Hands-On with the Furlan Marri Disco Volante

If we were to take a quick trip back to the 1930’s ‘disco volante’ style timepieces weren’t all that uncommon. The name of these round space-age designs literally translates to ‘flying saucers’ and we can trace them back to the late 1930s, with perhaps the most influential example being the Audemars Piguet ref. 5093 which was pioneered by Gerald Genta. Following his refined blueprint for how a disco volante should be executed, other luxury Swiss manufactures like Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Jaeger-LeCoultre as well as Omega all produced their own takes on this Art Deco design with plenty of extremely rare and beautiful examples dating back to around the same period in time.

Considering Furlan Marri’s debut release back in 2021 was a meca-quartz Patek 1463 homage, it’s clear that the brand have a knack for reviving and revamping models from the past. Having filled out their catalogue over the past few years with contemporary takes on beloved vintage designs, it’s unsurprising that the small Swiss brand would choose to reignite the flame on the disco volante design which has been long looked over by modern brands.

Putting their own stamp on things, the old-school blueprint has been refreshed with an arguably much needed larger case diameter as well as new dial designs. The Furlan Marri Disco Volante has been launched into the brand’s Mechanical line-up as a permanent addition and can be had in a series of three unique references. Havana Disco, my favourite of the three and the reference we were lucky enough to get some hands-on time with, is presented with a salmon hue and brown tones completed by Old Radium Super-LumiNova. The Disco Celeste appears in blue and white with powerful BGW9 Super-LumiNova and the final reference, Disco Verde, features a dramatic green and cream dial which has again been paired with Old Radium Super-Luminova.

The first thing that actually drew me to this collection was the dial. Personally, as a big fan of sector dial watches, I’m glad they seem to have made the transition from a vintage inspired novelty to a lasting design trope that we can expect to see appearing in more and more collections as time goes on. Classy, clean and capable of scratching the itch in my brain that wants for balance and symmetry, the sector dial renaissance is really doing it for me.

In the case of the Disco Havana, the salmon and brown hues work together beautifully to create a warm and rich aesthetic that is broken up with a really modern burst of Super-LumiNova along the lines that separate the sectors. This might seem a little out of place at first thought but it really adds to the cool ‘flying saucer’ vibe these watches have going for them and brings makes them feel more aesthetically modern. Separated into four parts, the dials feature applied markers at the quarter hour, a small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock and short, polished hands. Though the centre of the dial is matte, the outer tracks have a metallic brushed finish that distinguishes them nicely.

If you take a look at some of the earlier references we talked about at the beginning of this article you’d typically see a disco volante-style watch presented with a 34-36mm case diameter. In this case, Furlan Marri have sensibly sized up to 38mm to cater to modern preferences. This definitely enlarges the watch by an appropriate amount and makes it far more wearable for those with bigger wrists.

The lugs of the Disco Volante are hidden from above, cleverly tucked beneath the case for a typically ‘flying saucer’-esque lugless aesthetic. The crown is also repressed inside the multi-stepped bezel which is in keeping with the seamless design but creates some functionality issues as unfortunately it is a little tricky to wind from this position. Due to its lugless appearance it’s also important to mention that the watch will still wear smaller on the wrist than you might expect and the dial does look a little dainty in comparison to a typical 38mm watch with visible lugs.

Housed in this trim new case we have the ultra-thin ETA 7001 movement which has been made by hand in Geneva and offers a 42-hour power reserve as well as a frequency of 21,600vph and 17 jewels. Interestingly, the Peseux produced movement has been around since 1971 and even appears as the base movement for the Omega calibre 651.

Due to the nature of the hidden lugs things can get a little complicated when it comes to straps because, whilst 38mm watch cases are extremely common, a matching 38mm lug-to-lug distance isn’t quite so and most of us aren’t typically as accustomed to wearing watches with these measurements. Although the watch isn’t actually lugless, it certainly looks and feels that way as the lugs are discreetly tucked away beneath the case which cleverly enough creates an integrated effect without actually having to do some of the fiddly work to manufacture this. Really, it all comes down to personal preference though and whilst it might be a little bit trickier to change the strap, there are still a huge amount of replacement options out there that will complement the Disco Volante perfectly.

Like I’ve said once already, I was sold from the moment I saw the sector dial. Granted, the crown is a little fiddly and it’s probably not for you if you prefer a chunkier watch with more wrist presence but the Furlan Marri Disco Volante Collection seamlessly brings together really cool vintage inspired design traits that we’ve been missing out on for far too long and couples them with refreshing contemporary twists. The bold use of Super-LumiNova and the upsized case dimensions make this vintage revival stand out from your average homage watch and bring it perfectly up to speed for the modern collector.

Case:

• Material: 316L stainless steel
• Diameter: 38 mm diameter case
• Thickness: 8.10 mm (without glass), 8.95 mm (with glass)
• Lugs: Lug-free style (hidden), 38 mm lug to lug
• Lug width: 20mm
• Finishes: Curved bezel
• Sapphire glass: Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with five layers of anti-reflective coating and one fingerprint-resistant coating on both face and open caseback
• Water-resistance: Waterproof case with screwed sapphire case-back, 5 ATM / 50 meters

Dial:

• Color: Two-tone dial in salmon and brown hues
• Finishes: Four-part dial with sharp angles on each part
• Super-LumiNova: Old Radium Super-LumiNova (C5) surrounding the minute and small seconds indications
• Indexes: Applied hour-markers at 12, 3, 9 and double printed indications
• Hands: Domed with Super-LumiNova inserts

Movement:

• Peseux 7001 manually wound mechanical movement
• Diameter: 10½ lignes (23.73 mm)
• Thickness: 2.50 mm
• Number of jewels: 17