For those of you who haven't heard of Furlan Marri, it's a new watch brand that came out early this year 2021. Furlan Marri is a Swiss watch brand started by two people: Andrea Furlan, a Swiss industrial designer and Hamad Al Marri, a watch collector and an artist from the Middle East.

When it came to their marketing in preparation for the Kickstarter launch, they went full blast. They were on a lot of watch publications in the time leading up to their launch. They also did a session on Clubhouse where the audience got to ask them pretty tough questions, which they honestly and earnestly addressed. It was actually that Clubhouse session that cemented my decision to get one. I admired that they wanted to create beautiful (or as they say "highly attractive wristwatches") at an entry-level price for the young watch enthusiast. This beautiful piece for $350 dollars? I'm in!

So by the time the Kickstarter project launched in March 2021, they were fully funded in three minutes! For me, I had my credit card ready and I was able to get it within the first 10 minutes. When the campaign ended in April 2021, the project was 1450% funded and they raised ~$1,100,000 USD. I was initially going to buy 2 of these rose gold variants but I chickened out and I only bought 1 unit. I sort of regretted it because this rose gold variant (Farro) was a Kickstarter-exclusive and they won't be making it anymore. However, it was for the best because I don't think it would have been a good idea for me to buy two of the same thing. Fast forward to September 2021, the watch arrived. When I opened it, it did not disappoint. It's as gorgeous as I expected it to be.



Specifications:

  • Case Diameter: 38mm
  • Lug to Lug: 47mm
  • Case Thickness: 11mm
  • Lug Width: 20mm

The watches are made in stainless steel but with the Farro variant in particular coming with rose gold plating.  It's polished at the top while horizontally brushed along the sides. At the bottom in between the lugs, the model number and serial number is engraved.

The lacquer dial is glossy black and the sub-dials are silver with circular ridges. The rose gold hour markers are applied. The leaf-shaped hands are curved in a way that helps the hands catch the light in whichever angle the light is coming from. This makes the watch very legible even in low light conditions.

There is a tachymeter scale along the outer part of the dial which I don't think I will ever use but it was nicely done.

It has a double-domed sapphire crystal with five layers of anti-reflective coating and the top part has anti-fingerprint coating.

When it comes to water resistance, it has a rating of 50 meters which is good for a dress watch.

The watch came with a quick-release textured taupe Italian calf leather strap, which goes beautifully well with the watch. It also came with an extra black leather strap. Both the taupe and the black strap feel very good quality.

It's powered by the Seiko VK64 meca-quartz movement, which is a quartz movement with a mechanical chronograph. They only used two sub-dials which are the 24 hour indicator on the right and the 60 minute counter on the left.

Pros:

  • So much thought went into this watch from the design to the experience. You can definitely see it from the packaging, the accompanying papers, and the watch itself. It gives you a glimpse of the 5-star treatment at an entry level price. It's a beautiful watch. I can't speak for the other colorways, but this rose gold one is just gorgeous. They got the rose gold tone perfectly, in a shade which flatters most skin tones. The proportions of the watch and the sub dials is just perfect. It's very much reminiscent of vintage chronograph watches from luxury brands. I know I'm not the most poetic person in describing things, I wish I was, so I hope by me showing it to you, you get it.
  • The quality at this price point is amazing.  You can see the clean finishing on the hour markers, hands, and how sharp the printing. 
  • It has details that I never knew I wanted, details such as anti-fingerprint coating, the engraving between the lugs, the engraving on the pushers, the way the hands are curved so that it catches the light in all angles, the papers that look like Patek Philippe's Extract from the Archives, and even simply just the way you opened the box.
  • I like that they were very much upfront about where their watches were manufactured. They are indeed a Swiss company, but this watch was made in China. They're also upfront about using the Seiko VK64 movement which is Japanese. I really appreciate it when brands are honest!

Cons:

  • The use of the meca-quartz movement is a turn off for some people. When the project launched, I saw a lot of people commenting that they would pass on this and wait for a fully mechanical watch instead. Also, using this meca-quartz means that there is a ghost date position, which I know some people mind, but I don't actually mind it. 
  • The rose gold electroplating can fade over time, not sure how long it will last. However at this price point, it would have been unfair to expect anything more. 
  • The new price point will be very tough to swallow. Knowing that you could have gotten it at $350, had you ordered it on Kickstarter, the new price of around $530 will feel like too much, especially since there are other brands with similar designs and specs for $300. Given how high in demand it became, there is a lot of over-inflated prices on eBay and Chrono24. I guess it's beneficial for the ones who already own one, but very toxic for the rest of the watch community. This kind of culture really makes it tough for a young watch enthusiast to get into the brand. 

Overall, it's a very beautiful watch, and it really does deserve the hype at the original price point.  However, there's been some crazy prices on eBay and Chrono24 which I don't think people should be paying for. It absolutely does not deserve the over-inflated prices you're seeing right now.

I'm looking forward to what Furlan Marri has to offer next! If you have any thoughts or questions about this watch let me know in the comment section. Bye for now!