Marathon has been making timepieces for the United States and Canadian militaries since the 1990s. That kind of relationship doesn't happen by accident. It takes decades of delivering instruments that hold up when lives depend on them — not just looking tough, but actually being tough. The brand's new Anthracite SAR Unit collection is the latest proof that Marathon hasn't softened with age.
Image credit: Marathon
The story behind this collection goes back to 2018, when Marathon first dropped the original Anthracite SAR watch. SAR stands for Search and Rescue, and the watch was built from the ground up with night operations in mind — designed to give operators a tactical advantage in low-light, high-stakes environments. It was blacked out for a reason. Reflections in the field can get people killed. The watch was a hit among people who understood that, and it earned a solid reputation not just with military and government users, but with serious watch collectors who appreciated what it represented.
Now, Marathon has brought that concept back in a bigger, more permanent way. The new Anthracite SAR Unit isn't a limited run or a nostalgic nod to the past. It's been added as a permanent part of the catalog, expanded into three distinct models — the MSAR, the GSAR, and the JDD — each sized differently and aimed at different wrists and preferences.
The MSAR, which stands for Medium Search and Rescue, is the smallest of the group at 36 millimeters. That size has become increasingly popular in recent years, appealing to guys who want something that doesn't overwhelm the wrist and wears more like a classic tool watch. The GSAR — Government Search and Rescue — sits in the middle at 41 millimeters, which is essentially the goldilocks size for most wrists. It's large enough to read quickly under pressure, but not so big that it catches on gear or becomes a distraction. Then there's the JDD, or Jumbo Day Date, coming in at 46 millimeters. That one is for the guys who want presence on the wrist and need to read a watch fast and from a distance.
Image credit: Marathon
What ties all three together is the finish. Every watch in this lineup is blacked out using black IP, which stands for ion-plating. This isn't paint or a powder coat. Ion-plating is an industrial process that bonds a layer of material directly onto the surface at the molecular level, resulting in something far more durable and scratch-resistant than traditional coatings. The cases underneath are 316L stainless steel, which is the marine-grade alloy used in applications where corrosion resistance matters — the kind of steel you see in surgical equipment and offshore hardware. Wrap that in black IP armor and you've got a case that can take a serious beating without showing it.
But Marathon didn't stop there. The Swiss-made automatic movements inside each watch have been given the same Anthracite coating as the cases. That's not something most watch brands bother with, because the movement is hidden. Marathon did it anyway, because in the search-and-rescue world, the inside of a watch needs to be just as resilient as the outside. These movements aren't just there to look good under a case back — they're treated for toughness the same way the case itself is.
The movements are Sellita calibers, which is a Swiss manufacturer with a strong reputation in the serious tool watch space. The GSAR and MSAR both run the SW200-1, while the larger JDD uses the SW220. All three are fitted with Incabloc shock absorbers, which protect the delicate internal components from the kind of jarring impacts that happen when a watch is actually being used in the field — jumping from heights, working in rough terrain, or handling heavy equipment.
All three watches are water resistant to 300 meters. That's not a casual water resistance rating — 300 meters puts these firmly in the dive watch category. They're equipped with dive timer bezels, so they function as fully capable underwater tools, not just watches that can get wet. Whether someone is doing open water rescue work, tactical diving, or just fishing in the rain, these watches don't care.
Image credit: Marathon
One of the upgrades from the original 2018 Anthracite SAR is the illumination system. All three models now feature upgraded MaraGlo alongside their tritium tubes. Tritium is a gaseous tritium light source — it doesn't need to be charged by light exposure the way traditional lume does. It glows constantly, for years, powered by a low-level radioactive gas sealed inside tiny glass tubes on the hands and dial. Marathon has used tritium for years, and it's one of the reasons military units have trusted them. You can pull a Marathon watch out of a drawer after months in the dark and the hands will still be glowing. The upgraded MaraGlo illumination adds another layer to that legibility, with larger indices that make reading the time even faster under pressure.
Straps across all three models are black rubber with Anthracite hardware — again, the same IP treatment carries through to every part of the watch. For the GSAR specifically, there's actually a second option: a link bracelet that also gets the full Anthracite treatment. The look of the bracelet version is notably more refined while still maintaining every bit of the tactical intent. It also comes at a notably higher price, which makes sense given the additional material and finishing work involved.
When visiting the Marathon website to shop the collection, buyers will notice what appears to be four watches listed rather than three. That's because the GSAR appears twice — once with the rubber strap and once with the link bracelet. They're otherwise identical in every specification that matters; it's purely a strap choice that separates them.
Pricing for the Anthracite SAR Unit collection starts at $1,900 for the 36mm MSAR and runs up to $3,250 depending on the model and configuration. For context, that positions these watches in a space where they're competing with names like Tudor, Longines, and the lower end of the Rolex catalog. The difference is that Marathon is building watches for a specific purpose — not for the boardroom or the yacht club, but for the kind of work where a watch is a piece of equipment, not an accessory.
That's always been Marathon's lane. Since the 1990s, American and Canadian military branches and special forces units have continued going back to Marathon for their issued timepieces. That kind of loyalty from institutions that evaluate gear with ruthless practicality says more than any marketing campaign could. When the people whose jobs require the most from their equipment keep choosing the same brand decade after decade, the product is doing something right.
The Anthracite SAR Unit collection is available now directly through Marathon's website. No waiting list, no lottery, no gray market premium — just three serious watches built the way serious watches should be, available to anyone who wants one.
