Marathon Gsar.....

[ricardopalamino]

Hi All , the postman delivered a couple of packages today that I really have been waiting for....it made a beautiful Hawaiian Day even better .

 I received a Marathon GSAR . Manufactured in Jan. 2007 , it doesn't look a day over Jan. 2014 .

 

http://watchreport.com/review-of-the-marathon-gsar/

 

I received the watch with no band connected . Someone had colored the bezel red . In that package I also received a new bezel insert and a nylon Nato strap .

 

 

 

 

In the other package I received a very Nice , well made , heavy duty Shark mesh strap . It came in a very large size but is adjustable with removable link sections joined with machined screws and posts . The whole bracelet is made well .

 

 

After installing the new bezel insert , [thick aluminum ] , and installing and adjusting the new bracelet , we have this...

 

Voila....

 

 

 

[ramrod]

my jealousy meter just pegged. what a find. you got a beauty. i'm not familiar with these, but i'd like to get to know one.

who's movement is used?

 

i just want to know where do you find these gorgeous watches? perhaps i'm looking for another genre altogether.

[ricardopalamino]

  On 12/19/2015 at 3:38 AM, ramrod said:

my jealousy meter just pegged. what a find. you got a beauty. i'm not familiar with these, but i'd like to get to know one.

who's movement is used?

 

i just want to know where do you find these gorgeous watches? perhaps i'm looking for another genre altogether.

 

These have an Swiss ETA  2824 A2 movement . I have quite a few Seiko and Citizen divers ,....vintage and new  and I truly like them , but this government spec Marathon is the real deal . Check out the link On my post and it will give you the skinny on them . The Tritium illumination on them is interesting . and if you notice on the dial it has H3 , referring to the Hydrogen Isotope the the Tritium is derived from and the radio-active emblem that is required on the government issued watch .

  The Shark-mesh bracelet I got for it is killer. Very well made from the machined link posts and screws , to the heavy-duty deployment clasp .

 

 I have been wanting the GSAR ever since I first ran into them on ebay and have bid in at least 3 that I didn't win in the past . Those went for over $400 . I got this one for $380 , probably because it didn't look good with the red colored bezel , and didn't have a watchband . The aluminum bezel has  engraved indexes instead of printed .

[ricardopalamino]

ramrod
Watch Enthusiast

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• Member
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• 81 posts

• Locationdurham, nc

Posted Today, 05:38 PM

 

ramrod said :

" i just want to know where do you find these gorgeous watches? perhaps i'm looking for another genre altogether."

 

 

 

I look for Swiss Divers .

[ricardopalamino]

Check out this site.....look under "ending soon "....

 

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/wristwatches/overview

[ramrod]

that is a great site! nirvana. now all i need is.....money. i have few swiss watches. i gotta get my swiss count up.

[ramrod]

i read that watch report. wow. that is quite a watch. i'm just a tad put off by the busy dial and, as a consequence, the small numbers on the face. but, i'd own one in a second. very nice and built like an anvil, i'd imagine.

[Bgbrix3]

Hi. Would you please give me a brief write up on how to change out the bezel insert for this watch? I have had a SAR for almost 15 years and the insert is pretty neat down. I just received a new replacement that appears identical to the one in your photo but I have not found a good tutorial on removal of the original. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

[ricardopalamino]

First off , I used a retractable razor knife to get under the bezel , careful not to scratch the watch . After it started to lift , i used my case knife , which is not as sharp , to carefully go around the bezel to pry it off .

  Often times , looking from the inside of the bezel , if the insert overhangs the bezel I will try to pry it off using my crystal press if I have a disk of the right size . 

For this watch , that was not the case .  First I tried to use thumb pressure to rotate the insert to loosen the adhesive , and when that didn't work , I used a small beater screwdriver to slowly work a hole in the insert so I could get under it to start lifting it  . that worked and I removed the old insert . The insert is embossed , not printed , Aluminum , so taking my time to make the little hole just took patience .  Maybe you can put the bezel with the old insert in some hot water to loosen the adhesive first .

 

  When installing the new insert , put the bezel on first and give it a  few clicks to make sure it's on properly . It's uni-directional so it won't turn clockwise . Make sure it's in a set position so there's no movement clockwise and install the zero arrow at 12 o"clock .  I believe there should be a paper ring you have to remove to expose the adhesive on the insert . Only remove the top half where the arrow is so you can lightly lay the insert on the bezel to make sure you are satisfied with the placement of the arrow at 12 .

If it's good , hold the arrow at 12 and peel off the rest of the paper . Check it again before you press the insert fully to adhere to the bezel .

 

  You may choose not to remove your bezel to make the small hole in the aluminum , but the rest of the procedure is the same .  I removed it to clean around the glass and case .

Edited January 27, 2016 by ricardopalamino

[Bgbrix3]

Thanks. I will give the hot water a try. I tried to get under the insert with a couple different sized exacto knives with no luck...just boogered up the aluminum insert.

[dbals]

I have a Luminox that I got as an engagement gift from my soon to be wife- some 15 years ago.  That was also the watch that started me down the watch repair rabbit hole!  After 15 years the lume is quite faded-  It had amazing lume for at least the first 10 years.

 

 

Looks Great!

[ricardopalamino]

  On 1/27/2016 at 12:21 PM, Bgbrix3 said:

Thanks. I will give the hot water a try. I tried to get under the insert with a couple different sized exacto knives with no luck...just boogered up the aluminum insert.

 

Good luck with it . Post a pic later....

[Folkvisor]

Very nice looking watch! Thank you for bringing it to my attention.

Dave

[WillFly]

Well, I have to confess that Marathon's a new name to me. I don't go for divers watches, on the whole, but that's very nice - a good combination. Enjoy!

 

Cheers,

 

Will

[Folkvisor]

My Sinn EZM 10 says it's good for 30 bar. I don't ever intend to be under water that far...LOL

It's not even a diver's watch.