Kensington Watches
Garmin Marq Athlete (Gen 2) Carbon Edition 46mm Watch Smart Watch

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Garmin

Garmin Marq Athlete (Gen 2) Carbon Edition 46mm Watch Smart Watch

Ref. 010-02722-11

Among our 91 Garmin watchesThis watch£1,679
Premium

Sits in Garmin’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Garmin watches we list, which start at £130.

Price range £130 to £1,799 across 91 Garmin watches in stock.

The MARQ Athlete line began as Garmin's answer to a question the sports watch category had not quite resolved: whether a serious training tool could be built without the bulk and weight that serious training tools tend to carry. The Carbon Edition takes that further still, pressing 130 layers of fused carbon fibre into a monoblock case whose grain pattern comes out differently on every example. At 75 grams including the strap, it is lighter than most mechanical watches of comparable size, which matters when it is on the wrist for an eight-hour ultramarathon or a back-to-back track session. The AMOLED display is the practical centre of the watch: it handles dark-condition visibility that a conventional lume application could not approach, with adjustable brightness and an always-on option that does not demand a wrist raise. The Grade 5 titanium caseback grounds the carbon shell, and the silicone strap swaps tool-free via Garmin's QuickFit system — relevant when the same watch moves between a racing kit and a wetsuit setup without ceremony. Physical buttons sit alongside the touchscreen, a detail that matters in gloves or rain when a tapping finger produces nothing useful.

Reference
010-02722-11
Brand
Garmin
Case size
46mm
Case thickness
15mm
Lug width
22mm
Case material
Carbon
Case shape
Round
Dial
Black
Functions
Chronograph, Stopwatch, Countdown timer, Alarm, Backlight, Solar powered, Compass, Thermometer, Altimeter
Water resistance
100m
Bracelet / strap
Silicone strap
Strap colour
Black
Retailer
Goldsmiths
Learn more about Garmin

Gary Burrell and Min Kao founded Garmin in 1989 — the name is a contraction of their first names — to build GPS receivers for aviation and marine use. Consumer navigation came later, and wearables later still.

Unlike most names in this directory that arrived from outside watchmaking, Garmin is not a licence. It designs and builds its own devices, writes its own software and runs its own satellite-positioning stack, which is why its watches do things Swiss houses do not attempt.

The fenix line established the template in 2012: a rugged multi-sport GPS watch with mapping, altimeter and week-long battery life. Forerunner covers running, Instinct the hard-wearing end, Venu the smartwatch end, and the MARQ line puts the same electronics in titanium and sapphire at Swiss prices.

Battery life is the differentiator. Where most smartwatches are measured in days, Garmin measures in weeks, and in solar-charging models sometimes in months.

These are instruments rather than heirlooms, and they date the way electronics date — but for anyone who actually trains, they are among the few watches on the market that earn their place.

1989
Founded by Gary Burrell and Min Kao.
2003
The Forerunner brings GPS to running watches.
2012
The fenix line defines the multi-sport GPS watch.
2019
MARQ places the electronics in titanium and sapphire.
2020
Solar charging extends battery life to months.

All Garmin watches

Also in 4 collections

This watch appears in Chronograph Watches (1,043), Watches 44mm and Over (823), All Black Watches (288) and Solar & Kinetic Watches (133).

Manufacturer’s guarantee

What the specifications mean

Strengths

  • 100m water resistance covers swimming and watersports
  • Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
  • Luminous hands and markers for low light
  • One of Garmin's more premium watches

Worth knowing

  • 46mm is a large watch with real presence
  • 15mm thick, so it will not disappear under a cuff
Best forSwimmingTiming things
Less suited toSmall wristsUnder a shirt cuff

Compare alternatives

Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.

Marq Athlete (Gen 2) Carbon Edition 46mm Watch Smart Watch compared with 2 alternatives from other brands
SpecificationThis watchMarq Athlete (Gen 2) Carbon Edition 46mm Watch Smart Watch010-02722-11CitizenCC3097-52L Satellite Wave GPS X Bracelet Watch - W38378CC3097-52LTissotT-Touch Connect Sport 44mm Unisex Watch BlackT1534204405101
Price£1,679£1,145£1,135
Case size46mm45mm44mm
Water resistance100m100m50m
MovementSolarSolarSolar
StrapSilicone strapTitanium braceletTitanium bracelet
This watch
  • Costs less
  • Costs less
  • Rated shallower

Your new watch

Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch

Can I swim with it?

Yes. At 100m it is rated for swimming and snorkelling, though not for diving.

Will the glass scratch?

Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.

Does it need a battery?

No. It charges from light, and the cell behind that is designed to last a decade or more.

What size strap does it take?

22mm. Any strap of that width will fit, and on most modern watches quick-release bars make the swap a two-minute job with no tools.

Is it a men's or women's watch?

Listed as unisex, and at this size it suits any wrist that takes the dimensions.

Cheapest place to buy

Goldsmiths is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference, so there is nothing to compare it against today.

Who are Goldsmiths?

Goldsmiths has been selling watches in Britain since 1778 and is part of the Watches of Switzerland Group, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. They are an authorised dealer, so a watch comes with the manufacturer’s own warranty.

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