Marathon GPM Government Black Mechanical Reference WW194003BK, Rough & Tough, A Review (plus Video)

Prior to the Covid-19 lock-down in Kuala Lumpur, I got myself a well-known military watch from a famous Canadian brand, Marathon. The Marathon GSAR Government Diver Automatic WW194006 was purchased from Gnomon Watches of Singapore back in March 2020 (The link to that watch can be found here). That watch is a famous dive watch by Marathon. 

Another iconic design by Marathon is the GPM or General Purpose Mechanical model, a field watch. I decided to get one also and I chose the reference WW194003BK for the collection. This watch is a subject of this review.

This field watch is issued to entitled military personnel especially those serving with ground forces. A no-frill timepiece, the watch provide the two basic tenets of is specifications - accuracy and simplicity. The specifications is based on the US Government Standard MIL-W-46374 specifications which states that a timepiece fulfilling this standard must need to have: 15 jewels (or more) mechanical movement; at least 36 hours of power reserve; has a hacking mechanism; shock resistance; water resistance of at least 30 meters or more; have nylon straps; and have luminous hands and markers that have to glow for 8 hours or more in total darkness. There are other requirements but the one listed above are the primary ones under the standard.

Marathon, took the specifications and added a few design flairs unique to the brand to create a simple, yet effective field watch. 

For the public, Marathon offers the standard version with the Government markings as well as the non-government marking versions. The WW194003BK model has the U.S. Government markings on its dial.

The Series

There are four versions under the current series. For me, the government marked model is more authentic as this is the actual watch issued to the soldiers. The only difference between the watches (apart from the government markings) is the colour of the casing and strap.

GPM Government Black Mechanical Ref. WW194003BK	GPM NGM Black Mechanical Ref. WW194003BK-NGM
GPM NGM Desert Tan Mechanical Ref. WW194003DT-NGM	GPM NGM Sage Green Mechanical Ref. WW194003SG-NGM

The Watch

The GPM Government Black Mechanical has a metal core covered entirely by a high-impact black fiber shell. The casing measures 34 mm wide and a lug-to-lug length of 41 mm. Part of the inner steel casing can be observed extending outwards from the the fiber shell to become the fixed straight-walled bezel. When measured from bottom of the casing to the top surface of the casing, the height is 11 mm. However, when measured from the bottom of the casing to the top of the crystal window, the height is 12.5 mm.

The watch has a military inspired 24-hour dial format. It features a main set of 1-12 Arabic hour markers, a secondary set of 13-24 Arabic hour markers as well as line markers for the minutes at the peripheral of the dial. For night visibility, Marathon added 14 Tritium (Isotope H3) tubes with MaraGlo™ on its hour markers and syringe-style handset, allowing a constant emission of light. 

Only minimal workings are found on the dial such as the brand "MARATHON" at the top quadrant, the words "U.S. GOVERNMENT" at the bottom quadrant, the marking "H3" on the left quadrant and the hazard symbol on the right quadrant. This dial is a direct re-make of the requirements stated in the MIL-W-46374 specifications.

Protecting the dial is a flat sapphire crystal. The use of such crystal for a watch that is expected to be abused is rather interesting. Apart from the movement, this is the next most expensive material used on the watch. 

To ensure a stealthy nature of the watch, the finishing of the steel bezel is sand-blasted to minimise reflections. Unlike a typical fixed bezel found in contemporary watches, this watch has a unique tower-design to the bezel i.e. more like a short tube. This unique bezel design can be seen in the photo below.

The casing has a tonneau shape to it. Due to its small dimensions, the watch can carry that design flawlessly allowing almost everyone the ability to wear it comfortably.   

The lugs have drilled-through lug holes that makes it easy to access the spring-bars easily. With just 16 mm wide, the choice for aftermarket straps may not be as great if it was in the more typical 20 mm to 24 mm wide categories. Nevertheless, this watch has a G.I. Joe reputation and a simple pass-through canvas strap is more than sufficient to project that stature.

The watch adopts a simple push-pull system for the crown. The crown is made out of steel and unsigned. It's surface is also give the same sand-blasted treatment for maintain consistency. In its close position, one can turn the crown to wind the automatic movement.

The case-back is a snap-on solid steel plate loaded with codes and information. The data is essentially the various government markings and specifications engraved for reference. These provide proof that the watch was manufactured following US Government specifications. 

The whole casing is water rated to 30 meter as per the standards. Honestly, I am a bit disappointed with this. Modern manufacturing can easily extend the water rating considerably with minimal increase in production costs. If the Seiko 5 Sports series with similar push-pull crown system can have water rating of 100 meters, I can't see why Marathon cannot match that.

Underneath the case-back is the famous Japanese movement, the SII caliber NH35 manufactured by the Seiko Group. The NH35 is currently one of the world’s most popular automatic movements and is widely available in many affordable micro-brand watches. The NH35 is an automatic watch with hand-windable capability and seconds-hand stop mechanism (hacking). This is a 24 jewel timepiece which has the following functions: hours, minutes, central seconds and date calendar. Power reserve is approximately 41 hours. Accuracy ranges from -20 second per day to +40 seconds per day under normal conditions.

Do note that the watch does not have a date aperture. The date wheel still operates as usual but is not seen. Hence, when pulling the crown out, there is an extra position that does not seem to do anything: this is the crown position where the date wheel is being adjusted.

 

Illumination 

 

The 12 Tritium tubes create a bright illumination to the hours markers and handset. Shown in the photo below, you can clearly see that all the tubes except for one have green tint while the 12 o'clock marker has an orange tint to make it easier to orientate oneself to the dial.

 It would have been even better if some illumination be given to the seconds hand as well.

The Wearing Experience

Those of you that wear contemporary watches may find the Marathon GPM to be a tad small for the wrist. Historically, infantry watches tend to be smaller than 40 mm. If you understand the history of infantry watches, the watch fulfilled all the requirements put on it.

I personally find it easy to wear. The size helps it keep out of the way from getting knocked on things. The thin 16 mm nylon strap is a bit sharp on the edges and some of you may find it slightly uncomfortable. A cloth material would be wore appropriate in my view. 

 

The resin covered casing may be an issue with some of you. I do have some reservations about it especially on its longevity. Only time will tell.

Specifications

Movement: Japanese automatic movement Caliber NH35, dual-wind capability
Dial: Black
Luminous: Tritium gas tubes and Maraglo™
Case: Composite (resin) and 316L stainless steel back
Bezel: Fixed
Crown: Push-pull system
Lug Width: 16 mm
Crystal: Sapphire
Strap: Black nylon textile strap
Water Resistance: 30 meters
Diameter: 34 mm
Lug-to-Lug: 41 mm
Thickness: 12.5 mm (with crystal), 11 mm (casing only)
Purchase Date: 5 August 2020
Vendor: Gnomon Watches, Singapore
MSRP: USD360
Purchase Price: USD278
Serial Number: 01062BK