Marathon Canadian issue military dive watch

This watch is most unusual in that it was actually commissioned by and designed for the Canadian Coast Guard. Marathon is apparently the only watch manufacturer supplying exclusively military and official agencies and only perhaps 200 of these watches are released annually to the civilian market. The watch is designed for Search & Rescue operatives, so while it is highly water-resistant (300 meters) it is not really a 'dive' watch, more an all-weather, rough-usage automatic, and this shows in its specifications.

The Marathon SAR is a fairly typical (for a sports' watch) 41mm diameter exclusive of crown, but is 14mm thick, over 3.5 ounces without strap or bracelet, and has a 2.8mm(!) thick sapphire crystal with date cyclops. The well-protected screw-down crown is huge, shaped like a soda can, and milled with a deep crosshatch pattern for sure grip in extreme circumstances and the bezel is extra tall and sharply milled. The hours and hands (& triangle on the bezel) are luminous, and the whole dial glows like a fiend when well-charged. The entire case and bracelet is brushed 316L stainless steel and it really looks and feels almost indestructable. Inside is a bog-standard ETA 2824 automatic movement, perfectly suited to this watch's purpose as it is rugged and reliable, inexpensive and would presumably be easy to service, even in technologically-challenged circumstances.


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These inside views courtesy of CountyComm:






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I hope you enjoyed this!
SteveG
December 0, 2001

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