Marathon Watch Company: the watch of the U.S. Armed Forces

From family watchmaking house to military supplier

In 1904, the Wein family founded Weinsturm Watch in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the heart of Swiss watchmaking; over time the company would be renamed Wein Brothers and begin selling watches and chronometers on both sides of the Atlantic. It was in 1939 that Morris Wein, in Montreal, formally founded Marathon Watch with the purpose of distributing precision instruments throughout North America, giving rise to the brand as it is known today.

The real turning point came just two years later. In 1941, with the world immersed in the Second World War, Marathon began manufacturing watches for the Allied forces, beginning a relationship with the North American armed forces that has continued uninterrupted to this day. The brand's very name was chosen to convey that its creations were built to withstand the passage of time better than any other, a philosophy that can be felt in every one of its pieces.

Key milestones in its history

• 1941 — Marathon begins supplying timekeeping instruments to the Allied forces, marking the start of more than eight uninterrupted decades as a military supplier.
• Gulf War (1991) — The first Iraq War contract with the US Army proves a decisive turning point for the brand, consolidating its reputation and its relationship with the United States armed forces.
• Certification under the US military standard MIL-PRF-46374G, making Marathon the exclusive supplier of watches to the United States Armed Forces, including the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, NASA and the Canadian Armed Forces; around 90% of its range also carries a NATO Stock Number (NSN).
• Development of the GSAR (Government Search and Rescue) model, by far one of the most solid watches I have ever tried, which went on to become a hit among soldiers and features tritium gas tube illumination, guaranteeing constant visibility in low-light conditions for approximately 25 years
• Consolidation of manufacturing in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland), while keeping design in Canada, which allows the brand to display the ‘Swiss Made’ designation on its dial while meeting the real demands of military personnel and rescue teams.
• Today: The fourth generation of the Wein family, led by Mitchell Wein, whom I was lucky enough to meet in person in Geneva, remains at the helm of the company, which continues to operate with a discreet profile despite its role as a benchmark supplier to governments all over the world.

Philosophy and current standing

Unlike much of the watch industry, Marathon has never designed its pieces with aesthetics in mind, but with function. Each model is born from real needs in real operations and is developed under strict MIL-SPEC specifications. Although outwardly many of its watches have barely changed in decades, inside the brand introduces improvements such as Incabloc shock absorbers, magnetism management, vibration testing on the hands and Sellita 200-series movements that guarantee the best quality-to-price balance, true to its motto, ‘Best in the Long Run’.