Parnis 60mm Brown Leather Crown Jumbo Pilot Auto SS Watch Reference PI58 – Cheap homage to the FL23883 standard, A Review (plus Video)

A few months ago in June 2016, I ordered two pilot watches from Parnis (www.parniswatch.net). Unfortunately, one of them, the Jumbo Pilot was not working (please refer to this link on the review of the other Parnis pilot watch; Parnis Black Dial Big Pilot Power Reserve Chronometer). After sending the watch back to Parnis, I received a new example which was working (more about the problems later).

This particular model conforms to the original specification of pilot watches under the German 'B-Uhr' Watch (or Observation watch) standard FL23883 of the WW2 era which calls for a watch that is 55 mm wide (excluding crown; with crown it would go to 60 mm) with a large crown. Under the A-dial format, it should also have a black dial with white Arabic numerals (all numerical markers filled with luminous material) and flame-blued sword hands also covered in luminous material. The designs also featured a unique triangle mark at the 12 o’clock position designed for ease of orientation in any condition. The movement must be capable of stopping the central seconds hand by pulling the crown. The watch should also come with a very long double-riveted leather strap.



This particular example fulfills all the requirements under the FL23883 standard even to the sterile dial. In my view, this is the best representation or homage of a German pilot watch currently available in the market.



The Parnis Jumbo Pilot watch is made out of stainless steel. Its width, inclusive of the large crown, is 60 mm wide. The lug width is 24 mm while its lug-to-lug width is approximately 70 mm long. The dial is protected by a large piece domed mineral glass. Paired with a tan leather band with deployant clasp, wearing this watch does take some use to.

The large crown is a screw-down crown. The edge of the crown is fluted with a sunken flat surface in the center.


The case-back uses a snap-shut system and devoid of any etchings whatsoever. Unfortunately, because of this snap-shut system, the watch has a water rating of just 3 ATM or 30 meters.

The engine powering this watch is the automatic and self-winding Seagull movement. However, I don’t know the exact caliber used for this watch.

Despite the watch having most if not all the dimensions as per the original FL23883 standard, there are a number of missing design factors that were include in the standard but not implemented by Parnis. The first is the missing “FL23883” stamping that should have been made on the side wall of the watch. The second is the missing list of information about the watch such as movement brand, serial number etc in table form. The third and final difference is the use of a deployant clasp instead of a simple buckle for the strap.


The Wearing Experience

This watch is huge. Honestly, I cannot see myself wearing this watch in public. It just sits like a plate on my wrist. This is definitely a difficult watch to wear if you’re wearing a shirt with long sleeves.

However, this watch would look balance if worn over your shirt sleeve instead of on the wrist directly. This watch is also weighty.

The crown in rather loose when extended. The manufacturing tolerances is not that tight.

The Reveal

Everything about Parnis is about keeping costs down. The price quoted only gets you the watch and nothing else, not even instructions. If you want it to come in a watch box you will have to pay. I don’t think there’s even a guarantee attached to the watch.

In my case, the watch came wrapped in just bubble plastic and dumped inside an envelope.

Above is a picture of the watch next to my Seiko Prospex Kinetic GMT Reference SUN019P1 which has a width size of 47.5 mm.

Below is a video of the watch on my wrist.

Conclusion

The watch is cheap. Just USD145 inclusive of postage. From that perspective, one should not expect a lot. In my case, the original model which Parnis sent was a dud and I had to send it back (at my cost or approximately RM67). Nevertheless, the replacement works well and I am pleased with the performance. The timekeeping is generally good.

However, what is good on paper does not generally gel in practicality. Wearing a 60 mm wide watch on a wrist is too much to ask. This watch would look more at place being worn over a flight jacket.

All is not lost. This example is well suited to be converted to a pocket watch. Finding a good strap-maker to design a leather holder to fit into the lugs would just be the ticket to getting some practical use of this watch.


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Parnis Black dial Big Pilot Power Reserve Chronometer Watch Handmade Leather Strap (Product Code: NEW-304) – The quality and usability is commendable despite it being a cheap watch, A Review (and Video) - Updated (16 June 2016)

For the last couple of months I have been affected by the pilot watch bug. I love the size and the simplicity of a pilot watch. For a good timepiece under this genre, the price is rather high. So, I’ve decided to find a rather cheap alternative from Parnis, a Chinese brand. After going through its vast catalogue of watches, instead of just getting one, I’ve decided to get two.

For this review, I will be focusing on the Parnis Black dial Big Pilot Power Reserve Chronometer (Product Code: NEW-304).

This is a rather large with a case diameter of 47 mm (without crown). Its lug-to-lug length is approximately 55 mm while its thickness is 15.5 mm. The case is made out of brushed 316L stainless steel polished fixed bezel and a display case-back.

The large diamond shaped crown is located at 3 o’clock and is a screw-down. There is a image of a fish on the top of the crown. The black dial has two scales; the outer one is a minute scale with markers while the inner is an hour scale with Arabic numerals. There are two sub-dials located on a top-bottom alignment where the power reserve indicator (North) and seconds indicator (South) are housed.





Two sets of texts are also seen on the dial. The set on the right has the words “PARNIS” and “CHRONOMETER” while the set on the right has the words “POWER RESERVE” and “AUTOMATIC”. I doubt the watch could be considered a Chronometer. This is just a marketing ploy by Parnis which is known to be very coy when it comes to design copying and boastful exaggerations.



All four hands as well as the markers and Arabic numerals are painted with luminous paint. Unfortunately, the brightness is not that good.

The dial is protected by a domed glass crystal without any AR protection. Similarly, the display case-back is also protected by a flat glass crystal where you can see the automatic and self-winding movement Seagull 2542. This particular caliber has the power reserve indicator with 40+ hours of spring power and sub-seconds module. Note the lack of any other notation, not even a serial number, around the steel portion of the case-back.



The lugs on this watch is 24 mm. The watch is paired with a thick sandy brown leather strap with light brown stitching on the sides. In all honesty, more like raw-hide in thickness and lack malleability. The strap length is approximately 130 mm on the tail side and 80 mm on the buckle side. The watch comes with a Pre-V buckle (meaning a curved Panerai style buckle – another design “adaptation” from Parnis) that is devoid of any writing or image.

Note the tear on the first and second buckle holes after I put in the buckle for the very first time.



Despite the screw-down crown, the water rating of this watch is only 3 ATM or 30 meters. This goes to show how “well” Parnis watch are constructed even with all the protection that seems to go into the watch. I seriously have doubt whether this watch could even handle getting wet from rain.


The Wearing Experience

The thick leather strap coupled with the thick casing makes it slightly difficult to wear with formal attire. The Pre-V buckle tends to snag on clothing.

The strap is very tough to handle. I suspect it will take time for the leather to start becoming soft and this would require wearing it for a few weeks.

From a display point of view, it is easy to quickly tell the time. The size makes it effortless to view without the need to squint or bring the watch closer to the eyes.

Below is a video of the watch on my wrist.



Depending on how close you wear your watch to your hands, it may cause the large crown to bite into your skin if you flex your hands upwards. It is better to wear the watch higher up your arm.



Overall Impression

For a watch that is priced USD105.00, what you get is not all that bad. Granted, the quality is not great but at least it keeps good time and looks fashionable on anyone’s wrist.


Special Mention

I highlighted earlier that I actually got two pilot watches from Parnis. However, the Super Jumbo 60 mm Pilot watch was not working when I took it out from the packaging. After liaising with a representative from Parnis, it was decided that I return the watch to them for a replacement. I will update once I get the replacement watch.

The problems I faced with that particular problem watch were the loose seconds hand, the inability to power up the main springs either by shaking the watch or winding the crown, and the meshing of gears sound when the crown in wound.



Update 1 (Thursday 16 June 2016)

When I put up the pictures on my Twitter account @watchhobby, I got a few comments about the watch being copies of models of well known brands such as IWC. This is not surprising as Parnis is famous as a homage manufacturer (some would even accuse them of outright reproducing copyrighted designs – such as Officine Panerai’s patented crown guard).

It is a fine line the definition of “homage”. I won’t want to get into that now. It is suffice to say that Parnis has not gone out of its way to hide its brand. In fact, it proudly put its branding on most, if not all of its watch offerings.

For this particular design, where there are two sub-dials on a North-South alignment and the top sub-dial is a power reserve indicator, I have yet to find an equivalent or similar watch design in any of the main watch brands. If any of you do find any similarity, please leave a note below this posting.



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	Parnis  Big Pilot Power Reserve Chronometer Watch	Parnis  Big Pilot Power Reserve Chronometer Watch

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Parnis 44mm White Dial Swan Neck Hand Winding Watch - My first Chinese watch, A Review

Bank in October 2011, I happened to find information about Parnis, a brand from China. I was surprised to see the price quoted on the watches. So, on 28 October 2011 I made an order for the Parnis 44mm White Dial Swan Neck Hand Winding watch. Priced at USD85 + USD20 for postage, I got the watch within a week. My first Chinese watch.

The watch did not come with a display box. It was just bubble-wrapped in a normal brown envelop.  I was apprehensive at first but after taking it out of the packaging, the watch looks much better than it look in photos. Most importantly, it still works after going through the post as it did.

The watch has a very wide and brilliant porcelain white dial. The hour and minutes hands are blued. The seconds hand which sits on a sub-dial situated at the 9 o'clock position is also blued. However, I doubt the blued effect was made by subjecting the hands to extreme heat like high-end brands; painted more likely. A simple crown is set at the 3 o'clock position.

The watch is not painted with any form of luminous material. Large Arabic numbering in polished steel material (apart from the number '9') adorn the 12 traditional marker points on the dial. The only text seen on the dial is the brand "PARNIS".

The watch is made from polished 316L stainless steel. It has a case diameter of 44 mm excluding the crown. Its height is 13 mm. A special scratch proof mineral glass helps protect the dial. Similarly, another piece of scratch proof mineral glass is used as the display case-back cover to help protect the movement. A genuine leather strap of 20 mm wide comes standard with the watch. Overall, the design is capable of a water rating of just 3 ATM.

This watch uses a manual hand-winding swan neck movement. It is a 17 jewels hand winding mechanical Asian Unitas 6497 (made by Seagull) swan neck micrometer regulator engraved with Geneva stripes. I took the liberty of adding a notation in bracket in the previous sentence that proposes the movement is actually Seagull made. All formal documentation on the watch, including promotional material states the movement to be "Asian Unitas". However, it is known that ETA does not have an Asian operation. Hence, this fact is a fallacy and a misrepresentation on the part of Parnis to consumers. It is actually a copy by Seagull.

On a full wind, it has 48 hours power reserve. Its accuracy is good.

Below is a picture of the movement. The colour of some of the jewels plus the blued screws makes it a very pretty sight.

I also took the liberty of uploading a video I took of the watch on my wrist. This would give you a sense how smooth the movement of the caliber as well as how it would look on the wrist.



Overall, the watch wears nicely on the wrist. It has a very expensive look and the movement is surprisingly accurate.

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