Marvel, Lord Marvel and Crown

In 1956, the team at Suwa Seikosha unveiled the Marvel, a watch inspired by what they saw as the fundamentals of watchmaking: accuracy, durability, and aesthetic beauty. The Marvel was a major technical feat for Seiko – it was the company’s first watch designed and produced entirely in-house, utilizing Seiko’s proprietary mainspring and balance spring. In response to the Marvel, Daini Seikosha released the Cronos, a competing model with a thinner case and higher performance specs. Two years later in 1958, Suwa followed up with Lord Marvel, a watch featuring a highly legible design thanks to its large markers and hands. It also saw significant improvement to its shock resistance. In 1959, Suwa launched The Crown, an elegant dress watch that was based on the Marvel but with profound technical advances. Equipped with Caliber 560, the Crown had a larger balance wheel for improved isochronism, an increased barrel size along with more torque, and an improved Diashock system for greater shock resistance.

The Marvel, Lord Marvel, and Crown were certainly significant watches in their own right, but, more importantly, they set the groundwork for what would come in 1960, when the company would unveil an aesthetic and technical powerhouse.