The watch industry is full of niche designs and one that has been having a very gradual revival across the past year or so is the Disco Volante. Translating to flying saucer, it has a completely circular case with round flanks and pronounced crystal giving it the profile of a stereotypical UFO, popular in the mid-20th century. The revival (which is maybe too grandiose term for it) started with the Furlan Marri Disco Volante, then CIGA released the latest model in the Blue Planet II range and Isotope unveiled the OVNI and there are more to come that we can’t talk about yet. For now, though, Furlan Marri are releasing a follow-up to their original collection with the Disco Volante Onyx, Lab Diamonds.
Everything you need to know about this watch is essentially included in that name. The round, 38mm case now houses a deep black dial made from semi-precious onyx stone on top of which are lab-grown diamond hour markers. This is Furlan Marri’s first venture into diamonds, adding a new level of luxury and sparkle to the display. Lab grown diamonds that are synthetically produced are regarded as the most ethical way to source the gems in modern times as they avoid the damage to the environment caused by mining.
There are two main ways to produce them, either High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) where carbon is pressurised at high temperature to simulate the conditions of natural diamond formation, or Chemical Vapour Deposition where layers of carbon are formed into diamonds in a vacuum chamber. They’re also dramatically more accessible, which is also an important factor.
Aesthetically it makes the Disco Volante Onyx, Lab Diamonds look like it’s dressed up for a gala with a sleek black dress and beautiful jewellery accessory. It’s also much more pared back compared to the original with a monotone dial that does away with the multi-colour sector display and Arabic numeral time scales. As part of that the lumed grooves have also been removed, which is a little sad because they were one of the most intriguing elements of the original but it’s probably the correct decision on balance.
Beneath the updated display is the ETA Peseux 7001 with its bridges redesigned and hand-finished by Furlan Marri. It has a 42-hour power reserve and is manually wound. It’s a movement that has been a staple of the watch industry since 1971, which is where the designation 7001 comes from.
The Furlan Marri Disco Volante Onyx, Lab Diamonds has a price of CHF 3,500 (approx. £3,250), so it is roughly £900 more expensive than the original collection, which is a substantial increase. However, it’s an increase that makes sense given the adoption of a semi-precious dial and diamond indexes. For a smart, dress watch interpretation of the watch, it ticks all the boxes.
Price and Specs:
More details at Furlan Marri.
