Those of you who are entirely mechanically minded might miss the point of most watches out there – that being, to look good. “Looking good” and machinery don’t always mix, but when they do the result is most satisfying. For that reason most functional things try to emulate machinery as close as possible to strive for the beautiful sweet spot of an item that is in perfect equilibrium between form and function.
I mention this as a prelude to the Marvin M014 watch as a means of explaining it. Gear heads out there might miss the point. In summation, the watch is a mechanically inspired watch that wishes to thematically mention its more expensive and possibly less sexy brethren. The M014 is housed in a polished and brushed steel candybar-like case with an perlage polished face and a few dials to tell the time. Almost like a regulator watch in appearance, the dials are there for the minutes, hours (on a disc), and the seconds below.
Few can deny the layout and style is attractive. It displays a welcome symmetry, and the colors of steel and black are enhanced with a dash of red that suits most any timepiece when applied. Together these elements suggest the dashboard of a classic car or perhaps of a plane. The exact origins aren’t the point, but rather that it leads you to consider other romantic mechanical items. In this regard the Mo14 succeed. It certainly has an air of mechanica to it and a manly inspired demeanor. Aside from this pictured Mo14-14 version of the watch with the perlage face, there are actually two other versions of the timepiece with other styles that are also interesting.
The case is large and quite nicely finished at 50mm tall by 38mm wide. Though as you can tell, the soft curves and tapered edges don’t make the size stick out much. Notice the organic way it adapts to life on one’s wrist. The custom leather strap (with the iconic red colored underbelly Marvin watches are known for) is very wide at 28mm between the lugs and tapers down to 22mm wide at the Marvin signed steel buckle.
Under the sapphire crystal you have two dials and disc seen under the upper dial. This is how the time is told, and Marvin goes so far as to neatly label each area for you. Reading the time takes some getting used to, but is worth the novelty of the design. Perhaps not primed for a daily wear, the M014 is nevertheless a cool addition to a collection. In side the watch are actually what I understand to be two watch movements that are synced together. The secondary movement powers the seconds scale. Early versions of the watch housed Technotime movements, but more recent versions have Ronda 751 and 753 quartz movements in them. And interesting vestige of the double movements is the presence of two crowns. Only the top crown is operational. I considered the wisdom of placing a second crown on a watch merely for cosmetic purposes and didn’t quite think I was sold on the idea. We are efficient creatures and often look down upon things for show. I then considered the visual effect of the second crown. I must admit I like the look of them both. As a component that is merely decorative, it certainly does help – as a single top mounted crown would have looked awkward. I then realized that many things part of the items we love are for “show.” It helps forgive the notion, but still adds a quirky character to the watch. On the opposite side of the watch you are greeted with the traditional Marvin Watch Co. logo.
You do grow increasingly accustomed to reading the time under the screwed on metal frame over the white dials with the perfect mixture of style and operational succinctness. The black hour disc with its Marvin style font is a touch that I appreciate. Other little features such as the comfy strap and gently curved case make M014 watch a lot easier to tote around than its novel nature might suggest. Price is about $1,000.
Learn more about Marvin watches here.
