I discovered Furlan Marri last year and my first encounter in person with their watches was when I was casting my votes as one of the jurors at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève 2021. The Furlan Marri MR. Grey received the Horological Revelation Prize at the GPHG 2021 and that’s what really put the brand on the map. After six different watches they have released and as an owner of not one but two of their watches —Havana Salmon ref. 1031-A and the Mare Blu ref. 1051-A—, I can confidently say that there are many things to love about this young inexpensive brand.
Featuring a very vintage chronograph look, the Furlan Marri watches are cased in a 38 mm stainless steel case that is very easy to wear and that is extremely well finished considering the price point. As a matter of fact, if you knew nothing about the brand and its pricing, you’d think that you were holding a $3K+ timepiece. At first glance, you would also think that you are looking at a vintage Vacheron Constantin or something along those lines. Making its appearance as vintage as it gets, Furlan Marri uses an anti-scratch double domed sapphire crystal that has been upgraded with five layers of anti-reflective coating and anti-fingerprints coating.
Following a pre-order business model, allows the brand to fund its next project and deliver orders as they get produced. One thing that I love about their watches is that once a reference sells-out it’s gone for good and that’s a nice thing. I was lucky enough to pick up the last piece from their Havana Salmon reference and I am so glad I did. As far as their cases or leather straps, I like that Furlan Marri has cut no corners in making sure that the watches —assembled in Hong Kong if I am not mistaken— look and feel higher end. The Italian hand-made straps are supple and of incredible quality and colors that they’ve chosen for each model are a perfect match. Additionally, each watch comes with not one but two straps to give everyone the option of a total different look depending on the strap you chose to wear with your watch.
Even though the watches are powered by a Seiko VK64 Mechaquartz movement with a mechanical module, that’s not a deal-breaker for me. The mechaquartz movements were invented after the Quartz crisis in the late 80s by Swiss and Japanese brands. In Switzerland, the first mechaquartz was invented by LeCoultre and Piguet, and in Japan by Seiko. One thing I do like about these mechaquartz movements is that starting the chronograph feels just as if you had started the chronograph on a mechanical watch and the sweeping of the seconds hand gives the same impression. Honestly, you can’t ask for more for watches priced around $500 USD with this level of design, craftsmanship, and with such amazing leather straps. I am hopeful that moving forward they’ll jump into the mechanical Swiss Made bandwagon because they already have everything to succeed. Both the Havana Salmon and the Mare Blue are sold out and permanently retired. If you want one, you can look on the bay but they are selling way above retail up to three to four times their original price.
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