Fratello’s Top 5 Dress Watches Of The First Half Of 2024 — From Furlan Marri, Chopard, Parmigiani, And More

Another Friday, another list! This week, we continue our quest for the best watches released in the first half of 2024. It’s all about dress watches for this new list. Have the first six months of the year been great for people looking to add a new dress piece to their collections? We take a look at the five best that we’ve seen. Once again, it wasn’t hard to come up with more than five great options, but it was tougher coming up with the final five picks. In the end, we agreed on five watches that we feel deserve a place on this list. Let’s find out which ones made the cut!

But before we get into our list, it’s good to know that we once again looked at different budgets. It’s easy to find five super-expensive pieces, but we want to cover the best across the board and not just at the top end. Additionally, you can always debate the definition of a “dress watch.” Let’s say we will not be purists regarding these lists. As you will find out, we’ll stretch the boundaries of a traditional dress watch and be comfortable doing it. If you don’t agree, we would love to find your favorites in the comments section. Now, without further ado, let’s take a look at our five favorite dress watches from the first half of 2024.

Furlan Marri Disco Volante

We’ll immediately break the rules because this Furlan Marri Disco Volante came out two weeks after the first six months of the year were over. But since quite a few people mentioned it during our brainstorming session, we’ll take the liberty to include it. As Thor mentioned in his introduction article, small brands tend to find a stable recipe for success and stick to it. Furlan Marri, however, surprises us with every release.

The brand just released its new Disco Volante, which has a remarkable curvy case shape and is available in three different versions. The name Disco Volante means “flying saucer” in Italian and is perfect for describing the case shape, which has a curvaceous bezel with two distinct flat, brushed bands.

The characteristic case measures 38mm in diameter and is 8.95mm thick, including the crystal. Thor had a chance to test drive the Disco Havana version with a brown and salmon dial. The brand’s other two versions feature a blue and silver (Celeste) and a green and cream (Verde) dial. Inside the case, you will find the ETA 7001 caliber, also known as the Peseux 7001 to many watch fans.

This thin manual-winding movement offers 42 hours of power reserve and features redesigned bridges with diamond-polished bevels, Côtes de Genève, and a Furlan Marri signature as the proud sign-off.

If the two-tone dial wasn’t stylish enough in the daylight, it also comes with lume inserts that light up beautifully in the dark. This new €2,500 Disco Volante proves that Furlan Marri can surprise us time and again. It is the perfect opener for this list of the best dress watches of 2024.

Chopard L.U.C XPS Forest Green

Our second pick is another favorite of the Fratello team. Without exception, we all love the new Chopard L.U.C XPS Forest Green, which the brand introduced during Watches and Wonders this year. This beautiful watch combines a traditional round case with a beautiful dark green sector dial. The 40 × 48.1mm case is made from Chopard’s highly recycled Lucent Steel and is only 7.2mm thick.

That slim profile is a result of Chopard’s L.U.C 96.12-L movement, which is only 3.3mm thick. Thanks to the display case back, the beautiful caliber is visible in all its glory. The element that immediately catches the eye is the 22K gold micro-rotor, but if you look closer, you will see that the movement is finished beautifully. As Robert-Jan explained, it’s a great testament to Chopard’s high-end watchmaking prowess. This chronometer-certified caliber operates at 28,800vph and offers 65 hours of power reserve when fully wound.

The beauty continues on the front with the green sector dial. This PVD-coated dial has a sunburst finish with rhodium-plated hands hovering above it. The dial design is detailed but feels balanced, and it features dual minute tracks connected by the hour markers.

The small seconds sub-dial is slightly recessed and flawlessly integrated into the design. All this combined with the brown leather strap the watch it comes on makes for a brilliant, stylish statement for €12,700. As Mike said in his introduction article, “It’s better looking than any Calatrava on the market today,” which is why the Chopard L.U.C XPS Forest Green is the perfect second pick for our list of the best dress watches of 2024.

Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Petite Seconde

Last week, we featured the brilliant Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Chronograph Rattrapante on our list of the best chronographs of the year so far. Our third pick for this week’s list is the equally brilliant Toric Petite Seconde. The watch made its debut at the last edition of Watches and Wonders. Parmigiani presented two different versions of the watch, both of which present a beautiful, toned-down aesthetic that stands out for its simple elegance. The first is a rose gold version with a sand-colored dial and a greenish-gray leather strap. The second one is a platinum version with a beautiful green dial that comes on a grayish-sand-colored leather strap. Both watches look incredible.

But that’s not just due to the choice of colors. Both watches also feature a stunning round-shaped, straight-lugged case that measures 40.6mm in diameter and 8.8mm thick. The knurled bezel serves as the case’s standout visual element, and the nicely sized crown pairs with it well. Within the case is a beautifully sparse dial graced by small applied indices, sub-seconds at 6 o’clock, and stunning hands.

The result is minimalist in its design approach but rich and detailed in its execution. Inside the case, you will find the gorgeous in-house caliber PF780. This manual-winding movement features 18K rose gold bridges, operates at 28,800vph, and offers 60 hours of power reserve.

The PF780 is a gorgeous power train for two amazing watches that are stylish statements in both formal and casual situations. The rose gold version sells for €50,600, while the platinum version can be yours for €58,400. It’s a lot of money, but what you get in return is spectacular in every respect.

Fleming Series 1 Tantalum

Our next pick is the wonderful Fleming Series 1 Tantalum. The young brand’s Series 1 was widely covered and garnered a lot of respect as well as divided opinions on the looks. We had the Series 1 Tantalum in for review, and it was nothing short of stunning. All three Series 1 watches are rich and detailed in their appearance. Some might call it a bit too much, but the Tantalum model (CHF 45,000) is the least opulent of the three.

Seeing the watch up close, you feel the level of detail that went into creating this exceptional piece. It features a 38.5mm tantalum case that is just 9mm thick and 46.5mm from lug to lug. The case, with its cow-horn lugs and thick bezel, brings back traditional watchmaking vibes from the ’40s and ’50s and immediately stands out.

The case is combined with a stunning dial featuring an aventurine central portion and sub-dial enclosed by a frosted platinum ring. This sector serves as the sparkly base for the polished indices and hands. A detail that I adore is the design of the minute and seconds tracks, which contrast the rich and detailed dial with their instrument-like approach. I could spend a lot of words on it, but seeing it is believing.

Inside the case, you will find the impressive Chronode-designed FM-01 caliber. This twin-barrel manual-winding movement has an impressive seven-day power reserve. It’s also beautifully decorated and follows the rich and intricate style of the front. All in all, this Fleming Series 1 is a watch that deserves your time. There are so many great details you will discover along the way that are perfect proof of the incredible time and effort Thomas Fleming put into the watch’s development.

Patek Phillipe Golden Ellipse 5738/1R-001

A list like this would not be complete without a watch from Patek Philippe. However, the Genevan brand mainly unveiled complicated pieces in 2024 that would stretch the “dress watch” moniker too far. In between the watchmaking wizardry, though, Patek decided to release a new version of its Golden Ellipse. And what a stunning one it is! The Golden Ellipse has been a staple dress watch in Patek’s collection since its introduction in 1968. It’s a graceful style statement that hasn’t aged a day.

The new rose gold version of the watch features a brand-new bracelet that looks nothing short of stunning. It consists of 363 parts, with over 300 of them being links. The CNC-machined components are finished and assembled by hand with stunning results.

The bracelet is fitted to a 34.5 × 39.5mm rose gold case that is a mere 5.9mm thick. Inside, an ebony-black sunburst dial with baton-style indices and hands complements all the rose gold brilliance. It is a wonderful example of a design based on the golden ratio. The result is a dial that still looks as good as it did in the late ’60s. Underneath the dial, you will find Patek’s ultra-thin automatic caliber 240, which measures just 2.53mm thick.

It operates at a 21,600vph frequency and has 48 hours of power reserve. It is the beating heart of a classic that Patek has brought back into the spotlight with the new bracelet. This new Golden Ellipse 5738/1R can be yours for CHF 51,000. If you want to dress it down a bit, the same watch is also available with a black leather strap for CHF 31,310. Either way, both perfectly prove the brilliant style of Patek Philippe’s Golden Ellipse and why it is my favorite on this list.

Honorable mentions

To close this article on the best dress watches of 2024 so far, we have a few honorable mentions. The first is the Orient Bambino 38 Small Seconds series. Daan wrote about the four watches last month, and they immediately stood out because of their attractive looks. The watches have a 38.4 × 44 × 12mm stainless steel case, with one of the four in a gold-tone execution.

The four watches have different colored dials featuring small seconds at 6 o’clock and a date window at 3 o’clock. Inside the case, we find the automatic F6222 caliber offering a 40-hour power reserve. At €315 for the steel models and €340 for the gold-tone one, these are a perfect series of stylish dress watches for a much friendlier price than the other watches on this list.

Another beautiful release was Kurono Tokyo 2024 Anniversary Reiwa, which Thor reported on when it first came out. He explained that this is only the second watch in the Grand Series to have a two-tone dial. The brilliant contrasts between the glossy black center portion and the lapis-green metallic hue of the outer rim make for a visual spectacle that is nothing short of impressive. As a result of the complex production process of these dials, only 100 were produced for this release. Each was combined with a 37mm stainless steel case measuring only 7mm thick and housing the Miyota 90S5 caliber. At US$1,790, this was another great affordable option from Kurono Tokyo that sold out in no time and was certainly one of the most alluring dress watches of 2024.

Final thoughts on the best dress watches of 2024 so far

There you have it — our list of the five best dress watches of the first half of 2024. With the two honorable mentions, we wanted to put an extra spotlight on two options that do not cost an arm and a leg. But I would love to turn the question over to you. What are some of your favorite dress watches of the first half of this year? Let us know in the comments section, and we will see you next week for another list.