Marathon Watch x Jeep Collab: a Partnership 80 Years in the Making
By Karen Dybis | May 03, 2024
"Marathon Watch Company has collaborated with automaker Jeep on a line of four timepieces that pay homage to both brands’ roots and incorporate Jeep’s iconic design elements.
Marathon president Mitchell Wein says consumers will have fun discovering the “Easter eggs” the watch company put into these new models. He thinks of the collaboration as more than 80 years in the making, and says Marathon pursued the partnership because of its common origins with Jeep.
“Marathon’s history dates back to 1941, when we shipped our first military watches to Canadian troops stationed overseas. Jeep made its mark in the war arena that same year, supplying their first four-wheel drive recon vehicles to American battalions,” says Wein.
“Jeep’s history, like ours, is an integral part of the brand’s identity,” he says.
The Jeep x Marathon watches, which retail between $500 and $1,500, debuted May 2 online and at select authorized dealers. They drew inspiration from two of Jeep’s most beloved vehicles, the Wrangler Rubicon and the Willys-Overland (used by the U.S. military during World War II), and are based on Marathon’s bestselling General Purpose and Search and Rescue (SAR) watches.
Marathon Watch Company’s collaboration with Jeep offers two styles each of two models, the Rubicon (left) and the Willys.
“Jeep is very effective in representing their history throughout all their models, the most recognizable element being the continued usage of the iconic seven-slot grille,” Wein tells JCK. “Their commitment inspired our designs when we created the Jeep x Marathon watches.”
Jeep’s motto, “Go Anywhere. Do Anything,” is engraved on the back of every Jeep x Marathon watch. The 41 mm Jeep Rubicon watch, available in automatic or quartz style, is the more rugged in look and utility of the two Jeep x Marathon models. Its dial was designed to resemble Jeep dashboard instruments, and it has a seven-slot Jeep grille on the side and the Willys star engraved on its knurled steel crown.
The 41 mm Jeep Willys is described as the officer’s watch. In either its quartz or mechanical iteration, the timepiece features a steel case with a parkerized finish, which reduces reflectivity and boosts its corrosion resistance. It also has MaraGlo illumination for enhance visibility in low-light conditions across its minute and hour hands and Arabic numerals.
Advertising for the Jeep x Marathon collaboration emphasizes the watches’ utility and toughness, saying: “A Jeep 4×4 isn’t meant for your driveway. A Marathon isn’t meant for your display case.”
Marathon watches, according to Wein, are “purpose-built,” for whatever journey their owners go on—just like Jeeps are.
“Every part of a Marathon watch is engineered with the end user in mind, with each timepiece intended to be put through the toughest-use cases and worn daily on the wrists of the military elite,” Wein says. “When you take your Wrangler off-roading through the rough-and-tumble, your Jeep x Marathon watch is meant to be right there with you.”
Jeep x Marathon advertising centers on the idea that the watch can go anywhere and do anything with the person who wears it.
In selecting a watch partner, Jeep was looking for a brand capable of delivering a high-quality product, and it appreciated that Marathon’s watches are fully manufactured in Switzerland, Wein says.
“Once Jeep greenlit the collaboration, we initiated a design process that led to the introduction of two watch lines,” Wein says. “Throughout this process, we engaged in a ... "
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