Garmin has introduced its second generation Marq line of watches. An ultra-premium collection, even more so than Garmin's top watches like its high-end Fenix and Epix sports watches, this collection of "luxury" watches is tailor-made for specific sports, with five watches with features to athletes, golfers, sailors, aviators and adventurers.
As you can tell by the "luxury" price of the line, these watches are not cheap, starting at €1900 in the US (opens in a new tab), €1600 in the UK (opens in a new tab) and AU €3250 ( opens in a new tab) in Australia for the slightly cheaper Athlete model. The watches are made with a Grade 5 titanium case, domed sapphire crystal lenses, premium straps depending on the model chosen that contain materials such as more titanium, hybrid leather and woven nylon, 16-day battery life and (a new addition to the line) an AMOLED touch screen.
All watches offer wrist-based heart rate, respiration and stress tracking, advanced sleep insights and Garmin's excellent Body-Battery energy monitoring widget. We should expect it too: For these prices, it should go out of its way to make you a coffee in the morning. Garmin's new Jet Lag Advisor widget will also make its debut on Marq watches, helping you minimize the effects of jet lag if, for example, you're traveling abroad before a big race.
Garmin says its new Jet Lag Adviser "helps users feel better mentally and physically." Using the user's sleep history and other parameters, the advisor recommends the amount of light exposure, a sleep schedule, and exercise to minimize the effects of jet lag for your next long-distance trip to one or more destinations.
Let's take a look at each clock in turn:
Analysis: different but identical
Clearly, the watches are for heavy consumers and frequent travelers who want all the data of a smartwatch with the trappings of a luxury brand like Patek Phillipe or Omega. The different materials and features are tailor-made for people whose lives revolve around certain sports, hobbies or disciplines. However, beyond the cosmetics, the interior of all the watches is practically the same.
Looking at the spec lists and comparing them to each other, it's clear that most, if not all, of the golf stuff is available on the other four watches. The spec list on the site shows the markings on all the golf features of the other four watches. Jet Lag Advisor, the province of Aviator Watch, will also be available on all devices, and we sincerely hope this extends to the rest of Garmin's sports watch lineup as it sounds like a great feature.
But beyond a few extremely specialized widgets, the differences lie in bezel engravings, strap materials, watch colors and, of course, marketing.
This second-gen Marq is a great fitness and wellness watch with Garmin's latest tools, but we can't imagine the Athlete, for example, being much better than the Forerunner 955 Solar when it comes to tracking. It also lacks the Solar Power Glass battery extension technology found in Garmin's much cheaper Enduro and Forerunner watches.
What you're paying for is the deluxe package, an eye-catching wrist candy that looks like it belongs in a smart suit rather than sportswear.