My Ball Fireman Victory with tritium tubes, date, no rotating bezel or other dials. Very rugged, thus the name... got it from David for under $1,000 when he was closing them out.

I have a few watches, nothing crazy.
Watches, like guns, can be a weird, expensive and long rabbit hole to dive into.

I have a GSAR, built like a tank, not obnoxiously large, stainless band. I love the thing! The prices of Marathons have jumping up in the past few years. My ONLY regret about my Marathon is not get the Chrono when it was $1200ish.

https://www.marathonwatch.com/collections/sea

I recently got a Seiko 007. So far, so good. The only thing I changed was the band.

https://madmodworld.com

(You can hate me for turning you on to this site later )

^^^ I might hate you for that right now!

My vote is for a Ball Fireman Storm Chaser DLC. Gnomon and Jomashop have them at prices close to $1k from time to time. It has a Valjoux 7750 movement (truly a masterpiece of a movement and QUITE robust) 66 tritium gas tubes and will absolutely spoil you. I love the hell out of mine!

Think of it as getting a Shelby GT350 as your first car.

$1k will buy a lot of watch, but tritium is still the issue. GSAR MSRP is $1200 now. Might be able to find one used. A gently used Ball or one from a grey market seller would meet all your criteria. If non tritium is not a deal breaker, I’d still point you towards the Seiko line for a quarter of your budget or Hamilton if you are willing to go to $500ish. Seiko will have superior lume, but Hamilton uses ETA movements. I second the suggestions for the gigantic watch thread in the Gallery as well as the Watchuseek forums. Just be warned, if the bug bites you watches make guns look like a cheap hobby...

Don’t be afraid of the used market. It’s where you will find the absolute best deals. I got a gorgeous preowned panda dial Ball Fireman Storm Chaser for $1k shipped. I got lucky though, they tend to go a bit higher for the silver dial with black sub dials and the super cool blue tritium that glows bright as a cell phone screen all night long. My wife actually bitched at me because the lume kept waking her up when the watch got near her face.

quote:

Originally posted by HK Ag:
I love my US Govt Cage marked 2007 dated vanilla smelling rubber band Marathon!

Has the Nuclear logo to warn of the luminous gas on the face. My watch is quartz actually but the Automatics are available.

HK Ag

I would like to 2nd the Marathon GSAR. I loved mine. Long Island Watch link

So my two cents:

Mineral or hardlex crystals get scratched. Sapphire crystals are very scratch-resistant.

Automatic watches are very trendy but have to be worn continually or placed on a "winder" when not being worn, if you want them to keep time. They are not particularly accurate and require expensive rebuilds after about 5 years. Consider quartz.

Marathon watches have tritium hour markers and hands, come in a range of sizes, and have sapphire crystals.

I've settled on Seiko "Sapphire" watches - date window, 40mm, metal band, sapphire crystal, quartz movement. About $120.

Not wanting a rotating bezel limits you. Marathon has a manual wind watch without a bezel that has tritium.

https://www.marathonwatch.com/...m-in-stainless-steel

I just sold my 2007 GSAR to a coworker. Beat the hell out of it and it never had an issue. Those are fantastic watches. I replaced it with a Marathon Jumbo Day Date. Also a fantastic watch. Both are automatics with tritium and relatively clean dials. But both have bezels.

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
Not wanting a rotating bezel limits you. Marathon has a manual wind watch without a bezel that has tritium.

https://www.marathonwatch.com/...m-in-stainless-steel

I just sold my 2007 GSAR to a coworker. Beat the hell out of it and it never had an issue. Those are fantastic watches. I replaced it with a Marathon Jumbo Day Date. Also a fantastic watch. Both are automatics with tritium and relatively clean dials. But both have bezels.

I really think the Marathon watches are a great choice for an automatic, got my eye on a 41mm GSAR right now.

Those Marathon watches are kinda thick right? Do they wear comfortably? There are a few models that have tempted me but I’m not sure they would work on my small wrist size.

Thanks everyone for all the great input. I have decided for the time being to go with a Seiko even though it doesn't fit all of my wants. I need to see if this type of watch suits my desires before committing to something more expensive. If it works for me I will probably go with a Ball as it appears to meet all my want list. If I go with a Ball down the road, I have a grandson that can use the Seiko.
Again, thanks to all.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Those Marathon watches are kinda thick right? Do they wear comfortably? There are a few models that have tempted me but I’m not sure they would work on my small wrist size.

They are pretty thick. The GSARs are not that bad. The jumbo day date I have is damn thick, but it wears very well in my opinion. And my wrist is about 7”. I don’t look like I strapped on a sundial. It also doesn’t look like a massive Invicta dangling off me. Obviously the specifics are on their website. There’s a lot of YouTube videos that compare them. They are serious watches though.

OP, you won’t be disappointed in the Seiko. Excellent choice.

I have a Traser, has been a great watch(albeit not an auto). The tritium still looks pretty good after several years.

If Tritium is a must(Seiko has great lume as well), then Marathon might be worth a look.

BALL( don't have one) but you can sometimes find deals under 1K.

Good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by Tooky13:
My Ball Fireman Victory with tritium tubes, date, no rotating bezel or other dials. Very rugged, thus the name... got it from David for under $1,000 when he was closing them out.

Very nice, and from what I have seen, exceptional price.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Those Marathon watches are kinda thick right? Do they wear comfortably? There are a few models that have tempted me but I’m not sure they would work on my small wrist size.

Shockingly no.
It’s just about the same size as a Rolex.
The bezel on the Marathons are THICK.

https://www.watchuseek.com/thr...s-rolex-sdds.919718/

There’s some comparison pictures in that link

Go here: https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...6031561/m/6290029643

quote:

Originally posted by Marlin Fan:
Go here: https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...6031561/m/6290029643

That's probably a great thread and if I was interested in sorting through 270+ pages for the information I was after I would read it from beginning to end. Some things just get a life of their own and forget when to quit.

quote:

Originally posted by bettysnephew:
Thanks everyone for all the great input. I have decided for the time being to go with a Seiko even though it doesn't fit all of my wants. I need to see if this type of watch suits my desires before committing to something more expensive. If it works for me I will probably go with a Ball as it appears to meet all my want list. If I go with a Ball down the road, I have a grandson that can use the Seiko.
Again, thanks to all.

Always watch the sales. That way you know when to buy and what to pay when you are ready.

This Ball Fireman is at the bottom of its pricing at $890. https://www.gnomonwatches.com/...-ref-nm2188c-s20j-bk

You often see the price much higher.