TAIPEI: If you think of luxury watch brands, Garmin may not come to your mind, but this time, the lifestyle wearables makes is ready to enter the luxury watch market with its MARQ series.
Launched in line with its 30th anniversary, the MARQ series is a collection of tool watches, forged from Garmin’s long-standing heritage in the aviation, automotive, marine, outdoor and sport markets.
Its president and CEO Clift Pemble says Garmin has redefined the adventure watch market, and now, it has created the ultimate timepieces, equipped with the modern utility of smart features – MARQ Aviator, MARQ Driver, MARQ Captain, MARQ Expedition and MARQ Athlete.
Each of the time pieces is designed and engineered for those inspired by their passion in flying, racing, sailing, exploring and sports performance.
“Every kind of luxury watch is tied to certain theme like aviation, marine, etc. So people who buy these watches areas of sports, but inspired with the style,” he said.
Pemble is bullish about the demand for the MARQ series as it gives the luxury watch market a new option - a luxury watch with specialised capability that can help the wearer perform better in specific environment like aviation, marine, racing, athletic and exploration.
The MARQ watch series is also about fuelling people’s passion.
“For the past 30 years, we’ve created products that have fuelled people’s passions,” said Engelhard (Al) Sundoro, Garmin’s managing director, South Asia and India.
“And now, we have reimagined the tool watch with MARQ, a series of extraordinary smart instruments, authentic in every detail, an inspiration for new adventures,” he says.
The MARQ series
The MARQ series uses premium materials, design elements and unique features. Each watch is built with titanium, which is lightweight, yet incredibly strong for high performance in all activities, and are constructed with sapphire crystal formed under extreme heat and pressure to create an extremely durable lens that’s over twice as hard as glass. All watches are engineered with a ceramic bezel inlay to protect the watch from wear and tear in the most challenging environments.
The watches feature an always-on, sunlight- readable display with GPS and premium smartwatch functionality, including built-in music storage, Garmin Pay, smart notifications, daily activity tracking1, as well as wrist-based heart rate and a wrist-based pulse ox2 sensor. All watches are compatible with Garmin’s QuickFit solution for quickly and easily changing between different straps and bracelets.
The battery life of the MARQ series ranges from up to 12 days in smartwatch mode up to 28 hours in GPS Mode and up to 48 hours in UltraTrac mode.
Features
With advanced features specific to each model and materials carefully chosen for each category, the MARQ series is crafted with precise attention to detail. Each timepiece in the collection is built with purpose in both form and function.
For example, the MARQ Aviator features aviation-inspired “swept wing” design, and a multi-link titanium bracelet with security clasp.
Meanwhile, the MARQ Driver is pre-loaded with over 250 famous race tracks around the world, MARQ Driver is built for the car enthusiast with auto lap splits, live delta time and a track timer. The Track Timer lets the user time cars at the race track and calculate their average speed.
For those drawn to the water, MARQ Captain features a regatta timer bezel, coastal charts, tack assist and a port conditions watch face to keep mariners up to speed on the conditions of their port of choice.
Pre-loaded with over 250 famous race tracks around the world, MARQ Driver is built for the car enthusiast with auto lap splits, live delta time and a track timer. The Track Timer lets the user time cars at the race track and calculate their average speed. MARQ Driver features a hybrid bracelet, a titanium shell on the outside for a sleek and refined look, with a soft inner material suitable for any activity. These individual titanium outer links with silicone inner links create a uniquely comfortable, lightweight and breathable metal bracelet. Treated with a carbon gray DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) coating, this watch can not only withstand daily wear and tear but also the high vibration environment of racing.
Created with the modern explorer in mind, MARQ Expedition features TOPO mapping, a built-in altimeter, barometer and compass, plus ClimbPro, which provides real-time information on current and upcoming climbs such as gradient, distance and elevation gain.
Packed with features for the aspiring athlete, MARQ Athlete includes a V02 max and recovery time scale right on the bezel, so a snapshot of an athlete’s performance is always visible with a glance at the wrist.
Availability
The Garmin MARQ series will be available soon in Malaysia. The watches are priced from US$2,500 a piece in the US, but there’s no information on local pricing yet.