Thirty-Six Millimeters: Small Canvas, Grand Vision
The Red Hunter Anniversary watch combines a historically-inspired hinged caseback with modern Swiss craftsmanship, marking Furlan Marri's remarkable journey from Kickstarter sensation to horological contender.
In the early 20th century, as pocket watches transitioned to wristwatches, a distinctive style emerged known as the "officer's watch." Unlike traditional hunter-case pocket watches where a protective cover shielded the dial, these wristwatches featured a hinged caseback that opened to reveal the movement within. This design wasn't merely functional—it created a private space for personalization. Military officers would often have these casebacks engraved with regimental crests, personal mottos, or dedications from loved ones—meaningful inscriptions visible only to the owner during intimate moments of contemplation when the watch was removed and the hidden chamber revealed.
A century later, in an age dominated by disposable digital devices, Furlan Marri revives this thoughtful tradition with their Red Hunter Anniversary piece—a watch that honors the past by creating a personal sanctuary on the wrist, inviting moments of reflection each time its hinged caseback is opened to reveal both an anniversary inscription and the beating heart of its mechanical movement.
The Furlan Marri Red Hunter Anniversary 36mm embodies a quiet revolution in the watch industry: the rise of sophisticated independent watchmaking that honors tradition while embracing modern accessibility. In just four short years, Furlan Marri has condensed what typically takes decades to achieve, demonstrating how digital-era entrepreneurship combined with genuine reverence for horological craft can create timepieces that speak meaningfully to contemporary collectors.
Founded in 2021 by Andrea Furlan and Hamad Al Marri, the brand represents a unique East-meets-West partnership bridging Swiss technical expertise with Middle Eastern artistic sensibility. Andrea Furlan brings significant pedigree, having worked with prestigious names like Chopard and Hublot before collaborating with legendary movement designer Dominique Renaud. His Swiss industrial design background (honed at ECAL) provides technical foundation, while Hamad Al Marri contributes the perspective of an art-focused collector who has "wandered auction houses since childhood."
This fusion yielded immediate success. The brand's Kickstarter campaign reached its funding goal in a mere 35 seconds, and within six months, they received the prestigious Horological Revelation Prize at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). Their signature style blends vintage-inspired aesthetics with contemporary refinement, seen across collections from the accessible MechaQuartz chronographs to the refined Cornes de Vaches series and the retro-futuristic Disco Volante. Most impressively, they developed a Secular Perpetual Calendar complication with Dominique Renaud that demonstrated technical ambition far beyond their years, attracting 6.5 times its estimated value at auction.
The Red Hunter Anniversary marks Furlan Marri's first foray into 36mm territory—a size that honors classic proportions while making a distinct statement in today's market. The black lacquered dial creates depth through carefully sculpted contours, with applied indexes including curved Roman numerals at cardinal positions that reveal their dimensionality when viewed from different angles. The three-hand layout features domed, polished hands complemented by the watch's namesake feature: a vivid red seconds hand that provides a flash of color reminiscent of a fox hunter glimpsed through foliage. The alternating polished and brushed finishes on the 316L stainless steel case demonstrate the brand's commitment to detail, while the screw-down crown ensures practical 100-meter water resistance.
The most remarkable feature, however, is hidden on the reverse: an officer-style hinged caseback that opens to reveal both an anniversary engraving and a sapphire exhibition window showcasing the movement within. Beneath this double caseback beats the La Joux-Perret G100 automatic caliber—a Swiss-made movement with impressive credentials. Its 68-hour power reserve means the watch will continue running through a weekend off the wrist, while its regulated accuracy of +/-7 seconds per day exceeds standard expectations at this price point.
For this anniversary edition, Furlan Marri has upgraded the aesthetics with an engraved tungsten rotor featuring a rose gold 4N coating—a first for the brand. The movement showcases high-end finishing including Geneva stripes, snailing, and heat-blued screws, along with the engraved brand philosophy: "Furlan Marri, crafted with care, designed for details."
For the first time, Furlan Marri offers an integrated stainless steel bracelet designed by the founders themselves. The watch also includes two French leather options: a black strap with thematic red stitching and a cream-colored alternative for versatility.
The Red Hunter's hinged officer's caseback transforms the wearer's relationship with time by creating a moment of deliberate interaction in our distraction-filled digital age. Unlike checking the time on a smartphone—an act that typically leads to a cascade of notifications and attention fragmentation—removing a watch and opening its caseback creates a ritual of focused awareness. This intentional action requires pausing from the constant flow of digital time, creating what philosopher Martin Heidegger might have called a "clearing"—a space where one becomes conscious of one's relationship with time itself.
The physical action of opening the caseback engages multiple senses: the tactile experience as the mechanism releases, the visual revelation of decorated movement components, perhaps even the subtle sound of the hinge. This officer's caseback design creates an intimate experience—one must deliberately remove the watch and turn it over to access this hidden chamber. The Red Hunter doesn't merely measure time; it transforms how we experience it, creating opportunities for contemplation that are increasingly rare in our hyperconnected era.
The Red Hunter's 36mm diameter represents more than nostalgic mimicry of vintage proportions. It makes a statement about value systems in watchmaking and suggests a post-pandemic recalibration of priorities. During the "behemoth" era of the 2000s, oversized watches reflected the conspicuous consumption of the time—bigger was literally better in a market that valued presence and statement-making. The gradual return to more moderate sizes (typically settling around 39-40mm) has coincided with growing appreciation for understated luxury and heritage values.
The Red Hunter exemplifies the accelerated maturation possible for independent watchmaking in the digital era. Where traditional brands might take generations to evolve from accessible beginnings to sophisticated offerings, Furlan Marri has compressed this journey into just four years. Several factors enable this rapid development: direct-to-consumer distribution eliminating traditional retail markups, social media connecting with enthusiast communities without massive marketing budgets, and digital design tools streamlining development processes. Yet Furlan Marri has paired these modern advantages with genuine respect for traditional craftsmanship and finishing.
The G100 movement represents this hybrid approach—a reliable, modern caliber enhanced with traditional decorative techniques and custom components. This balance of industrial reliability with artisanal finishing demonstrates how contemporary independents can offer sophistication without the prohibitive pricing that traditionally accompanied it. This acceleration doesn't represent corner-cutting but rather a more efficient path to excellence—one that may become the template for the next generation of watchmaking success stories.
The Red Hunter reveals evolving dynamics in collector psychology, particularly regarding young independent brands. Its design choices—particularly the officer's caseback—appeal directly to what might be called the "discoverers" segment of watch enthusiasts who value narrative, detail, and insider knowledge over mass-market recognition. In a maturing watch market where information asymmetry has largely disappeared (anyone can research watch specifications online), differentiation increasingly comes through emotional connection and community belonging. Young brands like Furlan Marri succeed by creating these connections through transparent founder stories, creative collaborations, and designs that reward close examination.
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About the Author
Sergio Galanti is a journalist specializing in independent watchmaking and mechanical horology.