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Thread: Marathon

  1. #1
    Craftsman
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    Marathon



    June 1990, pre Gulf war.
    Anyone else got one.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  2. #2
    Master
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    now that is very nice indeed.

  3. #3
    Master
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    From ‘91


  4. #4
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    I have a few
    Pictures with other US issued watches

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stanley637 View Post


    June 1990, pre Gulf war.
    Anyone else got one.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    Genuine question, why do you describe it as pre-Gulf War?
    I understand yours may have a date of manufacture coincidence, but other than that, does it have a connection?

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brauner Hund View Post
    Genuine question, why do you describe it as pre-Gulf War?
    I understand yours may have a date of manufacture coincidence, but other than that, does it have a connection?
    Its purely the manufacture date, June 1990, the gulf war kicked of in August 1990.

  7. #7
    Waiting for the reissue, hopefully soon.

    Had one a few years ago and sold it for a pittance

    Love that case shape

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stanley637 View Post
    Its purely the manufacture date, June 1990, the gulf war kicked of in August 1990.
    Ah 😊 I was commissioned Aug 90 (that was the start of Shield) but got called off my YOs' course for Storm.

  9. #9
    Master
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    Sinnlover

    thats a cracking collection,those green canvas straps look the part.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by acg View Post
    Waiting for the reissue, hopefully soon.

    Had one a few years ago and sold it for a pittance

    Love that case shape
    Same as the Benrus I @ II

  11. #11
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bwest76 View Post
    Sinnlover

    thats a cracking collection,those green canvas straps look the part.
    Cheers they were NOS from WW2. perfect for the watches. (obviously they are not Marathons but Waltham's)

  12. #12
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    There were actual issued Marathon watches for the US army but they have a completely different style from your picture.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stanley637 View Post


    June 1990, pre Gulf war.
    Anyone else got one.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    Is this the same case profile as their navigator model?

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Notpob View Post
    Is this the same case profile as their navigator model?
    I don’t have one to compare but i think so.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  15. #15
    Master
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    Feb ‘91 says “Hi”

    maseman



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  16. #16
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    Marathon



    A new addition brings my Marathon collection up to 6
    You either love the utilitarian look or hate it but it’s hard to question the great quality and ‘relative’ value they offer.
    Last edited by Sinnlover; 11th August 2021 at 09:44.

  17. #17
    Master
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    I do love my J-SAR but what does it have to do with BMW?

  18. #18
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by uktotty View Post
    I do love my J-SAR but what does it have to do with BMW?
    If you mean why show US military watches on the BMW? The explanation is on the forum header.

    Forum: BMW
    The British Military Watch Forum, as in all military watches on a British forum.

  19. #19
    Grand Master abraxas's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sinnlover View Post
    ...

    A new addition brings my Marathon collection up to 6
    You either love the utilitarian look or hate it but it’s hard to question the great quality and ‘relative’ value they offer.
    I love Marathon. They are today what Rolex used to be in the past. About as real as it gets. I don't currently have one but I am seriously looking at the arctic models if I could decide on the size. 36mm or 41mm? 36mm, more cool. 41mm, more long term versatility.

  20. #20
    Master Timelord's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by abraxas View Post
    I love Marathon. They are today what Rolex used to be in the past. About as real as it gets.
    Could perhaps say the same thing about CWC, Precista and Newmark.

  21. #21
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Timelord View Post
    Could perhaps say the same thing about CWC, Precista and Newmark.
    There are obvious similarities between all companies mentioned both historically and now.
    Only one is now fashion jewellery though…

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sinnlover View Post
    There are obvious similarities between all companies mentioned both historically and now.
    Only one is now fashion jewellery though…
    Which one is that, CWC?

    I was thinking of expanding the list to Stocker & Yale and also Hamilton. However the former no longer sell watches and most of the originals were rather cheap plastic watches. Whilst the latter made some really good military watches in the past, both for the military of the UK and USA, Hamilton seem to have a bit of a patchy record on their reissues.

  23. #23
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Timelord View Post
    Which one is that, CWC?

    I was thinking of expanding the list to Stocker & Yale and also Hamilton. However the former no longer sell watches and most of the originals were rather cheap plastic watches. Whilst the latter made some really good military watches in the past, both for the military of the UK and USA, Hamilton seem to have a bit of a patchy record on their reissues.
    CWC are in danger of becoming a parody of Rolex in the fashion stakes if they continue with the high priced reissues… I understand the need to make money but their market is limited and once you start selling reissues for more than you can buy an original for you really have lost the plot, it’s as if they don’t understand their customer base.

    Stocker and Yale did make some interesting watches, I still have a 490 and gave a few of their earlier watches to my father to wear - I think he still has them. Yes they were plastic but made to a better standard than the black marathon I own and have included in the group picture. So much so Marathon have copied the construction of the SandY in their latest plastic field watches. - thicker case with aluminium bezel ring and flush crystal. The SandY 650 is still in production by Traser and has inspired a lot of the styling in their watches.

    I agree with Hamilton, I have a couple of 6B, these are really excellent quality watches, very well made almost the last of the truly great Hamilton’s. I also have a later 80s US issued Mil- that is poor quality by comparison; it has a Chinese made case, the dial print is poorer, the whole thing is built to a cheaper budget and it feels like it.
    The Hamilton 6bb chronographs fall in to 2 batches early (made by Breitling) and later which I think were made by the same firm that made the CWC, Newmark and Precista. (Likely the latter - Southerns IMO) whilst all great quality the early Hamilton’s have an X factor about them.
    I have not tried the reissues, some look good, others miss the mark by a wide margin. I do believe quality has improved since the 80s though.
    Last edited by Sinnlover; 12th August 2021 at 08:30.

  24. #24
    Craftsman HookedSeven's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stanley637 View Post


    June 1990, pre Gulf war.
    Anyone else got one.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    I’ve got one too but sadly missing it’s bezel insert. Another thing that turns out to be impossible to find !

  25. #25
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    Marathon GSAR 41mm (large)


  26. #26
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    Marathon JSAR (46mm)


  27. #27
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  28. #28
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonnyv View Post
    The JSAR is a large watch but wears well.
    The GSAR wears thickly but it’s smaller than it looks in images. Oh and it has to be on an orange or red strap!
    I love a Marathon watch.

  29. #29
    Craftsman enndriz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sinnlover View Post
    The JSAR is a large watch but wears well.
    The GSAR wears thickly but it’s smaller than it looks in images. Oh and it has to be on an orange or red strap!
    I love a Marathon watch.
    I’ve had a couple of GSARs and found exactly this, wore quite small and just too thick for me. I still love the watches and wish they did something in between the 41mm and 46mm - the JSAR looks huge next to GSAR, and I know I wouldn’t be able to pull that case size off!

  30. #30
    Master
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    I've got this Marathon SAR which I believe is from the first contract (October 2001). I like the size & it's solid build quality. A proper tool watch.




  31. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by trident-7 View Post
    I've got this Marathon SAR which I believe is from the first contract (October 2001). I like the size & it's solid build quality. A proper tool watch.



    Very Nice!

  32. #32
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by trident-7 View Post
    I've got this Marathon SAR which I believe is from the first contract (October 2001). I like the size & it's solid build quality. A proper tool watch.



    An example of one of these is probably the only Marathon I would currently like to add to the collection.
    They don’t come up for sale very often though.

  33. #33
    How do people find the GSAR?

    Had a tsar years ago and remember liking it but can’t remember any specifics.

    The gsar seems better value when compared with a similar cwc. Relatively anyway.

    The tsar not so much

  34. #34
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by acg View Post
    How do people find the GSAR?

    Had a tsar years ago and remember liking it but can’t remember any specifics.

    The gsar seems better value when compared with a similar cwc. Relatively anyway.

    The tsar not so much
    https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...light=Marathon

    Tried to answer the GSAR vs CWC question in this thread.
    The Tsar being quartz is easier to live with if you chop and change watches but I prefer the quartz CWCs if I am honest.
    The GSAR is a cracking watch that wears thicker but smaller than the CWC
    There is not much in it though.

  35. #35
    All I’d ever need to know!

    Perfect, thanks

  36. #36
    Grand Master abraxas's Avatar
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    To my eyes the CWC Monnin case design has been around since the '70s and many watch brands have used it. Nothing wrong, and I love it, but common. The GSAR on the other hand looks modern and very distinctive (which these days is not easy to accomplish).
    Last edited by abraxas; 11th September 2021 at 14:28.

  37. #37
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    Just because I am wearing one today.

  38. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sinnlover View Post


    Just because I am wearing one today.

    Very Nice.

  39. #39
    Craftsman levkov's Avatar
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    That's one lovely example! I've got it on my shortlist, Marathon or an Adanac, not too fussed about which, as long as it's issued

  40. #40
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    I had a marathon GSAR. The bracelet was great but it was too thick for me.

  41. #41
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    Quote Originally Posted by levkov View Post
    That's one lovely example! I've got it on my shortlist, Marathon or an Adanac, not too fussed about which, as long as it's issued
    According to a thread on WUS, Marathon are going to reissue the steel Navigator but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of recent progress on it:

    https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/n...5178843/page-5

  42. #42
    Grand Master Onelasttime's Avatar
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  43. #43
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    Quote Originally Posted by Onelasttime View Post
    Yes I’ve missed out on one in the past too. However, I think I now prefer the (Benrus) Type II dial of the GSAR/TSAR to the Type I dial of the original SAR, even though the dial on the latter is more busy than the dial on the former. I suspect I’m in the minority opinion on that though.

  44. #44
    Craftsman levkov's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Timelord View Post
    According to a thread on WUS, Marathon are going to reissue the steel Navigator but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of recent progress on it:

    https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/n...5178843/page-5
    Thanks, but i meant proper military issued one, not a reissue

  45. #45
    Grand Master abraxas's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sinnlover View Post


    Just because I am wearing one today.
    Isn't that a beaut? I wonder what happened to the GMT:

    https://www.gsaadvantage.gov/images/...0A_500x500.JPG

  46. #46
    Master
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    JSAR for me, love it, had to go and buy the steel bracelet to add to it. Great combo and good for biceps

  47. #47
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by abraxas View Post
    Isn't that a beaut? I wonder what happened to the GMT:

    https://www.gsaadvantage.gov/images/...0A_500x500.JPG
    The GMT was a watch I waited and waited for. Yet it never arrived, I remember it getting to render / cad stage but no further

  48. #48
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    Had a 1991 Marathon Navigator for a while but let it go to fund purchasing this 1985 GG-W-113


  49. #49
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    Just because I am wearing one today
    First generation MSAR - maple search and rescue. One of 500 made in 2009 and issued to troops working security for the Vancouver Olympics (apparently)

  50. #50
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sinnlover View Post


    Just because I am wearing one today
    First generation MSAR - maple search and rescue. One of 500 made in 2009 and issued to troops working security for the Vancouver Olympics (apparently)
    Nice! I keep reading your rather excellent review https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...on-MSAR-Review)
    I now have the urge to buy a GSAR! I have a nice CWC divers but my watch collecting 'rule' will only allow me to own one or the other.
    Decisions, decisions.......................!

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