Marathon Watch Sapphire Navigator Swiss Made Military Issue Pilot's Watch with Date, Tritium, Sapphire Crystal, Steel Crown, Battery Hatch, ETAF06 Movement (41mm)

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Looks. Yes, I care about looks. Yes, I noticed that the new Growler aircraft is cooler looking than the Prowler (although that old girl grows on you). The Navigator's aesthetic is super cool. A mix of modern and old school, and it just looks so purposeful, I love it. All in all, it's a very legible, and fun watch that I could see myself wearing for a long time. Would highly recommend if you appreciate form-follows-function, and want to tap into the innocent fascination for glowy things.

The Navigator Pilot’s Quartz is made in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland. Powered by a Swiss made, high torque, 3 jewel ETA F06 Quartz movement, the Navigator Pilots Quartz guarantees you a high degree of accuracy in timekeeping. The ETA F06 is accurate to -0.3/+0.5 seconds per day and includes an End of Life (EOL) indicator. The Navigator Pilots Quartz uses self-contained Tritium gas tubes to ensure constant visibility in low light situations. A tube is located on each hour marker, each hand, and at the 12-hour marker in the bezel. Tritium tubes are self-illuminating gas tubes which contain an isotope of hydrogen that glows consistently for years without the need to pre-glow in the light. Accuracy. No need to belabor this point but quartz is super accurate and that is important in a business where seconds count. My Navigator's accuracy greatly exceeds the published limits, which are already awesome. I've been a watch enthusiast for over a decade, and a professional aviator for over 22 years, yet it's just now that I feel I've found a few truly "it" watches. First disclaimer: I only speak for myself and my own experience as a Naval Flight Officer (think "Goose" from Top Gun), and mileage varies WIDELY here. I do not speak for the Navy, the government, or any other organization, and this personal review is not a product endorsement. Second disclaimer: the best modern watches for professional flying are digital multifunction watches (yes, analog has its merits and I prefer it, but I'm under no illusions about what makes the best tool). Ok with that out of the way, I've been looking for a perfect analog flying watch for a long time. Let me describe why I feel the Navigator makes my list. The company that was to become Marathon Watch was founded in 1904 as Weinsturm Watch, later to be named Wein Brothers. In 1939, Morris Wein founded Marathon Watch, supplying fine precision timepieces throughout North America. Since 1941, Marathon has been manufacturing timing instruments for the Allied Forces, and today the fourth generation of the family continues the tradition with a wide range of instruments measuring time, temperature and distance.

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The case dramatically bows out on the right side to protect the crown in the same way that can be seen on the classics mentioned before. It’s a great design that protects the crown without making any jagged points. By speaking to mid-century designs, it naturally feels a bit vintage too, which is part of what makes the watch aesthetically pleasing overall. Further emphasizing this is the box Hesalite (acrylic) crystal, which adds that tell-tale greasy sheen and a cool detail as it curves along the edge. That said, had this been a mechanical, I highly doubt I would have thought twice about the benefits above. For the same price, or even a bit less, you can get one of the Marathon General Purpose Mechanical watches, which have some no-name manual movement inside. The Navigator is arguably the cooler looking watch (also substantially larger) so, I do wish they had the option for a Navigator Mechanical, if even just for the general public. If this had some low-beat manual movement, it would really feel like a vintage watch.

The Navigator Pilots Quartz combines military durability with Swiss craftsmanship in a timepiece that will satisfy you for years. DETAILS of Marathon Navigator watch The Marathon Pilot's Navigator combines military durability with Swiss craftsmanship. An accurate timepiece that will satisfy you for years. The Marathon Pilot's Navigator's is made in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland to guarantee the highest level of quality and accuracy in manufacturing. Powered by a Swiss made, high torque, 3 jewel ETA F06 Quartz movement, the Pilot's Navigator guarantees you a high degree of accuracy in timekeeping. This tough movement will operate for 5+ years before needing a battery change. The ETA F06 movement is accurate to -0.3/+0.5 seconds per day and also includes an End of Life (EOL) indicator that will advance the seconds hand once every 4 seconds to inform you that a battery change is needed. Replacement battery is a 371 cell. The Military Navigator Pilot's Quartz combines military durability with Swiss craftsmanship. An accurate timepiece that will satisfy you for years.On the wrist, the Navigator wears very well. The asymmetrical case looks bigger than it feels and the added bulk of the bezel gives it a lot of mass. Yet, it’s also fairly thin and the lug-to-lug is relatively short, so it will fit smaller wrists. Aesthetically, it’s simply very cool. The classic military elements mixed with the vintage feel of the domed crystal, finished off with the modern resin case come together for a unique watch. The Military Navigator Pilot's Quartz now uses a Sapphire Crystal. The Military Navigator Pilot's Quartz is made in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland to guarantee the highest level of quality and accuracy in manufacturing. Powered by a Swiss made, high torque, 3 jewel ETA FØ6 quartz movement, the Military Navigator Pilot's Quartz guarantees you a high degree of accuracy in timekeeping. The ETA FØ6 movement is accurate to -0.3/+0.5 seconds per day and also includes an End of Life (EOL) indicator that will advance the seconds hand once every 4 seconds to inform you that a battery change is needed. Replacement battery is a 371 cell. The Military Navigator Pilot's Quartz uses self contained Tritium gas tubes to ensure constant visibility in low light situations; therefore, a gas tube is placed on each hour marker, hand, and at the 12 hour marker in the bezel. Tritium tubes are self illuminating gas tubes which contain an isotope of hydrogen, meaning they will not dull down in brightness like normal photo-luminescent (glow in the dark) paint which requires an external light source to create a glow. The dial is very legible thanks to the white hands, and the tritium in the dark is just so much fun! It's not super bright (the tritium tubes are small after all), but once your eyes have adjusted to the dark, the dial is plenty visible. The Marathon Pilot's Navigator is a highly accurate watch built to strict military specifications under MIL-PRF-46374G. Designed for pilots, parachutists, and law enforcement, the Military Pilot's Navigator is made to withstand the many challenges that are faced in a professional environment. I had the older version (one with the acrylic crystal) and I have to say this new model contains a lot of improvements, although I think it's still far from perfect.

I prefer the no-date, sterile version, but I suspect the movement is the same as the one used on the date version (takes two pulls on the crown to stop the movement). Glow in the dark stuff is always cool, right? This is my first tritium watch. I'd been eyeing this up for a while and after watching a few videos on YT, I was convinced. Heinnie delivered in their usual exceptional way and two days later it was on my wrist! Spec-wise, the new Marathon Steel Navigator ref. SSNAV-D is a dream. The 41mm sizing will be familiar to anyone who has handled one of the older versions in the past. But what really swept me off my feet was the addition of a screw-down crown, which had been absent in the previous models. This means water resistance has been bumped to 100m and the fully blasted steel case makes this combination feel perfect for everything. The one thing that is really turning me off though is the choice to move from fixed to traditional, removable spring bars. To me it just makes the watch feel a little less mil-spec and the move is out of character for the watch. Marathon Steel Navigator SSNAV-D Specs Metal crown. On the previous version the crown was plastic. It's still a non-screwdown crown, however. Included with the Pilot's Navigator is a 20 mm waterproof nylon strap made under Military specification MIL-S-46383B, Type III.Founded in 1939, the Marathon Watch Company is a Canadian based company with all its watches produced in Switzerland. Marathon has been supplying timepieces to the US Military and multiple NATO forces since 1941. Marathon timepieces are now standard issue for the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, NASA, and Canadian Armed Forces as well as numerous law enforcement and government agencies worldwide. Marathon is currently the only active military watch contractor to the U.S. Government . Marathon watches combine military durability with Swiss engineering and craftsmanship to ensure the highest level of quality, precision and reliability. Of course, Marathon makes plenty of mechanical watches with GSAR, TSAR and CSAR lines, so it’s not like they are against the idea. In fact they recently released a very cool limited edition that uses NOS Benrus ETA 2801 manual movements. We’ll be reviewing that one in the coming months, so keep an eye out.