Rugged, accurate, excellent value
I've never written a watch review, but I'll give it my best.
I got hooked on automatic watches several years ago. My first one was the seiko turtle. It was a great watch, but it only lasted 2 years before it was gaining 3 1/2 minutes a day. The watch was so economical to start with that having it serviced wasn't really feasible, so I started looking for a new wrist watch.
I was going to go quartz for accuracy, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
What I needed was an automatic that was designed to be bombproof.
Behold: The GSAR
This thing ticks off all the boxes. I have an attraction to both dive watches and field watches, and this watch somehow does a great job of satisfying both tastes. It's absolutely a tool watch. The case, crown, and bezel scream "dive watch".
However, the face gives every indication that you are wearing a field watch. The black face, Arabic numerals, and 24 hour feature are all reminisce of the field watch design.
It's not a super busy dial, but there's a lot going on. Mine is the U.S Government marked version, and I served in the U.S military so I think that's kind of neat. The 12/24 hours are also useful to me because that's the time that I've used for so long. I like that the water resistance rating is in red, it gives the dial a nice little pop of color.
The radiation symbol is really interesting. I didn't know it was there until I received the watch, but it really balances the dial.
Tritium is great stuff, you can read the dial in pitch blackness.
So far, it's been pretty consistent in gaining 5 seconds a day. I can absolutely live with that. You can spend ten times the money on a more expensive watch and it's still going to gain or loose a few seconds a day.
Overall, this watch is one that I think I'll be happy with for a long, long time. It's durable enough to get you through the battle of Armageddon, and accurate enough to get you there on time, and you'll be looking good.
One last thing that I really like. This watch is not cheap, but it also isn't designed as a statement of wealth. It's a solid investment at around 1000$. The servicing cost from marathon is well under 200$, so the price/service ratio is especially good and makes this a worthwhile watch that you can pretty much wear for the rest of your life.
Verified purchase: YesCondition: New