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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