A Microbrand Just Resurrected a Lost Vintage Watch Style

Furlan Marri’s Disco Volante brings back the mid-century “Flying Saucer” case.

Published July 16, 2024

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Watch cases come in many shapes and sizes. The most common is a round case elongated by two pairs of lugs and made asymmetrical by a crown jutting out at 3 o’clock. But there are also square watches, oblong watches and, rarely, watches that are almost perfectly round.

That latter style first popped up in the 1930s but is almost unheard of today. Referred to by modern collectors as Disco Volante cases — the Italian term for Flying Saucer — these unique cases look like a smooth circle on the wrist thanks to their hidden lugs and recessed crowns.

Back in the mid-twentieth century, brands like Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin and Zenith cranked out such models, but the Art Deco style has largely been absent from the market for the past several decades.

Or, it was anyway. Today, Furlan Marri, the Swiss darling of the microbrand set, has unveiled a contemporary take on the style.

Furlan Marri Disco Volante

$2,780 at Furlan Marri

The Furlan Marri Disco Volante

There’s no mistaking the inspiration for Furlan Marri’s latest vintage-inspired redux: the watch is literally called the Disco Volante.

Like its decades-old progenitors, the watch’s case is effectively a perfect circle, with a rounded-edge bezel further enhancing its curves. The lugs of the 38mm case (slightly larger than the 36mm vintage watches that inspired it) are completely hidden from view on the underside of the case, making it appear as if the Italian leather strap — which has curved ends and spring bars for greater integration — magically emerges from within the case itself.

furlan marri watch caseback — The lugs hide on the underside of the case, allowing the case to look like a perfect circle head-on.

The crown is the only part of the case that interrupts the circular symmetry, but just barely. It’s set deep into the case itself so that its flat tip perfectly lines up with the edge of the bezel, creating just a minor hiccup in the sleek saucer shape.

Although the case design is pure vintage, Furlan Marri infuses some modern inspiration into the dial. Rather than going with a straightforward and simple dress watch design, the brand has created a sort of dress-field watch hybrid dial that’s equal parts classy and sporty.

furlan marri watch on mans wrist — The complex dial appears to take inspiration from both dress watches and field watches.

The four-part, bi-color dial is full of intricate details and features a mix of printed and applied indices. A printed minute track circles the outermost ring of the dial, while an oversized small seconds counter at six o’clock sits just below the Art Deco handset.

Most modern of all is the lume treatment that Furlan Marri has opted for. The circles surrounding both the small seconds indicator and the hour track are filled with lume, giving the watch a bit of a sci-fi look in the dark. I have to believe the brand took some inspiration from Disco Volante’s literal translation for that decision.

person wearing a furlan marri watch in low light — The generous lume treatment seems to wink at the literal translation of Disco Volante: Flying Saucer.

Powering the watch is quite a solid movement: the Swiss-made Peseux 7001. A manually wound movement with a 42-hour power reserve, the Cal. 7001 inside the Disco Volante has been custom-finished by Furlan Marri, with black-polished screws and crown wheel and hand-finished beveling on the bridges.

The movement is visible through a sapphire caseback and certainly looks very pretty. Furlan Marri chose it in part because of its thinness — it measures just 2.5mm thick — but I do wonder if the Disco Volante would be better served by an automatic.

furlan marri watch crown — While its chamfered edges might help with grip, I imagine the recessed crown probably isn’t a joy to wind.

With the crown being recessed into the case, I can imagine this watch is quite a chore to wind, so the choice of a hand-wound movement has me scratching my head a bit. Then again, I haven’t handled the watch in person, so maybe I’m missing something here.

Pricing and Availability

The Furlan Marri Disco Volante is available in three colors: Havana Disco, which combines salmon with brown and is illuminated by “Old Radium” Super-LumiNova; Disco Verde, which mixes green and cream and opts for the same vintage green lume; and Disco Celeste, the most modern reference which combines blue and white with blue-glowing BGW9 Super-LumiNova.

three furlan marri watches float above a pile of magazines — The Disco Volante comes in three colors that range from vintage to contemporary.

All watches are non-limited and are now a permanent part of Furlan Marri’s collection, though the brand will only be producing one batch this year to start, with future batches dependent on the availability of the movement.

The Disco Volante is priced at $2,780 on Furlan Marri’s website.

Furlan Marri Disco Volante

A reimagining of mid-century Disco Volante watches — Italian for Flying Saucer — Furlan Marri’s updated take features a round case with hidden lugs and a recessed crown. It pairs this with a dial featuring a futuristic lume treatment and a hand-finished manual-wind movement.