
- 20 mm black rubber bracelet
- Sapphire Crystal window
- Stainless steel case
- Screw down crown
- Unidirectional bezel
Marathon GSAR and TSAR Video Watch Review
Christian Cantrell reviews the Marathon GSAR and TSAR side-by-side for watchreport.com. See the complete review at: ...
MARATHON WW194006 GSAR Swiss Made Military Issue Milspec Diver's Automatic Watch US Government Dial with Tritium Illumination
Features
- MIL-SPEC: Manufactured in accordance with US Government Specification. Issued and worn by troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- TRITIUM GAS TUBES: Self illuminated 24/7 tritium gas tubes for up to 25 years.
- SEARCH & RESCUE: Designed for Search And Rescue missions.
- SWISS MADE: Proudly hand made in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland since 1939.
- NSN NUMBER: Nato Stock Number 6645-21-558-0133 engraved on case back.
MARATHON WW194006USMC GSAR Swiss Made Military Issue Milspec Diver's Automatic US Marine Corp Officially Licensed Watch with Tritium Illumination
Features
- MIL-SPEC: Manufactured in accordance with US Government Specification. Issued and worn by troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- TRITIUM GAS TUBES: Self illuminated 24/7 tritium gas tubes for up to 25 years.
- SAR: Designed for Search And Rescue missions. Features 3mm thick scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, more durable than mineral crystal. 41mm case size. 14mm thick. Water resistant up to 300 meters or 1000 feet. Includes Italian made vanilla-scented vulcanized rubber straps in black (optional straps are available.)
- SWISS MADE: Proudly hand made in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland since 1939. Uses ETA 2824 24 jewels automatic mechanical self-winding movement.
- Eagle, Globe, and Anchor insignia/emblem printed on dial. US MARINES engraved on side of the case and Semper Fidelis engraved on case back.
