Nothing celebrated that concept more than the entertainment car culture of the 1980s.

No, the watch is more a celebration of durable tools and the sometimes-wild things people do while using them. But it doesn’t feel like the bad guy’s watch, even though the timepiece does have a sinister “tactical gear” vibe to it at times. When I first started to wear the Anthracite GSAR, I felt that the design was beautiful, functional, and a little bit Darth Vader-esque. Featuring David Hasselhoff as the lead character, Michael, KITT was an oddly prescient semi-autonomous car that is probably just waiting for a body kit to put on top of a modern-day Tesla Model S. Government” on the dial, but this WW19006BK is one of them - which is just fine to me, as KITT was a pretty darn American car. Not all GSAR watches are printed with “U.S. See, for example, my aBlogtoWatch review of the Marathon GSAR “Grey Maple” watch here. In black, the Marathon Anthracite GSAR takes on a different personality. Similarly, the bezel appears larger because there is a seamless visual integration between the bezel itself and the black-colored insert. This is due to an optical effect caused by the inner wall of the dial being in black to match the black dial, versus in steel-tone. In all black, the 41mm-wide GSAR actually feels a bit larger simply because the dial appears larger. Watch lovers have known for years that a mere color change can, in many instances, remarkably alter the personality of a watch. Most GSAR watches look the same as the Anthracite PVD-coated model, save for the black coloring on the case components including the case, bezel, and crown. That also implies the watch meets military standards for durability and functionality.

The General Search & Rescue (GSAR) watch by Marathon is a fantastic tool-style watch that is noteworthy for being a rare modern timepiece that is still officially issued to various government active professionals (including some elite soldiers). I’ve personally nicknamed the this Marathon reference WW194006BK watch the “GSAR Knight Rider” because the one red line of “300m / 100ft” text reminds me of the bouncing red light on the otherwise black “KITT” modified Pontiac Trans Am featured in the 1980s TV series called Knight Rider. currently has but one “blacked-out” watch and that is the anthracite color-coated steel large diver’s automatic “GSAR” 41mm-wide watch.

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