The Garmin Marq Carbon Edition is so ridiculously ostentatious I just have to have one

Garmin has announced a new version of the Marq called the Marq Carbon Edition. There are three versions that align with Garmin’s target audiences – the Marq Athlete, Marq Golfer and the Marq Commander – and as the name suggests, they switch titanium for fused carbon fibre.

Beloved by sports cars and cyclists, carbon fibre is lighter and stronger than titanium, and it’s the next level of performance luxury for many people. What Garmin is doing here is turning the dial on its most premium devices. The base model comes from the Garmin Fenix, evolves into the Garmin Epix, and then the Marq – with the Marq Carbon Edition being the most ostentatious of these devices so far. And naturally, that’s why I want one.

The Garmin Marq Carbon has a 46mm case, which uses 130 layers of Fused Carbon Fibre. Each layer rotates slightly as it’s laid down, with heat and pressure used to fuse the new case together into the desired watch case shape. The result is beautiful carbon fibre patterning running through the body of these watches.

The Marq Carbon Commander is obviously the most trustworthy of these three devices. It screams Tier 1 Operator to me (or perhaps armchair warrior – whatever), with a UTC-marked bezel (Coordinated Universal Time, which the military uses) and a Jacquard-Weave Nylon strap. Of course, it also features a stealth mode and ballistics solver – features I’d never need to use – but it’s good to know they are there.

The Athlete has VO2 Max and recovery markings around the bezel, while the Golfer – pre-loaded with 43,000 courses – has 1-18 hole markings around the bezel. At their core, these devices offer the same set of features that other high-end Garmins do, including full-colour mapping, an AMOLED touchscreen and all those health sensors for activity tracking. Like the Epix, the Marq has domed glass over the display for additional opulence, and it looks amazing.

But the craftsmanship really screams “buy me!” about the new Garmin Marq Carbon. Garmin has taken its watches from a polycarbonate body right through to a highly desirable solid carbon fibre body, and the subtle patterning that you get through these devices from that Fused Carbon Fibre is more like you’d get from premium watchmakers. We know from the watch market that people are happy to spend big bucks on wristwear, and Garmin wants to tap into that.

I’ve been a fan of the Fenix for some time – and have loyally worn a Garmin Fenix for the last couple of years. It’s a solid sports watch, and it’s smart enough – although it’s not quite as smart as the Apple Watch Ultra 2 or Pixel Watch 2 when it comes to connected features, like payments or replying to messages. But the battery life is realistically 10x better than those rival smartwatches and the integration into wider sensors and sports through the Garmin ecosystem is excellent.

Garmin/ Pocket-lint

Garmin Marq Golfer (Gen 2) – Carbon Edition

But then you come to the price. The Marq is an expensive device – retailing for $2100 or £1900 – but once you opt for the Carbon edition, you’re looking at an $800 bump. It’s an eye-watering price for a Garmin, but perhaps that’s the point. When you look at the smartwatch market right now, there are really too brands that are killing it: the Apple Watch is everywhere, but those who don’t have an Apple Watch have a Garmin. If you’re a fan of watches, you’ll know that wearing the same watch as everyone else is the biggest no-no. You want to be distinct, and you want people to know that you chose something for a reason.

That distinction comes with the Marq Carbon. There are loads of Fenix, quite a few Epix and some Marq wearers, but having the Marq Carbon will really set you apart.