A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum early this week. Well okay it wasn’t exactly a forum – more like one of the top watch blogging properties on the web – namely our friends at Hodinkee. I thought it would be nice to partner up with them and organize a little Marvin giveaway so I grabbed an M113 from my “special stock”, hooked up with Ben Clymer (prominent member of what I call the “Watch Pack”) and off we went with a really cool M113 giveaway week. People comment on why they should win the watch. Then go to Facebook to “Like” both Hodinkee and Marvin pages and voila! Instant winner. But as it turns out, I’m the one who went home with the trophy and here’s why.

Within a day, the site got deluged with comments. As of this posting, I count 143. Then our buddy Tom Mulraney on TWL also picked up the news (thank you Tom!). I started thinking wow, for a small “unknown” brand, there’s a lot of people out there who seem to know about and appreciate Marvin! Not only that, but numerous comments contained insight, questions, and fascinating remarks about the brand and what you, dear reader, are expecting from us at Marvin. I learned more in 24 hours than in the past four months.

Finding it difficult to answer so many comments and suggestions one on one (I tried!), I decided to do an “Open Response” blog to all those of you who were kind enough to take the time and communicate with us online. One of the most interesting comments we received ended with “Are you listening Marvin?” – And I want to make it very clear: the answer is yes, and we’ve heard you all loud and clear.

“cool.. I like the way Marvin uses modern means of communication to reach their feature buyers.. The New School is in..”

Thanks! We like to think we’re the new kid in school indeed. We certainly don’t do things in line with traditional horology from a communication standpoint. We try to keep things bi-directional and more importantly, we strive to listen real hard. Luckily, it’s relatively easy to do so using modern technology. So we do.

“I started to ramp up my watch knowledge about a year ago and in the process of looking for smaller, less well-known brands with quality pieces and affordable prices, I came upon Marvin watches. At the time they had no presence in the US but I kept checking back and hearing little tidbits here and there and it seems like they are trying to test out the US market. Hopefully this giveaway is one step closer to distributing in the US.”

“The Marvin brand has a fantastic history, and the modern incarnation of the brand certainly lives up to its name. The watches are well designed, unique, and beautiful. The attention to detail is fantastic and I have been interested in one for quite some time now. Unfortunately, they do not have much of a presence yet in the U.S., something that I hope will change soon!”

Thank you all for your persistence and the nice evaluation. The deal on the US market is we are currently evaluating several different possible distribution arrangements. We’ll get there. On the eShop, we are also taking a “get it right first” approach as opposed to quickly releasing something not fully baked. In the meantime, it’s always possible to order your Marvin directly through me. I’ll walk you through the process in no time.

“I love showing up in meetings where every other guy is wearing a Tag Heuer quartz or a Kenneth Cole special and I am wearing something truly unique, which doesn’t have brown “carbon fiber” on the dial.”

Well yes, sporting a Marvin is certainly still “unique” that’s for sure. And it’s part of what it means to be in the Marvin “club”. You just won’t see too many people walking around with one these days but, this too shall pass

“from my view … Marvin fits nicely between Oris and M. Lacroix in its overall styling and practicality, i.e., budget … which is no trivial matter to a collector these days.”

I love the Marvin Watch! I never owned a mechanical watch before and am looking for my first. This would make an awesome first watch

“Would definitely love to own this watch. been an avid reader of your blog for many moons! plus I’m looking to start a watch collection and this piece would be an excellent start ”

We’ve heard you beginning collectors, newbies, and new aficionados. I think you want quality, uniqueness and reasonable pricing to start or grow your collection and feed your passion. That and a little original excitement in a new brand not costing tens or hundreds of thousands. In other words, top-of-the-line product for “normal people”.

“WOW–heavy activity on the ‘dink! Now everyone wants to play and why not Marvin has some truly remarkable timepieces, they have a great pick up in Switzerland program that includes a tour of the castle and vineyards and sampling of great wines (WOW!)”

You’ve told us you like our new VIP Program. We’re jazzed to hear it and look forward to welcoming you all this summer at the Castle. Bring shorts, a naked wrist, and a camera – To sign up just go to the bottom of the blog post and fill out the signup form.

“My boyfriend is obsessed with electronics (he’s a mechanical engineering major at UC Davis). Every time I go over to his apartment all he talks about is electronics…and your watches. In his words, “the clear back on that watch is mechanical engineer porn.” He’s in love with your watches…”

Now specifically, as an IT person, I work with computers, programming, servers, networking, telecommunication and more technology that one could shake a stick at, however, there is something beyond compare in a well built timepiece.”

We’re listening engineers. Be it software, hardware, electrical or mechanical – Few people have your appreciation for fine time pieces and the inherent ability to thrive on both form and function. Of course, as en engineer myself, I’m a bit biased

“I am finishing up my tour in Iraq and was thinking of purchasing a new watch when I got home as a welcome home present to myself. I am not familiar with Marvin but think the watch looks amazing. It would be one of the best in the small collection that I have started.”

High-five to you guys in the military doing the dangerous work out there. I think you deserve special treatment for what you give of yourself. Marvin has a long history of supporting and supplying the military (starting with their ever-reliable and resilient pocket watches during WWI). It would be nice to revive that. Know someone on duty somewhere in the world who would like a Marvin combat-companion? Shoot me an email we’ll work something out.

“My wife keeps telling me I need a proper dress watch to complement my Rolex Sub diver. I was resisting until I saw this Marvin, which pushes all the right buttons for me.”

“I’d like to win this piece because I love the independent watchmaker spirit, I love the price point and might buy one if I don’t win, and the Malton 160 cushion doesn’t yet appear available for me to win, and I love cushion cases.”

Independent, alternative watch making. I like it Hang in there for the Malton 160 Cushion. I’m told it’s coming out this fall.

“I’m a poor college student who needs a classy watch to wear to interviews.”

Yup, I remember those days. Need to get a watch during interview periods? How about student job-seeker discounts? Shoot me an email.

“When i look at Marvin i don’t see my old Seiko,but i do see my Father as he had an old Marvin watch and it was always on his wrist no matter what he said it was the only watch he owned that he knew when it said 7.30pm it was 7.30pm as he had other watches that either run 5mins to late or too fast his Marvin was the watch he checked the time before he called me just before my bed time,he travelled the world but so did his Marvin,this is my early experiance with Marvin and a proud one it is!”

Precision and quality is what helped build Marvin since 1850. If you have a vintage Marvin we can’t repair, you get 20% off on a brand new piece. Email me for details if interested.

There are going to be many more comments before this contest is over. Check back here in the coming days for additional quotes and our comments and answers to your needs and suggestions. We’re all ears folks.