Parnis mechanical and Parnis automatic watches

Parnis Chronometer - Power Reserve automatic watch

There's that old saying 'you get what you pay for' and that is often true. 

But sometimes what can surprise you, is what you actually get for something you didn't pay over the odds for. Welcome to the world of Parnis watches.

Parnis 44mm Military Aviator Vintage style hand wound watch

You can see any number of 'big name' watches on sale in shops or on-line with often 'big price' tickets hanging off them. But you don't have to pay big money for a nice looking watch. These examples show that.

Parnis 44mm hand wind Bauhaus style watch

With the demise of the majority of mechanical Swiss watches in favour of quartz movements in the 1980s, the industry discarded much of the tooling associated with the 'old' way of making a watch. So where did this technology go? Mainly to Russia and the Far East.

Parnis 44mm hand wind watch with 6497 style movement

With the lower wages and costs of the Far East, this has allowed makers in China to produce watches which look quality pieces at a fraction of the cost of a Swiss made one. The big names survive in Switzerland with their quality and price making some very nice pieces.

Parnis 6497 movement 46mm hand wind watch

The Chinese brands can suffer from rather 'indifferent' brand names, that sound quite comical to the Western purchaser. Parnis, although French sounding might be comical to some. However, joking aside they are nicely made and great value for money.

Another factor that has been overcome by the Parnis brand is the metallurgy, the material in these watches looks very good quality, the casings don't look 'brushed' there are no sharp edges on any I have had and the 46mm above looks even better than the photograph.

Parnis 43mm Power Reserve automatic watch

So the big question is - are they any good? The short answer is yes. The quality and price are there, at the moment these watches are way, way underpriced for what you get.

Parnis 43mm Power Reserve Automatic movement

What you get is a well designed, well made timepiece that is great quality. I have bought a Sewor tonneau watch before and it was cheap, it didn't keep time well. It may have been a bad one but after a few weeks it was not worth me wearing it. 

So I was a bit wary about buying another Chinese made watch, but I bought the silver power reserve at the top of the page used in the UK for about £50 and was surprised how good it was.

Parnis 44mm Hand Wind military style watch

I've run a selection of Parnis watches, most of which are from this page for a few weeks and they are all keeping great time, with each other and a 35 jewel Elysee I tend to wear a lot. 

Another good thing is their customer care is good, having not got the face colour in stock, I was offered a choice of hands on the watch I ordered, you'd have to go to someone exclusive for that otherwise. Most mainstream brands don't give you that.

Parnis 47mm Aviator style watch

The conclusion I have come to with these Parnis watches is that they look good, work nicely, are made and finished nicely and look more expensive than they actually cost. I must say I am very pleased with the ones I have purchased. 

With Elysee watches now going up steeply in price and many of them being made as quartz watches instead of using the Citizen Miyota movement as previously (Parnis uses this movement too), I am left with the thought - do I buy a Parnis watch I like or pay perhaps 5 times more for an Elysee?

I am a convert to Parnis, although I still have a few Elysee watches too. For everyday wear, I think these watches are underrated and unless you are a watch snob with deep pockets who can afford a big name Swiss watch, I'd say that you'd be on to a winner with one of these.

Check out www.mywatchcode.com for best prices on these watches plus also on Corget and other brands, some of the products on this site are not on Ebay, many are though. There are more on Ebay but they are more expensive. 

Elysee & Trias watches

Elysee and Trias watches - great watches for the money

Elysee Skeleton 35 jewel automatic

I first came across Elysee and Trias about 2003 when an Elysee often cost around £100. They are good looking watches, reliable and nicely made, Elysee and Trias sometimes have cases which look similar. 

The Elysee logo reminds me of the Longines logo. Its a stylish logo I think.

The Longines Logo

The first type Elysee watches I purchased had 'Dusseldorf Germany' at the bottom of the dial face, now they are marked 'Made in Germany' instead.

I noted on my older Elysee watches that the balance weight was often engraved and had the Elysee name engraved on them. The modern ones using the Citizen type movement are often plain or in the case of the Nestor, almost a skeleton frame weight.

The Elysee watches look very nice, the manufacture looks good, they look quality but are attractively priced. I have noticed that recently some of the Elysee models have been made with quartz movements where they were using automatic movements before.

Similarly, the prices of the automatic watches have increased, although there are sometimes bargains to be found out there from old stock in shops or shop sales.

The performance is good, I have a 35 jewel Elysee I wear daily and it keeps great time, it has a hack function so I can synchronise it with the radio time signal on the hourly news so I am within a few seconds of the true time daily which is fine by me.

The elegant 35 jewel skeleton watch

The 35 jewel skeleton even has gold plated movement parts

Elysee branded straps and buckles are standard

Elysee dual timezone with visible big date

Twin rotor design on the dual time zone 80433N

Elysee Big Date 35 Jewels watch

Elysee Priamos a stylish blue example - not one I have 

Elysee Gold Plated Automatic with big date

Elysee 22 jewel automatic with big date

Elysee Gold Moonphase

Elysee gold plated skeleton

Elysee Prometheus automatic

Elysee 21 jewel automatic

Elysee Genios aviator style watch

Elysee Nestor - Bauhaus styling modern made Elysee

Elysee Nestor Citizen / Miyota movement detail 

I have owned various Trias watches models over the years and there are some really nice ones about, often the photographs don't do them justice and they look better in reality which is a good sign.

I have seen similar models to Trias ones by companies like Linhart, Theorema etc. the faces and cases look similar and so do the movements. Whatever design you choose, classic or modern, I have found these watches to perform well and look stylish.

They are not expensive for what you get - often 21 plus jewels movement, stylish and well made watches for around £100 - £200.

It is always satisfying to ask someone how much they think the watch cost when they have commented on how nice it looks and you surprise them when you tell them it was far less than their estimate, plus it is automatic too. 

Trias also make some watches with Swiss movements too which are more expensive than the usual range.

Elegant Trias complication watch

Trias with drum case and ribbed bezels

Trias big date complication watch

Dual time Trias

Trias Pilot with Swiss Movement

Trias Skeleton watch - much like the Elysee version

Trias dual timer

Lindberg and Sohne a brand in the similar style of Trias

Therorema - again a similar style, a drum case twin time zone example