Another great option is to throw it on a NATO. I tried my trusty 18mm Olive Maratac, and it came together very nicely. The NATO also makes it wear a bit larger and look even more aggressive, bringing out the military elements over the dive elements. It’s always interesting when a watch manufacturer synonymous with a particular type of product goes off-piste and develops something fundamentally different from their regular portfolio. This is exactly what Marathon has done with their professional dive watch range. The Marathon Watch Co. from Ontario, Canada, was founded in 1939 by Morris Wein. They made a name for themselves during WW2 by providing combat watches and timing equipment to the Allied Forces. Now under control of the fourth generation of the Wein family they are well known in military and outdoor circles for designing robust combat-ready watches. If you run into a soldier on duty with the US, UK, or Canadian military there is a good chance they may be issued with a Marathon.

First it is important to note that almost all Marathon watches use tritium vials on the indices and hands as opposed to standard luminescence. These sealed tubes deliver no higher than 25 millicuries of radiation which allows them to fall within current US military specifications MIL-PRF-46374G. The benefit of this illumination source is that it burns brightly for around 25 years, in multiple colours, and visibility is much improved from standard lume. In fact, tritium is so visible, that in certain operational theatres it is considered too bright for safe tactical use. However, for 99.9% of users this additional legibility is a real asset, and it is especially useful when diving. Best of all, the reduction in scale does not amount to a reduction in build or toughness. This Marathon Diver’s Quartz Medium is a solid as they come. Nothing budges. There’s something about compact watches that almost seem more solid that similar large watches. Throw in a 30 ATM water resistance, screw down crown, sapphire crystal and tritium tubes, and you seriously cool, tough little watch.When we last looked at Marathon, I was quite impressed by their affordable and attractive Navigator watch. It was straightforward, simple, legible, lightweight…everything you want in a good day-to-day beater. But the Navigator is really only the tip of the iceberg of what Marathon has to offer. In fact, when a lot of people think of Marathon, they think of their tough-as-nails diver/SAR watches. These big, brutal, mil-spec watches in solid steel aren’t kidding around. They are known for their build quality, no-nonsense designs and rugged looks.

We are proud to present this stylish & functional Breguet Classique Le Réveil du Tsar 18ct white gold watch for sale. There are currently three principal watch collections within the brand; the General Purpose, which is a simple effective field watch, the Navigator Pilot, by far the most recognisable and widely used, and perhaps the least known, the Diver SAR which we will focus on here. It’s well detailed and finished too. The bezel, which stands 4mm tall and has the same deep grooved teeth as the big guys, is rigid with a crisp, snappy action. The Maraglow marker at 0/60 also glows very bright, brighter than the tritium tubes, though they last longer. The lugs are drilled, which I’m always glad to see. And it comes with a cool rubber strap that has partially cut holes, allowing you to size it specifically for your wrist, creating a very clean look.The SARs are quintessential tool watches projecting a distinctly high-end equipment feel. Whether it is the purposeful deeply set dials, polished rehaut or super bold numerals there is something extremely reassuring about wearing any of the Marathon Diver watches; a sensation that this is a truly well-designed piece of equipment which will never let you down. Almost certainly another less tangible factor is that Marathon watches have such a strong military reputation that some milspec DNA must have filtered into the SARs. With specifications and heritage like this there are no good reasons not to consider a Marathon SAR if you in the market for a professional dive watch or are simply looking for a super capable tool watch to add to your collection. All SAR watches, irrespective of case size, have the expected professional diver specifications such as brushed steel cases with protection shoulders for the screw down crown, a unidirectional bezel, AR coated sapphire crystals and drilled lugs - which are always useful if you want to replace the standard Vulcanised rubber strap or transition to a military style strap. Why buy a Marathon SAR?