If you’re a rally car racing fan, you know the name Sebastien Loeb. Yes, he’s the 37-year-old Frenchman who is now a 7-time world rally car racing champion, and recently he had a rare opportunity to work with the fine watchmakers of Marvin Watches to design a couple of timepieces, baring his signature and paying tribute to this popular world sport.
Marvin watches is synonymous with prestine timepieces, and their limited edition watches invariably become collectors’ items. The launch of the limited edition watch collection of Swiss chronographs designed by Sebastien Loeb will be no different. They are suited in an automatic or quartz movement, and available in a black or white dial. What’s really unique about these timepieces is their automotive-inspired flair. They remind you of a sportscar’s dashboard, and the black and white main colors, accented with “racing” red lines really drive home the racing car theme.
It’s a heavy watch, which lends to its sturdy quality. Incased in 44mm stainless steel, it showcases articulating lugs mounted on spring suspensions, allowing the fit of the watch to really hug around the wrist. And while the dial resembles a dashboard, the black PVD chronograph push buttons resemble gear change paddles. The hands, Marvin Watches say, look like the reinforcing bars of the rally sports car.
This is a good looking watch, designed for the man’s man. Because it’s Swiss made, you can be sure that durability and functionality will last for decades, and the accuracy of the watch over the long haul is as precise as a watch comes. The dial itself is made of riveted plates on different levels, further bringing home the car dashboard theme. Both versions were designed by the same creative watchmakers that produced some of the TAG watches, Jean-François Ruchonnet and Sébastien Perret
As mentioned the Loeb Sebastien Special Edition watch comes in two different versions featuring automatic or quartz movements, and black and white dials. The first watch is a mechanical, automatic-rewinding chronograph that will be limited to 777 pieces at a price of $2,520. It features a Valjoux 7750 movement, which is visible through Marvin’s signature skeleton caseback. The quartz version offers an ETA movement that allows timing with 1/10 second accuracy, and is priced at $970. Both versions feature Sebastien Loeb’s signature, and the inscription “World Rally Champion”.
If you’re a watch collector, or just love killer timepieces, Marvin limited edition watches is a brand that is well known in the industry, and one that many collectors pay attention to. The Sebastien Loeb is a very sporty version of some of their classic designs, and can be an ‘everyday’ watch, both for the workplace and the formal event. Go to Marvin Watch’s website for more details.
Here’s the official release….
Marvin is expanding its range to include the world of motor sport. A new collection has been developed as a Special Edition in partnership with its ambassador, Sébastien Loeb. Recently crowned world champion for the seventh time, he is widely considered to be the greatest rally driver of all time. Sébastien Loeb wanted a watch that reflected his own style, immediately recognisable, masculine and sporty, and one that incorporates the distinctive codes of car rallying. Marvin has developed two exclusive chronographs for this outstanding French driver and both proudly carry his signature. Their design is the work of two creative watchmakers: Jean-François Ruchonnet best known for the TAG Heuer Monaco V4 and the Cabestan and Sébastien Perret, the Neuchâtel designer who has been associated with all the recent Marvin collections. The result is an exceptional watch specially developed for the road, for speed and high performance.
A racing watch
The new Loeb Special Edition from Marvin is a real supercar of watchmaking. It evokes the world of rallying in its smallest details thanks to contributions made by Sébastien Loeb himself who was directly involved with the project. The 44 mm diameter steel case with its shaped sides gives it a strongly technical, dynamic appearance. An exclusive innovation: the flexible horns mounted on spring suspensions coloured red. Thisa nod to the critical importance of suspension systems in rally cars, and it allows the watch to adjust perfectly to the wrist. Several other elements are directly inspired by competition rallying: the chronograph buttons coated in black PVD that resemble gear change paddles; the shaped counters designed like dashboard instruments; the dial composed of riveted plates on different levels; the openwork hands that suggest a rally car’s reinforcing bars.
Marvin is expanding its range to include the world of motor sport. A new collection has been developed as a Special Edition in partnership with its ambassador, Sébastien Loeb. Recently crowned world champion for the seventh time, he is widely considered to be the greatest rally driver of all time. Sébastien Loeb wanted a watch that reflected his own style, immediately recognisable, masculine and sporty, and one that incorporates the distinctive codes of car rallying. Marvin has developed two exclusive chronographs for this outstanding French driver and both proudly carry his signature. Their design is the work of two creative watchmakers: Jean-François Ruchonnet best known for the TAG Heuer Monaco V4 and the Cabestan and Sébastien Perret, the Neuchâtel designer who has been associated with all the recent Marvin collections. The result is an exceptional watch specially developed for the road, for speed and high performance.
A racing watch
The new Loeb Special Edition from Marvin is a real supercar of watchmaking. It evokes the world of rallying in its smallest details thanks to contributions made by Sébastien Loeb himself who was directly involved with the project. The 44 mm diameter steel case with its shaped sides gives it a strongly technical, dynamic appearance. An exclusive innovation: the flexible horns mounted on spring suspensions coloured red. Thisa nod to the critical importance of suspension systems in rally cars, and it allows the watch to adjust perfectly to the wrist. Several other elements are directly inspired by competition rallying: the chronograph buttons coated in black PVD that resemble gear change paddles; the shaped counters designed like dashboard instruments; the dial composed of riveted plates on different levels; the openwork hands that suggest a rally car’s reinforcing bars.
Sébastien Loeb, World Rally Champion
The Marvin Ambassador, Sébastien Loeb, 36, is widely agreed to be the greatest rally driver of all time. He was crowned World Champion for the seventh consecutive year since 2004 an unprecedented achievement in the sport. This incredibly talented French driver is also a watch lover and was directly involved in creating the collection that carries his name.
Marvin and the world of motor sport
This collection is a reflection of Marvin’s long-standing passion for the car. In the 1930s the brand launched the “Tyre watch” a pocket watch set inside a rubber tyre. In the 1950s, Pierre Didisheim the great grandson of the founder, took part in several races, driving a car in the Marvin colours. At the 1950 Swiss Grand Prix in Berne he met the famous Argentinean driver Juan-Manuel Fangio who visited the Manufacture four years later with a Marvin watch on his wrist. A famous Swiss driver, Emmanuel “Tulo” de Graffenried, also became a Marvin ambassador.
Quartz and automatic versions
The new Loeb Special Edition from Marvin is offered in two versions: a mechanical, automatic-rewinding chronograph, Valjoux 7750, in a Limited Edition of 777 pieces, and a quartz chronograph accurate to 1/10th of a second. The quartz version carries the Sébastien Loeb signature on the dial at 4 and engraved on the caseback with the inscription, “World Rally Champion”. The automatic version has the signature engraved on the sapphire crystal of the transparent caseback which reveals the mechanical movement and its rotor in the Marvin colours.
