Farasute... anyone?
On perusing the watch offerings on AliExpress I have bumped a couple of times into the Farasute brand. They seem a bit of an oddity. The watches are steeply priced, by AliExpress standards, but look as they might be worth it, who knows?
And that's the kicker: who knows?
I haven't seen a single review of a Farasute watch anywhere, not even customer reviews on Ali, just nada. Does anyone own one of these? Has anyone seen a review of a Farasute anywhere?
BTW on Alibaba their presence is slightly different, with also cheaper watches around, so it's likely to be the luxury brand of some watch company with low-tier watches too.
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Balthazar
UK-based German expat. Likes cheap watches. Not bothered about brands.
Member since
Last active: 2 hrs ago
Never heard of them, but I must say I like that coppery dial.
Never heard of them, but I must say I like that coppery dial.
Yes, first impression. Second impression: decorated movement, applied indices, drilled lugs. Really, drilled lugs on Ali - that's a rarity there.
Great looking copper dial. Looks like they have been in business for about a year.
For the specs, fairly priced (if their specs are legit) but I wouldn't touch it until there are some reviews in the wild. Not for that much money.
Yes, first impression. Second impression: decorated movement, applied indices, drilled lugs. Really, drilled lugs on Ali - that's a rarity there.
Another impression: mineral crystal and low-beat movement. Hmmm...it's a tougher call. This Parnis has the same movement without the decoration, but with sapphire - at 1/3 the cost. This one has a great case. Don't know much about Parnis, either, but something for comparison.
Another impression: mineral crystal and low-beat movement. Hmmm...it's a tougher call. This Parnis has the same movement without the decoration, but with sapphire - at 1/3 the cost. This one has a great case. Don't know much about Parnis, either, but something for comparison.
Well, I happen to own a few Parnis watches, and the first you mentioned (the 6038) is one of them. Even wrote a review on it, here on watchcrunch. That is actually a great watch, easily worth its money. As a brand within the Chinese market, Parnis seems sort of middle of the road: they make very decent watches at decent prices, pricier than the Lige/Olev/Ochstin etc of this world, but staying well clear of the £150 barrier, unlike SanMartin/Cronos/Merkur. Corgeut is a sister brand of Parnis, but I don't think there is any connection between Parnis and Farasute. Farasute is located in Shenzhen, Parnis in Guangzhou.
Regarding the one with "the great case", you can get a similar-looking one from Ochstin for only £25. With that Parnis, I'd be a tad worried about the date window, which I have seen done badly (also by Parnis) a few times, and I would not trust the rendered images on the website. SanMartin and Hruodland make watches of similar style that I'd prefer here, even at the slightly higher price.
Well, I happen to own a few Parnis watches, and the first you mentioned (the 6038) is one of them. Even wrote a review on it, here on watchcrunch. That is actually a great watch, easily worth its money. As a brand within the Chinese market, Parnis seems sort of middle of the road: they make very decent watches at decent prices, pricier than the Lige/Olev/Ochstin etc of this world, but staying well clear of the £150 barrier, unlike SanMartin/Cronos/Merkur. Corgeut is a sister brand of Parnis, but I don't think there is any connection between Parnis and Farasute. Farasute is located in Shenzhen, Parnis in Guangzhou.
Regarding the one with "the great case", you can get a similar-looking one from Ochstin for only £25. With that Parnis, I'd be a tad worried about the date window, which I have seen done badly (also by Parnis) a few times, and I would not trust the rendered images on the website. SanMartin and Hruodland make watches of similar style that I'd prefer here, even at the slightly higher price.
Thanks for the review - very helpful! Ochstin should have copied the Parnis dial - the date window just cuts off the 3 - not good. Other than that, the silver blue model you linked looks nice. Does the different movement in the Parnis justify the extra cost vs the Ochstin? Same question, I guess, between the Farasute and Parnis. Who knows? 😀
Thanks for the review - very helpful! Ochstin should have copied the Parnis dial - the date window just cuts off the 3 - not good. Other than that, the silver blue model you linked looks nice. Does the different movement in the Parnis justify the extra cost vs the Ochstin? Same question, I guess, between the Farasute and Parnis. Who knows? 😀
I own one Ochstin (so limited experience), which at £20 was very cheap for an automatic. But the movement was a non-descript Chinese movement with a poor power reserve. The Miyota in the Parnis is better, no doubt. The strap on the Ochstin was sub-par too. Overall, both watches are fairly priced for what they are.
Balthazar - did you end up getting a Farasute watch? If so, I would be interested in your opinion as to their quality. I confess I think they are very handsome and have been sorely tempted.
I'm not quite willing to be the guinea pig for the brand, but I noticed that they are no longer at zero sales on Ali, but I haven't seen yet any reviews. Merkur has a similar-looking (slightly sportier) watch, but that is currently out of stock: when I tried purchasing it on Ali that ordered was canceled. The Farasute is firmly based on a Montblanc heritage model, but that is a £2500 watch.
Thanks for the discussion. I noticed this brand recently with Tonneau case that caught my eye 👁!
I have several of their watches and I have to say although the prices are higher they are really neat. I was convinced to try them when I saw their cloche and other Cartier homages