Who Manufactures Parnis Watches?

by Tom Adelstein

Parnis is a watch brand sold primarily through e-commerce. Parnis offerings have acquired the attention of a number of media outlets including GQ (Charm on the Cheap), Esquire, YouTube (with search results exceeding 8000 unique videos uploaded), blogs, social media including Facebook, Google+,  watch forums such as the watchuseek forum (WUS) and what Wikipedia calls a non-exhaustive list of major Photo-sharing sites.

Many writers on watch forums refer to Parnis as a maker of "homage watches".  Homage meaning a watch that copies the original design of another watch company such as Rolex. I often say that if Parnis is strictly a homage watch company, then you have to extend the same label to Seiko and Citizen watches.

You might find it surprising that Parnis' success has resulted from word-of-mouth. Parnis does not advertise. Watch enthusiasts give Parnis plenty of social media attention.

Those outlets and some fairly informed observers have speculated wildly about the company's structure, operations and issues as to its viability as a going concern. In North America, I found few sources of empirical information about the company other than trademark registrations. I decided to do an investigation on my own and found help from contacts I made in the Chinese watch industry. Without their assistance, I doubt I would have found the company's showroom.

In this article, I'm going to report our team's findings about the company. We believe Parnis is viable for a small brand. We see little risk associated with owning their products. The company is owned by a moderately successful businessman in Guangzhou, China and his product is in contrast to the generally held opinion of Chinese watches.

In preparing for this story, we performed extensive due diligence in China and have gathered and documented our sources. The study took approximately 10 months from start to finish. Fortunately, we had an accomplished investigator fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin. He retrieved business registration filings for trading companies in China and used those to carve a trail to the owner and the managers of the company's manufacturing and distribution system. He also served as translator and interpreter during interviews.

Parnis is a small company within the Chinese watch industry. We don't see them as an organization able to compete with the likes of Fiyota, Shanghai Watch Factory, Seaull, or any previous State owned enterprises. We see an infrastructure with the ability to expand and develop further as a niche player, but not too far.

Sidebar: If you search on eBay for Parnis, you'll need to first search on that name only: Parnis - while their second major brand Marina Militare furnishes a completely different results.

Who Are They?

Parnis is a watch brand owned, manufactured and distributed by Xiao Jian Hong. His companies manufacture and distribute a line of better Chinese quality men's watches from his factory in Guangzhou, China. Parnis is associated with additional brands: Marina Militare, private labels like Gorton and a line of generic models. Watch enthusiasts discuss Parnis on numerous horology forums creating word-of-mouth interest.

Parnis owes some of its notoriety to their use of Seagull movements. While no other affiliation between the two companies appears to exist, Parnis has benefited from the affiliation. With the exception of  a few domestic sellers in China, the company sells its products on-line through eBay, Amazon, DHGate. Alibaba and indie websites such as Daji Watch, Parnis.com, and Parnis Watch Station.

Xiao Jian Hong's website is Parnistime and his eBay profile is Parnistime.

Xiao Jian Hong (Avi) founded Parnis around 2005-06. He is the Parnis registered trademark owner in the EU, Hong Kong, Australia and in the International pool. The original start-up of  Parnis is Suntime Watch Co. Ltd. Suntime's Headquarters are located in Guangzhou Guangdong 51000 China. Pa Jie, a separate registered trading company, handles large business accounts and governs the manufacturing facilities. Xiao owns the factory, which assembles parts from various suppliers. For example, they do not make cases, bands, movements, hands or faces.



Like many Chinese watch companies, Parnis designs their watches, contracts for the parts, assembles the watches and plans quality control. The manufacturing facility is in Tong De Wei, Guangzhou. Fu Yuan Xin Watch Product Factory manufacturers the cases. Movements are furnished by Sea-Gull, Miyota and Dixmont.

The organization has experienced substantial growth since it went live in 2006. Today, Parnis is one of the few recognizable Chinese watch brands outside of their domestic market.


Styles Dictated by Movement Manufacturers

Parnis watches come in a number of styles. The base design adheres to the configuration of the movements the company uses. Aside from Sea-Gull's premium ST25 series, Parnis also manufacturers watches made with Miyota (Citizen) mechanical and Quartz movements and Hangzhou mechanical watches.

Xiao Jian Hong originally produced watches the design of which appeared very similar to Richemont's IWC and Panerai brands. People writing and commenting on threads within watch forums labeled Parnis watches as replicas and, or copies. One cannot argue against the resemblance of Richemont's brands; however, Parnis watches are not replicas.

The company continues to produce watches similar in appearance to the brands named above; however, ownership says his new management team has developed their own motif.  You can observe the product mix at Tmall.

Start-up

Xiao Jian Hong registered on eBay on 01 Aug 2005. To expand his business, he encouraged distributors to use auction sites. You can see the various styles and offerings by using this preconfigured Parnis link. The category ID is 31387 (Jewelry & Watches, Watches, Wristwatches, Parnis). You'll see a wide range of prices for the same watch models.








A variety of myths exist about the company. You could have read one poorly referenced article at Wikipedia, prior to its update. The following is from the archived version:

Parnis is a brand name used by a number of Chinese watch manufacturers for timepieces marketed globally.[citation needed] While typically using Chinese made movements copied from larger manufacturers such as ETA, [citation needed] the movements may be manufactured by companies such as Sea-Gull or Miyota. Parnis watches may or may not have the name Parnis on the dial. 

Neither the number of companies Parnis branded watches nor the number of models is known. Most are homages of watches from prestige manufacturers, at a lower price and quality, modeled after such brands as IWC, Panerai, Rolex and Omega.

Wikipedia's report needed editing. and the former article was removed. It's similar to material posted on a watch forum and optimized with Google searches.

Perhaps the confusion about "multiple" Parnis watch manufacturers arises from its distribution system. The company maintains three facilities in Guangzhou (formerly Canton), including its factory, offices and showrooms.

Show Room

Suntime Mall Store

The company sells its products wholesale, that is business to business. Parnis does not maintain traditional brick and mortar stores or boutiques; however, you can find shops in manufacturers' outlets like the Guangzhou Watches Wholesale Market where

Parnis Offic

Suntime Watch Co. Ltd, maintains a mall store (above right). It's located at Shop A026, NO. 61, West Station Road (ZhanXi Road), Guangzhou, China.

It's difficult to know the exact number of models made by Parnis, because of the company's growth, scarcity of resources and need for new designs.

Again, if you missed the connection above, the Parnis store on Tmall will give you an idea of the expanse of their products. You can click on the preceding link or click here.

Back to the Wikipedia quote above asserting that the company uses Chinese made movements copied from larger manufacturers such as ETA. That assertion has limited merit, however,  few Parnis models use copies of ETA movements. You will see movements by Dixmont-Guangzhou and Hangzhou in some Parnis watches. Rather than copies, they are drop-in replacements originally modeled from the Chinese Standard Movement, commonly known as the "Tongji" or the uniform movement developed by People's Republic.

Sea-Gull and Miyota do not make copies of ETA movements. ETA's patents ran out over a twenty year period encompassing the Swiss Quartz Crisis (1970's through the 1990's). Sea-Gull has proven in court that its patents are unique, especially for chronograph and Tourbillion movements.

Miyota is a Japanese movement and has its own portfolio of patents. Sea-Gull designs its own manufacturing equipment and processes, but began using Swiss Made equipment purchase from Venus in 1963. The Sea-Gull ST 19 and the Venus 175 were made on the same equipment.

Wikipedia's author wrote: Most are homages of watches from prestige manufacturers, at a lower price and quality, modeled after such brands as IWC, Panerai, Rolex and Omega.

As previously stated, the watch companies mentioned above have significantly influenced Parnis designs. Even so, an important part of Parnis designs including dials, hands and case size that will have to first conform to the movement. Any similarities with other brands than Richemont's are more likely than not, Seiko, who implemented a policy in the late 1970's of manufacturing of designs similar to Rolex. The Submariner provides such an example.

The writers of the previous Wikipedia's article speculated about the quality. They presented no citations to support their claims.

People associate Parnis watches with the term "homage". That term is often reserved for companies that pay tribute to discontinued, but premiere models manufactured in the past. For example, Rolex celebrated the 50 year anniversary of the Cosmograph Daytona at Baselworld 2013. A. Lange & Sohne  produces homage watches similar to Breguet pocket watches. Parnis watches are influenced by homage watch designs and you will find the term homage associated with Parnis.

Product Quality

I consider Parnis components, such as their cases and movements, comparable in quality to some Swiss Made affordable mid-range luxury watches. Parnis models; however, sell for approximately 20% of those comparable European models. The company attributes their modest cost to low overhead, a single tier distribution system and strong product demand without the need for marketing or advertising.

Parnis uses 316L marine grade stainless steel cases made with conventional machine processes instead of metal injection molding. As a result, Parnis cases have the tensile strength of competitive watch brands. For example, only Rolex exceeds the 316L standard with its use of 904 grade stainless steel. Rolex's closest competitor, Omega, uses 316L marine grade stainless steel. A majority of stainless steel watches follow the 304 standard, which are anti-magnetic, but lack the tinsel strength required for use in high pressure environments.

Sea-Gull's Contribution

I agree with horologists who consider Sea-Gull ability to produce world-class quality movements. Early Parnis watches used premium Sea-Gull movements. Since the Swatch Group Ltd. stopped selling their ETA movements to competitors, Sea-Gull has manufactured movements and parts compatible with ETA Unitas Swiss watches among others.

According to this post: Seagull movements, when adequately adjusted, will match the performance specified by COSC, (the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute) for chronometers.

In 2009, Overseas Productions International ordered and took delivery of 800,000 Sea-Gull mechanical movements for it's Fossil, Emporio Armani, DKNY, Diesel, Skagen, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs and Karl Langerfeld brands.

Quality v Europe

Parnis will equal the quality, but not the decorative aspects of  some finished watches from Europe such a Glycine and Tissot. The company will make some small adjustments to keep a competitive price advantage without jeopardizing quality. For instance, aside from the company's Miyota diving watch, the most popular Parnis models have 3ATM water resistance: 3 atmospheres or about 30 feet. Competitors often use a standard of 5 ATM or about 50 feet.

Parnis watches use plain, rather than engraved dials, in 90% of its watches. If you view Sea-Gull, Shanghai and Fiyota watches, you will see intricately engraved Guilloché or rose lathe engine designs. Parnis uses thick and  quality painted dials, but they do not compare to the high-end Asian or Swiss look.





Buying Considerations

Unlike the Swatch Group, Ltd. with their 19 brands including Omega, Rado, Hamilton, Longines, Breguet and so forth, China does not have a globally recognized watch brand. Instead, China's watch industry is geared to producing watches and parts for other companies. Thus, no one has emerged as a respected "China Made" brand to counter the "Swiss Made" moniker.

When you buy a Parnis watch, it comes without celebrity endorsements, Olympic sponsorships, blitzkrieg advertising campaigns, golf tournaments, expensive gift boxes, layers of executives and their annual bonuses, incentive pay plans and so forth. Parnis also has its address in Guangzhou instead of Biel, Switzerland, which indicates low costs of plant and equipment.

An informed customer might draw this conclusion: Parnis is a high-value product. That is, Parnis provides high value at lower retail prices than its competition. It's a watch who's manufacturer has grown through word-of-mouth. We believe that we can provide an endorsement of the product in the mid-range market.

Another factor that has kept Parnis in the low-cost arena involves profits. Watch retailers typically price their products using a double and, or triple key mark-up. That means if a watch cost the merchant $100, their customers pay $200 to $300.

Chinese merchants work on a different profit model. If a watch sells for $100, the merchant typically clears $15 to $25. Almost all sellers of Parnis watches operate out of Mainland China and Hong Kong. $15 is a substantial amount of buying power in a country whose workers make approximately $250 a month and whose executives clear $2000 a month.

Other Buying Considerations

Westerners have personal and logistical difficulties purchasing products from Chinese retailers. For example, US consumers are accustom to instant gratification in the purchase process. The idea of waiting a month for a watch to arrive is an alien experience. A perception about Chinese scams also rattle around in the consciousness of western consumers. If a watch needs service, it will take approximately two months.

The same problems exist when you buy, for example, an Invicta watch. You have to include a check for $28 after you receive a RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) number. Invicta also has their watches serviced overseas.

Local Parnis sellers (in your geographical area) with service facilities and USPS Priority Shipping, will charge a higher retail price. You'll still get a high-value watch at a low-cost, but you will have to pay for the overhead of a domestic seller. That includes inventory, storage, quantity shipping, import fees, and service personnel.

If you're unwilling to pay for those services, then sellers in Hong Kong and Mainland China have facilities to serve you according to feedback profiles on eBay. One disadvantage still exists associated with cost. Postage to and from east Asian watch requiring services may cost more than the original purchase.

Short Summary

Contrary to suggestions in watch forums and the former Wikipedia article about Parnis, a single company makes Parnis watches. Styles may resemble those of other watchmakers, but Parnis has prevailed against claims that it makes replica watches. The designs are definitely influenced by watches made by Seiko, Paneri and IWC. They are not exact copies.

Finding information about Parnis requires knowledge of China's industrial administration. Through the joint efforts of several professionals in Guangzhou, a document portfolio now exists.

I wish to express thanks to my research assistant in Ghanzhou, China and those who jointly cooperated in our study.