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Ahh, the Rolex Submariner. The watch every watch would love to be. One that is timeless in design and is the epitome of success (if you own one, that is).

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Of course, many of us cannot drop 5k on a watch. Many of us struggle to spend £100 on a watch nowadays, especially being that the clock on our mobile phones are more accurate than any mechanical watch, no matter how expensive they may be. Many people feel that they have no need for a watch. I, on the other hand disagree. Everyone needs a Submariner in their life, even if it is a cheap Chinese homage.

The sterile Submariner homage watch is the perfect way to get the “Submariner” in your life. Costing only around $70-$80, it is an enjoyable cheap thrill. How does it fare? Let’s take a closer look…

The case

The mineral crystal has a lovely big dome. This is a vital feature for diving watches as it stops the reflections you would get with a flat crystal. It does a good job at keeping reflections at bay out of the water too, especially as there does not appear to be any sort of AR coating on it.

The stainless steel case is well machined and is well finished. The top and bottom are brushed, whilst the sides are polished. There is a (what looks like) a helium release valve like what is found on the side of the Rolex deep sea sea dweller. I highly doubt it works on this watch, but looks good and adds something interesting to the case. I personally wouldn’t risk taking it into water though.

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The 60 click bezel has a surprisingly nice action. The lume dot at 12 looks good, but the scalloped edging on it is a little sharp.

The plain unsigned crown has good grip. It is easy to unscrew and the thread appears to be good and solid.

There is a very thick rehaut. It comes within the crystal a couple of mm before going down into the dial. This is just like the Rolex DSSD, where it says “original gas escape valve”. So this “Submariner” homage is starting to appear to be a love child of both a Sub and a DSSD, as it has elements if both.

The dial

The dial is matt black. I like the hour markers, lumed dots with a polished steel ring around them, bar 12 being a triangle, and 6 and 9 being a baton. When these different parts of steel catch the light, it makes the watch look great. The lume is poo, as you would expect on a cheap Chinese watch. The hands are classic Rolex style, with a “Mercedes” hour hand. The date window is at 3.

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The bracelet

The bracket looks quality and really catches the eye. It has a highly polished centre link and a brushed link either side. The links are all well machined and are solid stainless steel. It is easy to resize thanks to the good quality screws securing the links together. It also has solid end links, which fit snug up to the case. The clasp does not have any locking feature, all you do is merely pull at the end and it pops open. Not very safe! It does look nice however. When you shake it, it sounds a little tchinky, if you know what I mean, but I understand that the real Rolex bracelets can feel a tad flimsy anyway. But, the oyster style bracelet is well known to be one of the most comfortable bracelets on any watch, and this version is no exception.

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The movement

The watch has a DG2813 automatic movement in. Wholesale, these go for the dizzying price of around $5. 21,000 bhp – that’s 6 ticks per second. Looks a little bit jerky on a second hand like this one. Not fantastic accuracy.

Final Thoughts

All in all, although it is a little cheap feeling, it looks great on the wrist. From afar, it really looks the part. You cannot deny how well Rolex have done in designing the Submariner. The Parnis does a good job of stealing this design. I am very happy with the quality of this watch for the price I paid for it, and therefore, I would recommend it to someone who wanted a cheap Submariner thrill without buying an all-out replica.

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17 comments

  1. Darren Webster

    Hi!
    I too purchased one of these… However, I soon regretted it.
    The ‘sapphire crystal glass’ it purported to have is even softer than perspex!
    (I expected at the least real glass, never mind mineral or sapphire)
    Needless to say it stratched almost instantly…boo! ruined the look of being impervious etc..
    Then there was the utterly appaling water-tightness… this watch was more like a sponge!
    I (albeit foolishly) believed that ‘any’ modern watch, of any make or design, would at least stand up to being worn whilst washing one’s hands..?
    Oooh noooo…Sir! Not this puppy…took ages to get the water out, that was when I really saw how shoddy the Far Eastern ‘workmanship’ was..
    The ‘seal’ for want of a describing word, was the thinnest, merest, smidge of elastic I have ever seen…didn’t fit, was grossly under-sized and probably hampered the whole ‘submariner’ idea.
    The ‘screw down’ case back is also held on by the merest of threads (as I had to remove to aid drying)
    I DID however love the hacking feature to the movement…usually a feature reserved for far higher calibre movements….if ONLY this watch had a 2824-2 ETA movement… it would still be working!

    1. WatchItAllAbout

      That’s interesting, may I ask where you got it from?

    2. Rheza

      I’m surprised to read your comment, because I literally shower wearing mine and it’s fine. although I read on some forums, that quality inconsistencies is a common issue with Parnis.

      1. Drroots420

        I’ve found out that the sterile version is way better than the logo and stamps etc. The gmt 2 also is a real gem with great build quality and sturdy in every way. That’s unfortunate you got a bad one. This hasn’t missed a beat. I hear the unbranded ones are made in Asia and the other one China (don’t quote me on this as its from the Internet.) Great watch for the money.

  2. Emanuel Co

    Which seller do you recommend?

    1. Joshua Clare-Flagg

      Hi Emanuel, personally, I recommend http://www.jacksontse.com. Thanks for reading!

  3. Parnis "Submariner" - new arrival and brief review

    […] Parnis Submariner homage. Mine is nearly identical to the one which was excellently reviewed by Watchitallabout previously so I won't go into a lot of detail, but it deserves a comparison with a couple of other […]

  4. John

    Hi, thanks for the great review.
    Is there a version with the all three pieces of bracelet having brushed finish?
    I personally don’t like the polished center piece.

  5. Anton

    Just the fact that this retard calls this ridiculous imitation a “homage” should tell you what a loser he is. I don’t know what kind of trailer trash is impressed by this knockoff, but I hope I never meet any of them.

  6. GRC

    Get with reality. I got this watch. It works great and looks nice too. People are insane to spend 10k on a dam watch unless your rich. It tells time dammit and that’s good enough for me without getting philosophical on materialism etc. Don’t overthink it. $125 I’m good with that. If it breaks it breaks.

  7. Adam

    I would have been a lot meaner to the faggoty ass dueche bag who made that comment. If also have left my address and any other info. Please reply to my comment Anton you motherless puke excuse of a human being.

  8. ceri

    This is not a sub homage it is a seadweller homage it is bigger than the sub an a sub had a flat crystal with a Cyclops window for the date.

  9. Parnis Sucks

    This is some hilariously terrible writing. It’s like reading a 5th-grader’s half-assed book report.

    But seriously, why on earth would you roll the dice on a Parnis (some people seem to like theirs, and maybe they’re lucky, but more probably they’re rubes) when you can get a Pro Diver for half the cost which includes a NH35A and a real warranty?

    I took a chance on a Parnis GMT and the thing was complete trash. It literally fell apart when I unboxed it. Fuck Parnis.

    1. Joshua Clare-Flagg

      Thanks for the comment… this was one of my first reviews – I’ve hopefully got a lot better since then.

  10. Robert Carpenter

    Hey I think you get what you pay for. Yes of course the bang for your buck scale is all over the place when it comes to $100 and under watches but take a look where the money goes on your watch. Branding, brand advertising , marketing, hype, actual materials used and craftsmanship of the parts and assembly. That’s without even getting into the movement used in the watch!!! If the case construction is decent. Then any decent movement will work and then you get a decent watch. Your BANG FOR YOUR BUCK. If you want to check out a decent Chinese watch for your buck. Look at Forsining and Kinyued. They have tourbillon style for around $30 bucks. As far as homage goes, Winner brand makes homages that are around same price even cheaper , like $20. Winner brand is from the same group who makes Forsining and Kinyued parts. Kinda like Parnis.

  11. Eddie

    Hi Joshua. I am considering purchasing a similar Parnis and was wondering how the watch has held up a year or two after you purchased it.

    Thanks

    1. Joshua Clare-Flagg

      Hi Eddie, I no longer have the watch but it should hold up reasonably well as long as it’s looked after. However, don’t forget it’s a cheap auto so don’t expect too much! 🙂

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