We could start a big debate here.. ahah

I would start here though:
https://parnis.org/collections

 

I recently purchased two GMT's (BT) & (PS) I purchased through PARNIS.ORG because of their website declaration they were the official copyrighted company using the Parnis name.
The watches are finished very well, mid case, Bezel, crown, bezel insert on Pepsi is glossy and colors are too glossy. Would have liked a satin finish and muted colors.
Now to the problems:
During the honeymoon phase, (worn daily for two weeks) the Pepsi runs +16 secs. a day, the winding of movement has a kind of ratcheting feel, no bad, but not smooth. The typical, (as I've read) setting the 24 hour hand is an exercise...set, push in crown the hand moves 2 mins on chapter markers. Setting hour hands, quite a bit of free play before hand movement, probably poorly designed and manufactured gears. But, I manage to get it set. Put this in watch case and let it run down.
After a week I decide to wear Pepsi, full wind (40) and monitor accuracy, 2nd day notice it's now running -16 secs. a day. Hmm!
Another week goes by and it settles down -6 secs. a day and remains steady. If it remains at a consistent -6 secs. it should be able to be calibrated to a consistent +2 secs.

(BT) Blk/Blu insert aka. Batman. Right off the bat -31 secs. WOW!!! This goes on for a week, it vacillates between -22 to -34 secs a day, not good! I called Luxury AD and spoke with their watchmaker who had serviced my Breitling Super Ocean telling him my woes.
He stated it may have experienced excessive shock during shipping, but felt the movement was a reject that made it into a watch, he stated the China movements were poorly assembled and normally their quality control inspection prior to final acceptance were done by the "Three Blind Mice" his words.

Below is a copy of emails sent to PARNIS.ORG......

Good Day Mr. Wong
Below is a email I sent last week, having not heard back, I decided to make contact with a person, that being you.
I recently purchased two (2) of your GMT watches, orders # 53820 GMT (PS) and
54185 GMT (BT) Let me now outline my concerns.

GMT (PS) as stated in below text has a stripped bore in the screw hole that the bracelet attaches to, I did not remove during sizing, it was stripped when shipped.

GMT (BT) Monitoring this watch for a week (Honeymoon Period) it varies between
( -28/31 sec.) daily, hardly an acceptable standard.

A few questions for you and I would appreciate precise answers.

Your website states for your premium watches a two (2) year warranty, yet the little
booklet that came with the watch states one (1) year warranty, so, which is it?

Your warranty states: warranty void if the case back is removed.
So....if I want to have the movement re-calibrated by a certified watchmaker to
hold more precise time keeping does that void your warranty?

Does your company have a repair/support facility in the USA, company or independent source?

What movement is used in these GMT watches, Brand and movement number, if you please.

How do you wish to handle my two concerns, clasp and faulty movement?

Respectfully,
Robert Turnage

Begin forwarded message:

From: Bob T <bondobob@gmail.com>
Date: May 3, 2018 at 8:15:11 AM CDT
To: dallas-support@parnis.org
Subject: Order # 53820

Hello,
On the bracelet clasp there is a threaded hole for a retaining screw that is stripped out
not allowing screw to be tightened and secure, the screw came loose again this morning (my time) and the watch fell into my lap. How do you wish to handle this unfortunate occurrence ?
The part of the clasp involved is the folding portion, not the cover with engraving.

Robert Turnage

Having not received a reply up to now.....I am reluctant to further purchase anything from the so called official parnis site, at this point I believe them to be dishonest and untruthful in their advertising.
My next pursuit is to find a suitable replacement for these watches. Buyer Beware!!!

 

By 'Chinese' do you mean a Chinese-owned brand or just made in China including international brands? I'm expecting that the forum's consensus of 'best' is likely to be BWaF or Sea-Gull, therefore not with a Japanese movement.

 

If you really want a Citizen or Seiko movement diver then you should just buy a Citizen or Seiko diver.

Otherwise there are several Chinese brands with excellent Chinese movements available. Brands like Sea-Gull; Shanghai; Beijing; etc.

 

Agreed! |>

 

If we're talking Chinese _brands_ and modern divers (200m water resistance, unidirectional bezel, etc.), the only one I know of is the Sea-Gull Ocean Star. 44mm, sapphire crystal, not an homage, has a Sea-Gull ETA clone movement.

 

If you can find these Merkur Oceanmaster used, get it. New they were $169 and proved by many buyers to be excellent value. I bought a second one! Had sold off the Seiko Tuna.
angled dial on rail by toypoodleKimi, on Flickr
This Parnis sub has proven to be excellent as a beater...accurate. So is the GMT I bought. Wanted to test them as inexpensive beaters and was surprised how good they were for under $100.
sub by toypoodleKimi, on Flickr
gmt milanese mesh by toypoodleKimi, on Flickr

 

Ciao!

 

Nice !! where to purchase this ?? thanks

 

Helson and Armida and NTH brands. Each sell 40mm models with deep water resistance.

BTW, I like Parnis as well, but would never get one wet for fear of flooding it.

 

I like my Alpha.

 

How about the Seagull Dragon diver.

 

The Dragon King is in a completely different category. It can run with any dive watch that sports a 2824 ETA any day. It was purpose built for Kevin Ma of Sea-Gull USA and meets the ISO 200m rating for dive watches.
It is also a darn good looking watch...

In a somewhat foolish moment, I traded this away :<(

 

The Dragon King is in a completely different category. It can run with any dive watch that sports a 2824 ETA any day. It was purpose built for Kevin Ma of Sea-Gull USA and meets the ISO 200m rating for dive watches.
It is also a darn good looking watch...
View attachment 13138245

In a somewhat foolish moment, I traded this away :<(

200M WR maybe, ISO rated diver - NOPE.

Does the OP want a real 200M+ WR dive watch, or just a desk diver?

A Citizen or Seiko would be more dependable. The Beijing Liaoning dive watch came out in 2011/2012 to celebrate the launch of China's first aircraft carrier. They are now almost impossible to find.

The Sea-Gull Ocean Star runs $350. Reef Tiger makes a Fifty Fathoms homage (RGA3035) for just under $400. Loreo makes 200M Sub homages starting around $80, using Sea-Gull ST16/TY2806 movements.

How much water resistance do you need, and how much are you willing to spend?

 

Aidophedo has the best finish

Sent from my MI 5 using Tapatalk

 

Excuse me, but I never said the watch was officially ISO dive rated. I said it meets the ISO 200M rating.
Kevin Ma who commissioned the Dragon King limited edition had all tested to 200M. I don't know about the other ISO diver requirements but these watch do meet the 200M rating.

The ST2130 calibre movement is as well built as the ETA 2824-2 that it emulates and it can be regulated to perform just as well.
There is no need to spend over $500 on a Citizen or Seiko to match this. Bog standard, entry level movements from Seiko and Citizen do not come close to this calibre.

 

Here is my reissued mil watch I bought several years ago, coming in that box....a nice memory when I collected Chinese watches....
Shanghai mil shots 008 by toypoodleKimi, on Flickr

 

Save your money and buy Japanese, id never recommend a Chinese diver to anybody.