Four of the Best New Indie Watches to Hit the Market This Year
Today, we’re gushing about the latest models from Furlan Marri, Dennison, Awake, and Christopher Ward.
By Cait Bazemore
Contributor
In the five years since the pandemic, the watch world has grown and evolved exponentially. As a result, the community has expanded beyond traditionalists and those with a certain disposable income to include collectors of all shapes, sizes, genders, style preferences, and walks of life. From the massive boom of the secondary market to the rise of independents, the industry has answered the call – the more the merrier, the more the demand.
Today, we’re homing in on the indies. This independent revolution is multifaceted, with some makers focusing intensely on craftsmanship and others pushing the bounds of innovation. Without the pressure of upholding hundreds of years of heritage or answering to a larger luxury group, independents are inherently more adventurous, playful, and avant-garde with their designs. These are four of the best new indie watches we’ve seen hit the market this year.
Furlan Marri Red Hunter Anniversary Piece
In four short years, Furlan Marri has quickly risen in the ranks within the watch industry.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and sharing casual drinks with the brand’s founders, Andrea Furlan and Hamad Al Marri, and they’re two of the nicest, smartest, and most creative guys around. When it comes to indies, this is part of what you’re investing in – you’re not just buying the watch, you’re buying the brand.
The recent Red Hunter Anniversary Piece celebrates Furlan Marri’s fourth birthday and features the brand’s first 36mm-diameter case and its first integrated stainless-steel bracelet.
As the name suggests, the design of this anniversary piece was inspired by the historic hunter-case pocket watches and features a hinged caseback. Opening the caseback via a discreet side notch reveals two details highlighting the occasion: a special anniversary engraving and a sapphire crystal displaying a newly designed oscillating weight plated in rose gold.
Speaking of the movement, powering the Red Hunter Anniversary Piece is the G100 automatic calibre by Manufacture La Joux-Perret, previously featured in Furlan Marri’s Cornes de Vaches collection. Made in La Chaux-de-Fonds, this self-winding movement has a tungsten rotor for optimal weight distribution and smooth rotation. Complementing the oscillating weight and marking a first for Furlan Marri, the rotor now features a rose gold 4N coating.
Dennison x John Reardon x Emmanuel Gueit
With roots that trace back to the late 1800s, Dennison enjoyed a nearly 100-year history before disappearing off the map. Then, just six months ago, the brand re-emerged on the scene. For its debut collection, the Maison tapped the legendary Emmanuel Gueit (who has worked with Rolex, Piaget, and Audemars Piguet, to name a few).
The result was the A.L.D., a series of 11 gorgeous watches named for the brand’s founder, Aaron Lufkin Dennison, and inspired by the final decade of the brand in the 1960s, featuring cushion-shaped cases and a mix of classic sunray dials as well as very of-the-era stone dials.
Dennison’s latest model marks several firsts. It’s the brand’s first collaboration. In addition, it’s the first watch by Dennison’s partner in crime, John Reardon, a globally recognized expert on Patek Philippe, former International Head of Watches at Christie’s, and founder of Collectability.
The new collab touched down at the Dennison + Collectability Pop-Up at the “Sous Les Etoiles Gallery” during Madison Avenue Watch Week in New York City. This limited edition draws inspiration from one of Reardon’s favorite models in his personal collection. It’s offered in a cushion-shaped case rendered in two metals (stainless steel and gold PVD) and features a two-tone sunray dial.
Altogether, it elicits that same feeling of the 1960s.
Awake Jurassic Watch
I encountered Awake for the first time last year at Geneva Watch Days in the fall. I quickly struck up a conversation with the Maison’s founder, Lilian Thibault, as we went down a rabbit hole of the brand’s history and our shared passion for artistic craft. Needless to say, Awake now has a special place in my heart.
At the time of this conversation, the brand was pivoting away from its original lineup of sustainably focused watches, which emphasized materials and celestial-themed models and stemmed from a partnership with NASA.
The shift marked a departure from a more utilitarian approach to a more aesthetic one with the debut of a collection showcasing a unique Vietnamese lacquer method called Sơn Mài and incorporating silver leaf lamination techniques.
Last month, Awake unveiled its next interpretation of this exceptional hybrid technique with two limited editions called the Jurassic Watch. Yes, you read that correctly. And yes, the inspiration comes from the cult classic film franchise.
The Sơn Mài method lends itself perfectly to replicating the texture of dinosaur scales, and the colors chosen for the collection – a fiery orange and an intense lime green – immediately elicit the prehistoric color palette.
Christopher Ward C12 Loco
In 2014, Christopher Ward notched its monumental 10th anniversary in a big way. The brand introduced its first in-house movement, the calibre SH21 (since renamed the CW-001). The milestone wasn’t just significant for the brand but British watchmaking as a whole because it marked the first commercially viable mechanical movement from a British watch company in 50 years.
Now, just over a decade later, Christopher Ward is doubling down. The brand has just unveiled its second in-house movement in the C12 Loco. The manually wound calibre CW-003 incorporates a custom-designed free-sprung balance wheel and hairspring, replacing traditional regulating pins for greater precision. It also offers a very impressive power reserve of 144 hours, which is a day more than the original CW-001.
In addition, the C12 Loco features a redesigned, three-piece, 41mm version of the twelve-sided, integrated case typical of The Twelve collection, which debuted in 2023. More specifically, the brand has refined the build for comfort with steeper downturned lugs that contour naturally to the wrist.
Available in Ursa black, Alabaster white, Pasadena blue, and Frisco orange, each hue was chosen for its ability to complement the watch’s striking open-heart design that puts the calibre CW-003 on full display.
Pricing & Availability
Furlan Marri’s Red Hunter Anniversary Piece is priced at $1,830 and was only available for pre-order from April 23 to May 4. So, if you missed your chance to place an order, you’ll have to wait for models to start hitting the secondary market.
The collaboration between Dennison and Collectability is available to pre-order now through May 10 and is priced at just $690.
Awake’s Jurassic T-REX Edition and Jurassic Raptors Edition watches are priced at € 2,075 (approximately $2,350) and are limited to 50 pieces in each of the two colorways. As an added bonus, inside one of the 100 Jurassic Watch boxes is a genuine dinosaur tooth, with a certificate of authenticity. The first 25 of each hue have sold out in the first round of pre-orders, but the second batch is still available to order now.
Each and every style of Christopher Ward’s C12 Loco is available as part of the brand’s permanent catalog, with prices ranging from $4,595 for the rubber strap variant to $4,825 for the integrated steel bracelet version.