Furlan Marri co-founder Andrea Furlan shares brand misconceptions, milestones, and more

Zach Blass

Editor’s note: Back in January, many of you joined us in our Time+Tide Discovery Studio in Melbourne to celebrate our tenth anniversary. It was a week full of celebrations, events, and even three exclusive launches from three of the most respected microbrands in the game: Furlan Marri, Baltic, and Studio Underd0g. Unfortunately, not everyone was able to join us down under. While guests were privy to live interviews each event day, our founder Andrew McUtchen took the time to sit down with each of the three founders of the brands to have an even more in-depth discussion. We first shared Andrew’s conversation with Richard Benc from Studio Underd0g. Next up, Andrew and Furlan Marri co-founder Andrea Furlan chat through all things Furlan Marri – Kickstarter records, misconceptions about the brand, and, of course, our Furlan Marri x Time+Tide Outback Elegy collaboration.

We encourage you to watch the full video above, but an abbreviated transcript, edited for clarity, can be found below.

Andrew McUtchen: Describe Furlan Marri in three words.

Andrea Furlan: Details, honesty, community.

AM: How many years have you been going to about

AF: It’s been about two and a half years now.

AM: What’s the most famous watch world person you’ve worked with?

AF: I would say Jorg Hysek. I did an internship with Mr Hysek, who, for those who do not know, is the designer of the Vacheron Constantin 222 and Breguet Marine among other watches. I learned a lot from him, very thankful.

AM: How long did it take you to hit your Kickstarter launch target?

AF: 35 seconds [to hit our CHF 75,000 pledge goal].

AM: Wow! Incredible! What was your most successful sales window yet? How many dollars?

AF: I would say the Mare Blu Ref. 1051-A  where we did around 5,700 orders in ten days. I don’t like to say numbers or dollars, but around four million.

AM: If Furlan Marri, Baltic, and Studio Underd0g are the Nadal, Novak, and Federer of the microbrand world which one are you?

AF: I would say Federer for us because he has this kind of classical style, he’s a detail-oriented player, and he’s also Swiss. I will say Studio Under0g is more Novak,  and Nadal for Baltic which is very sporty.

AM: If your dreams come true, where is Furlan Marri in five years?

AF: With more showroom around the world, and in a short timeline as well because we need this. It’s important to give more people the ability to experience in hand what we do. Also, to have these three clear lines that we developed this year, but to keep continuing and developing those three lines, which is the Mecaquartz line, the Mechanical line, and the Technical line where we aim to have more affordable complications.

AM: What’s the biggest challenge you face in getting there?

AF: To find a very strong team, as well as to be surrounded by important people.

AM: So, who is the most famous person, that you know of, that has worn a Furlan Marri?

AF: So it’s a fun story because someone reached out to us on Instagram and said, “Okay, I want to buy these two watches.” So, we send him an invoice and then we later saw on Instagram that he posted a photo of himself at the Festival de Cannes, the Cannes Film Festival, on the red carpet wearing our watch – and organically! It was so great to see that. To be honest, we didn’t know who we was initially. We were just treating him like any other customer. He is the actor Alex Pettyfer.

AM: Andrea, what is the one thing you want the world to know about Furlan Marri?

AF: That we take the time to finish the case on the inside. Our cases have the same finish as a high-end watch, we decorate inside with perlage even though it’s a closed case back where nobody would see it. This detail is a tribute to vintage watches. Every time I open a vintage watch I can see inside that it’s very well finished. We wanted this kind of attention to detail, even people if they will never see it. But at least they know we took the time to do it inside

AM: What is one bit of misinformation about Furlan Marri you would like to clear up?

AF: I think is the mecaquartz movement, because it’s actually an interesting story. It’s actually part of Swiss watchmaking history. With the quartz crisis, this kind of movement and technology was used by Breitling, IWC. It was LeCoultre and Piguet who invented this kind of module. To have this kind of mechanical feeling on top of the quartz. Then, in Japan, Seiko would take the lead on that. So now it’s associated with Seiko because at the end, in the 90s I think, there were too many small companies in Switzerland. So it was a little bit forgotten. So I would want to communicate this story and how important this kind of technology and movement is.

AM: What is the one skill you have that makes your brand successful? One thing that you bring that makes this brand successful.

AF: I would say my understanding of a lot of departments. This is due to my background in industrial design, as well as photography and graphic design as well. And, design typography. So, this kind of melting pot of backgrounds is a nice base to then understand where to go.

AM: Why did you choose Time+Tide to be your first global retailer?

AF: Time+Tide was one of the first to talk about the brand and communicate about our watches. Without you, we couldn’t be here today. So it was important, for me, to thank you in our own way.

AM: Compared to other watch media, what do you think makes Time+Tide different?

AF: In my eyes, the most important thing is that you are first and foremost a media company. You do a lot of content, you try to fully understand the world of microbrands and bigger brands equally. And now that you bring this kind of showroom concept, where people can discover the pieces in an informed space, it’s a winning mix I think.

AM: Andrea, you’ve been here a couple of days. What has surprised you the most about Australian watch fans?

AF: The community is very strong here and it was wonderful to see that some people took the time to fly into Melbourne from Sydney and other cities just to spend  the day and meet us. Also, the fact that I saw a lot of Furlan Marri on the wrists of those attending. And they brought everything, even our rarer limited editions. It was great to talk with them, and it was very validating to get the feedback that they are really enjoying the brand. So this pushes us, as a brand, to make it even more for the community.

AM: Tell me the one thing that is coming for Furlan Marri that you’re most excited about.

AF: I think the perpetual calendar we are working on for a public release. We did the development in 10 months only, in less than one year. So I am excited to take our unique proof of concept into production for the public piece.

AM: How would you describe the Time+Tide Watch Discovery studio as someone who had never seen it? What was your initial impression?

AF: It’s a perfect showroom because it combines this kind of boutique, but also concept, with this modular component. You can do events, you can change the entire space to a mono boutique for a brand, and then you have the space for podcasts as well. The Discovery Studio is particulary special in how it gives voice to the microbrands to be known. It’s really perfect.

AM: You’ve just come to Australia. What’s the one thing you’re most surprised by about being here compared to what you expected?

AF: For me, it’s the ambiance of the city of Melbourne. You can see this kind of New York feeling, but with this kind of European edge and style as well. So, for us, it was a bit surprising. Unsurprisingly, however, all the people are super nice. Super nice. And they were super interested in the brand as I said. I saw one guest taking notes during our live conversation, it was really cool to see this person and all the other guests being very tuned in.

AM: Last question. Where does the Furlan Marri x Time+Tide Outback Elegy sit in your heart? Is this an important watch for you?

AF: Really important. Because it’s our first-ever Boutique edition, which we plan to do more of with other retailers – these boutique exclusives. So it will be always something we will remember and speak of fondly as it was the first.

Furlan Marri Editions x Time+Tide Outback Elegy specifications

 

Brand	Furlan Marri
Model	Editions Outback Elegy
Reference	2222-A
Case Dimensions	37.5mm (D) x 10.5mm (T) x 46mm (LTL)
Case Material	Stainless steel
Water Resistance	50 metres
Crystal(s)	AR-coated sapphire
Dial	Ochre brown
Bracelet	Brown leather with curved spring bars
Movement	La Joux-Perret G100, automatic
Power Reserve	68 hours
Functions	Hours, minutes, seconds
Availability	Limited to 150 pcs. Inquire within the Discovery Studio
Price	A$2,650 (inc. GST) CHF 1,500 (exc. VAT)