Small, glowing, and built for work
By Abby Turner, Melbourne ยท
Small wrists, this one's for you. It's 34 mm, which sounds tiny and is, but on a smaller wrist that's a gift, and it's a size you rarely see in tool watches. At 11.5 mm thick it's a bit taller than you'd expect, but the composite case keeps it light.
The thing I love is the tritium. Like the Luminox, those little tubes glow all night without charging, so the hands and markers are visible in a dark room. And the dial is properly legible, black with big white numbers and a clear seconds hand. Marathon makes watches for the military, and it shows in how plain and readable the dial is.
Inside is an ETA F06 quartz, with a sapphire crystal, and it's on a fabric strap. The fabric is the weak bit for me, again, so I'd put it on rubber.
The downsides: US$470 is a lot for a small composite quartz watch, and 30 m of water resistance on paper is underwhelming for something sold as a tool watch. The 16 mm lug width also limits your strap options.
Even so, for a nurse with a small wrist who works nights, this might be the best analogue option on the list. Hannah would probably tell you the same about the size.