Tag: GMT

Pepsi GMT Homage Review: Pagani Design vs Parnis

Post author By Bob
Post date August 27, 2023
No Comments on Pepsi GMT Homage Review: Pagani Design vs Parnis

Pepsi GMT-Master is a very popular model from Rolex, a lot of people like this watch, and there are some small watch companies in China that copy the designs of this GMT-Master and make homages, among them, there are quality homages and cheap homages, today, I will introduce two good versions among these cheap homages, the two watches come from Pagani Design and Parnis, the homage watch they make is a Pepsi GMT-Master with Jubilee Bracelet. For Pagani Design and Parnis, it is interesting to make a comparison review about their watch, because Parnis is a very old brand created in China and has been in this industry for many years, while Pagani Design is a new homage brand and seems to be more popular. Well, today, let’s check this Pepsi GMT homage and see which one you love most.

Box and Accessories:

The pictures above show the boxes and accessories of Pagani Design and Parnis. Pagani Design has a small hard box for the watch, with one screwdriver and blue cloth. The Parnis comes with a watch, screwdrivers and one extra nylon band in the box. The Parnis box is orange and made with plastic, just like the black plastic box of the Steeldive SD1953, which I introduced in the review of black Submariner homage.

Box watches do not have warranty card and user manual book, that’s strange. Well, I think the orange plastic box of Parnis gives a better protection for the watch.

Case:

The pictures above show the Pepsi GMT watch from Pagani Design. The case is made with stainless steel, the brand does not tell us if it is 316L. On Pagani Design official store, they say the watch has a case diameter of 40mm, but I measured the case several times, the diameter is not 40mm, it is always 41mm or more than 41mm. The case thickness is about 13.6mm. The entire watch is 145.8 grams.

Next, let us see the specification of the case on the Parnis. About the case material, Parnis claims it is 316L stainless steel on their official website. The case was supposed to be 40mm in diameter and 13mm in thickness, but I measured it to be 40.5mm in diameter and 13.4mm in thickness. The entire watch has a weight of 149.9 grams.

Conclusion: Both the Pagani Design and Parnis do not have a correct case size if you compare them with Rolex GMT-Master II Pepsi, but the Parnis is closer to the case size of Rolex Pepsi GMT. Well, the most important thing for our watch fans lies in the case finish. I indeed compared the case finish on both watches. Any way, when I received the two watches, the Pagani Design impressed me a lot and I though it also has a better finish. However, the truth is both watches have a very similar case finish. I held two watches in hand and found the lug shape is more correct on the Parnis watch, the end links also fit the case head better on the Parnis, while the gap between the end link and lug on the Pagani Design is noticeable(you can find this flaw on the bezel comparison below).

Bezel:

Both watches have blue and red bezel, not ceramic made but is aluminum. Actually you can ask them to replace a ceramic bezel if you like ceramic better. The aluminum bezel is ok, and I asked them, they do not offer ceramic option for the red bezel. If taking the Rolex GMT-Master as a reference, the bezel shape looks more correct on the Parnis, the edge around the bezel tooth is slightly slope and looks more natural, while the bezel just stands straightforward on the case of the Pagani Design.

Conclusion: abouthe bezel, I like the Parnis watch better.

Lume:

About the lume, the first picture is from the Pagani Design, the second is lume from the Parnis. Which one do you like?

Bracelet:

Parnis GMT Clasp — The bracelet and clasp of the Parnis

Actually no difference on the bracelet and clasp, the finish on the bracelet is very similar on both watches. Each watch has a Jubilee bracelet, the spacing between each link on the bracelet of the Parnis looks a little larger than that on the bracelet of the Pagani Design, but not very noticeable. The bracelet is a big longer on the Parnis. However, the use experience when you opening and closing the clasp feels better on the Pagani Design. I think the closure on the clasp of the Parnis is a little loose.

Movement:

The picture above shows the movement of the Pagani Design, which uses a NH34 automatic movement. The NH34 is a very practical movement that offers the watch hours, minutes, seconds, gmt and date functions, the movement beats 21,600BPH and has 41 hours power reserve and 24 jewels, it also has the important hacking feature.

About the movement inside the Parnis, I am not very sure, it is said to be a Mingzhu DG5833 automatic movement, which is made in China, the movement beats 21,600BPH, it has 22 jewels, 40-hour power reserve and hacking mechanism.

Conclusion: in my opinion, the NH34 movement in the Pagani Design is better than the Chinese movement in the Parnis.

Buying advice:

Both are good choices for people who are looking for Pepsi GMT homage watch that is around $100 but less than $120.

The Pagani Design Pepsi GMT has a more durable and reliable movement from Japan, it also has a see-through crystal back, compared with the solid case back, more watch fans like the crystal back nowadays. The Pagani Design Pepsi GMT is sold at $119, not very expensive but still higher than the Parnis. I suggest you choose the Pagani Design watch, which is more durable and will have fewer issues because of its Japan movement. If you do not want this Pepsi GMT, Pagani Design also offers Batman and Sprite GMT on their website.

The Parnis GMT watch looks great, it not only has a closer outlook and bezel design to the Rolex GMT-Master II Pepsi, but is also sold at a much cheaper price, which is only $86, besides, this Parnis watch comes with a better protection box, it has a longer bracelet, which is more convenient for people who have a large wrist. For guys who do not want to spend more than $100 on a Chinese homage watch, please buy this Parnis.

Here come the videos of the two watches:

Tags DG5833, GMT, NH34, Pagani Design, Parnis, Pepsi

San Martin

San Martin GMT-Master Sprite Homage Watch

Post author By Bob
Post date July 14, 2023
No Comments on San Martin GMT-Master Sprite Homage Watch

I have reviewed some San Martin watches on my blog, there are different styles, including diver’s watches, pilot’s watches, but this is my first time to introduce its GMT-Master homage watch, I have heard that San Martin makes good quality GMT-Master homages watches, including Batman and Pepsi, today, the San Martin watch I am going to review is a great homage of the Rolex Sprite GMT, it has a much higher price than the other watches from San Martin.

I asked a green box for this watch and it perfectly fits. The watch is made with 316L stainless steel, not 904L, the case has a diameter of 40.5mm and measured to be 13.5mm in thickness, the watch has a jubilee style bracelet and features a black/green ceramic bezel that looks fresh, in the darkness, the bezel markers have the same lume light as hour markers and hands.

As far as I know, the Sprite GMT-Master from Rolex is a left-handed watch, however, San Martin still sets the crown on the right side of the case. I like this watch because of two things, first, its high quality finish on the case and bracelet, second, the color of the bezel looks very close to that of Rolex Sprite GMT, while the green GMT hand on the dial exactly in line with this green color of the bezel. The big triangle marker on the bezel is well aligned with the 12-hour marker on the dial. Well, I still do not like the metal San Martin logo at 12 o’clock, I would appreciate a more simple printing. The finish on the bracelet has two processing, brushing on the side links and polishing on the middle narrow links, this finish gives me a great visual enjoyment. By the way, the bezel has a very real click feeling, it is not too smooth, that’s the feel I want to get.

The watch is equipped with Hangzhou 6460 automatic movement, which comes from China. It clones ETA 2836-2 movement, the movement has 25 jewels and 28,800VPH. It offers the watch a correct GMT function, but the power reserve is not too long, you nearly need to wind the watch every day before going to sleep, if wanting to keep a more accurate timing. However, in my opinion, I still suggest you choose such type of homage watch with a Japanese movement like NH34 or NH35, which will be more stable.

Tags GMT, San Martin, Sprite

Hruodland

Hruodland Adventurer GMT Vintage Watch

Post author By Bob
Post date July 12, 2023
No Comments on Hruodland Adventurer GMT Vintage Watch

Hruodland, a weird name, as a watch brand, does this name have a special meaning? I do not even know how to read this word. The watches made by this custom brand are most homages, just like the watches made by Sugess, San Martin, Proxima and other micro brands from China. I introduced one Hruodland watch on my blog before, it is a TV-shaped quartz watch that looks very nice, on the website of Hruodland, I saw homages of different brands, many of them are Submariner homages and Pilot styles, today, the watch I am going to show you guys is a vintage gmt watch that has some similarity to Rolex Explorer, but check the printings on the dial, there is a word ADVENTURER, you can think this is the series name of the watch.

The watch is made with solid 316L stainless steel, it has a case diameter of 39mm, the thickness is about 11.8mm. The entire watch is brushed, but the edge of the round bezel is polished, which echoes with the drawing finish on the edge of each lug. The bezel has 24 hour markers engraving that are being filled with black oil coating. The crown has an anchor logo, this is one part of reasons to push me to buy this watch although I already have one vintage Pagani Design Explorer Homage watch. By the way, both the crown and case back are screwed down.

The dial is under protection of a domed sapphire crystal, the matte black dial has all hour markers being applied with lume material that looks a little yellow, there is a strong lume light emitting from the dial in dark conditions. The GMT hand has a big arrowhead in bright orange color, even in a weak light condition, it can grab your attention easily. The bubble crystal face, dial color and the design of hour markers, these things make the watch have a strong vintage flavor.

The watch is equipped with a NH34 automatic movement, another good movement from Seiko, like NH35, it is widely used by a lot of homage watches made in China. By the way, this watch also looks very nice on a nylon band, check the last picture below.

Tags Adventurer, GMT, Hruodland, NH34

Parnis

Parnis Rolex GMT-Master II Pepsi Homage Watch Review

Post author By Bob
Post date April 25, 2023
No Comments on Parnis Rolex GMT-Master II Pepsi Homage Watch Review

It seems like every Rolex watch has a nickname, especially like GMT-Master II and Submariner, for example, Submariner 116610LV is Green Hulk, GMT-Master II blue/black bezel with Oyster bracelet is Batman, GMT-Master II blue/black bezel with Jubilee bracelet is Batgirl, the newest GMT-Master II with black/green bezel is Sprite, while this Parnis watch, which is a homage of GMT-Master II blue/red bezel, is known as Pepsi GMT. Many people think that such watches that just totally copy the designs of Swiss watches are replicas, but they indeed have a brand name and offer watch fans a much cheaper option. This Parnis GMT-Master Pepsi homage watch has a great outlook, but it is only sold at less than $100, I think many of you guys will consider to buy one.

There are too many homage watches made in China, some are top quality and worth buying, in future, I want to wrist articles about the lists of top best homage watches on my blog, for example, the top five Submariner homage, top five IWC Pilot watch homage, they will be good guides for you who are really interested in Chinese homage watches.

The Parnis watch is made with 316L stainless steel, it has a brushed case that is measured to be 40mm in diameter and 13mm in thickness. The side of the case and crown guards are polished, the crown is screwed into and you need to unlock before pulling it out to adjust time and date. The bezel has a blue/red aluminium insert, it is not ceramic made, a homage watch with ceramic bezel can not be sold at such a low price. The flutes on the edge of the bezel are well manufactured, they are smoothly processed, I do not feel scratches when touching them with fingers.

The dial is black with “PARNIS” in white printing and “GMT” in red, the GMT hand has a red stem and arrow-shaped tip with white lume material being filled, the GMT hand can be adjusted through the crown, it has a real GMT function that can indicate the time of the second time zone on the bezel. The date window is a copy design of the cyclop of the Rolex. The finish of the hour hand and minute hand is good but still has room to improve, because you will find metal burr on the edge by checking with a magnifier.

The engine behind the solid screw-down case back is a Mingzhu DG5833 automatic movement, which beats 21,600 times per hour and has stop-seconds feature. Mingzhu movements were widely used by cheap replica watches about ten years ago, now they become the ideal choices of many Chinese brands that make cheap homage watches.

Tags DG5833, GMT, Mingzhu Movement, Parnis

Pagani Design

Pagani Design Blue/Red Pepsi GMT Homage Review

Post author By Bob
Post date July 22, 2022
No Comments on Pagani Design Blue/Red Pepsi GMT Homage Review

You may know little about this brand, but Pagani Design has become one of the best-selling niche brand watches and has a good reputation. There are a lot of choices on its site, what I appreciate more is that Pagani Design can always release their homages in time when Rolex publishes new models, such as the GMT-Master II Sprite and Root Beer, you can find their homages on Pagani Design website. I have a lot of homage watches bought from China, my most favorite ones are San Martin and Heimdallr, but I have a special feeling about Pagani Design that drives me to buy their watches continuously, Pagani Design watches’ prices are not expensive, very reasonable, but they do not lower the quality to reduce the cost, you will find a perfect homage from Pagani Design with acceptable quality.

This Pagani Design has a blue and red bezel, which is not ceramic made, it’s a pity. There is a red GMT hand on the dial, and the watch features a jubilee-style bracelet. The case back is see-through and we can see movement inside. I can not say this is a perfect homage, if it uses a ceramic bezel and solid case back, that will be better. Because the aluminum bezel is in blue and red color, people call such Rolex GMT-Master II “Pepsi”.

I received this watch in a Pagani Design box, which is small, with a watch, a screwdriver and a cloth inside. Its case is absolutely not made with 904L stainless steel, but 316L stainless steel, the case has a diameter of 40mm and 14mm in thickness, the case is brushed. The bezel is not ceramic, but is ok for me, after all the price of the watch is not high, and the color transition in number “6” and “18” looks ok. The screw-in crown features a Pagani Design logo. This is the most cost-effective GMT Pepsi homage watch I have ever seen.

I love the dial, first, hand set and hour markers are imitations of the GMT-Master Pepsi, including the GMT hand with a red stem and triangle tip. There will be a blue lume light in dark conditions, on this homage, only elements on the dial have been applied with luminous material, not like some other homages from San Martin or Heimdallr, whose bezel markers are also with lume material, that’s not good. However, the lume on the dial of this Pepsi GMT won’t last long, well, I was prepared for that at this price point. I am happy the cyclops on the sapphire crystal is aligned, perhaps the seller did a good QC and select a good one.

The watch is equipped with a Jubilee-style bracelet, it can also be fitted with an Oyster bracelet. The middle three-section links are polished, while the links at both sides are brushed, the gap between each link is a little big, before wearing the watch, I suggest you check each screw on the bracelet to secure them. By the way, the edge of the bracelet is a little sharp, well, at such a price point under 100 US Dollar, I did not expect too much. I have had this watch for five days, its accuracy is ok, a bit fast, but only 8 seconds faster each day, that’s ok. By the way, the red GMT hand works in a 24-hour format, it is pointing at the hour marker on the bi-color bezel.

Tags GMT, Pagani Design, Pepsi

Pagani Design

Pagani Design GMT Explorer Steve McQueen Homage Review

Post author By Bob
Post date July 15, 2022
No Comments on Pagani Design GMT Explorer Steve McQueen Homage Review

I know you probably have not heard of this person, Steve McQueen, a very popular actor and racer in the 1960s and 1970s, but you must know the Steve McQueen Explorer watch Rolex made for him, it is a very old model, hard to find in the second-hand market, if there is one, the owner must sell it a sky high price, we all know these vintage Rolex watches such as Paul Newman Daytona and Steve McQueen Explorer made in old times are very popular, while impossible to get one even you have money. So, some people turn to buy a replica or choosing its homage from Chinese niche brands. Pagani Design is such a niche brand that produces a lot of Rolex homages in China, from modern models to vintage Rolex, you can always find one homage on their website, the most two popular vintage Rolex homages are Paul Newman Daytona and this Steve McQueen Explorer.

The Pagani Design watch has a very similar bezel and dial to Steve McQueen, basically it is a homage of Explorer Steve McQueen even there is slight difference in case size and hand set. The case is made with 316L stainless steel, it has a diameter of 42mm and is 14mm in thickness, which is a little thicker I think, the case thickness does not meet my expectation. The entire case and bracelet are brushed, except two sides of the case, which are polished like a mirror. The bezel markers have a very close finish to Explorer Steve McQueen, shallow engraving with black coating, not sure if the black will fade after a long-time wear.

Everything on the dial looks fine except the hour hand and minute hand, which do not go well with other elements, they are not the design belonged to Explorer Steve McQueen, the Benz hands should not be here installed on this watch if Pagani Design really wants to bring us a true homage of Steve McQueen watch. Other designs such as the yellowish hour markers and orange GMT hand, they are all perfect.

The watch is driven by an automatic movement made in China, perhaps some people will say that the movement is not good because the watch is very cheap, however, I received the watch two weeks ago and it still works very accurate, now it is only 10 to 15 seconds faster each day. I think Pagani Design watch company can install a Japan movement if you insist, after all, it is very convenient to find a Japanese Miyota or Seiko automatic movement in Guangzhou watch market.

Tags GMT, Pagani Design, Steve McQueen

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