Invicta Pro Diver smokes literally everything within $250 of its price

[Chandu]

I think the Invicta brand suffers from "over the top" styling of some of their other watches

I would agree. I think Invicta and I think of a manhole cover sized watch with uber complications and a cheap movement and sold on an infomercial.

This is a nice looking watch. It can't fail to be a nice looking watch, it's a copy (ok, hommage) to one of the most successful, well respected diver designs of all time. It also has a Seiko movement, which I like.

I think this is a very nice watch all together, regardless of brand on it. Wear it in good health.

(and this is my little quirk) What it comes down to for me, is that only want to own mechanical/automatic watches wherein the whole watch is built by the same company. That limits me to a few and really only one with reputable quality that I can afford.

 

[patten1969]

So what? Why not use more than just the name?

Most likely because they buy the name only solely for marketing purposes. This has happened quite a bit, and it is done to add legitimacy to a product. Nicolet, Gevril, Elgin, Smiths, Waltham and Gruen are all old watch companies no longer in existence that have had their names reappropriated.

 

[ByMyBeard]

I'm seriously considering one of these as my first automatic watch. I never really was into divers, but got a Duro and actually really like it. I'm looking at the blue face version, as I don't currently have a blue face watch. Wish I could find a green auto....not sure why that seems to be non-existent.

 

[Medivh]

I wouldn't call Invicta a bad brand, but for me it's no different than Pagani or Parnis which I think offer more and cost a lot less and both are made in China. A few years back Invicta was a great bang for the buck, but right now there are tons of better options imho.

I ended up getting a Pagani ''Daytona'' homage and I really like it. I always wanted to own a chronograph for my collection, but the mechanical chronographs even the most basic ones are a bit expensive and since they are more complicated, they are more prone to wear and tear and the service of course a bit more than a basic mechanical. It uses the Seiko meca-quartz which makes the seconds hand to move like a mechanical and the reset is instant just like on mechanical chronographs. It's also very accurate - around 1 second per month. It has sapphire crystal, screw down crown and buttons, ceramic bezel and the bracelets has screws which is also very nice. For 53$ shipped it's probably my best every day beater watch.

 

[bigbrucefan]

I wouldn't call Invicta a bad brand, but for me it's no different than Pagani or Parnis which I think offer more and cost a lot less and both are made in China. A few years back Invicta was a great bang for the buck, but right now there are tons of better options imho.

I ended up getting a Pagani ''Daytona'' homage and I really like it. I always wanted to own a chronograph for my collection, but the mechanical chronographs even the most basic ones are a bit expensive and since they are more complicated, they are more prone to wear and tear and the service of course a bit more than a basic mechanical. It uses the Seiko meca-quartz which makes the seconds hand to move like a mechanical and the reset is instant just like on mechanical chronographs. It's also very accurate - around 1 second per month. It has sapphire crystal, screw down crown and buttons, ceramic bezel and the bracelets has screws which is also very nice. For 53$ shipped it's probably my best every day beater watch.

I've never heard of Pagani or Parnis, so you made me curious. I looked at the Pagani and I don't see a model that costs less than the 8926OB, let alone a lot less. I'll keep digging.

 

[ByMyBeard]

I go back and forth on the Pagani "daytona". Parnis Design has a similar one, but adds the date window which as a daily watch I think would be beneficial. Though after just looking, it appears the prices have gone up a fair amount....

 

[Medivh]

I've never heard of Pagani or Parnis, so you made me curious. I looked at the Pagani and I don't see a model that costs less than the 8926OB, let alone a lot less. I'll keep digging.

I've got mine from Alibaba and the prices there a a bit lower of some models than Aliexpress. I've got it without a box, card, and cloth, but those things don't matter to me when I buy an inexpensive/cheap watch.

 

[StillShaving]

Note that it is 11/11 AKA singles day on Aliexpress. so there are a lot of things on sale including watches. I noticed this review a few days ago, but I am not buying any watches. Just passing along.

 

[Medivh]

Note that it is 11/11 AKA singles day on Aliexpress. so there are a lot of things on sale including watches. I noticed this review a few days ago, but I am not buying any watches. Just passing along.

There are a lot of shaving stuff as well going on sale like brushes, razors and blades. I found a turkish seller that offers 200 Nacet blades for around 20$, which is great deal for us from Europe.

 

[MrSpeedy]

Wish I could find a green auto....not sure why that seems to be non-existent.

Look at the Seiko 5 and Seiko 5 Sports line. They have green dials in a variety of style (field, diver, etc.).

 

[ByMyBeard]

Singles Day? Never heard of this one.
As it turns out, my blue face watch appeared dead this morning. It's a Fossil quartz, and has already had the movement replaced twice via the 10 year warranty. That is now passed, so unless it's just a battery replacement (which history tells me it is NOT), looks like someone needs a new blue face watch.

 

[AshleyC]

Invicta is almost a hundred years older than Rolex. They should have plenty of their own design history to draw from. There's plenty of ugly in their lineup no one would miss if they started mining their vault for designs instead of Rolex's. I could go for a surfboard chronograph.

Unfortunately, Invicta's management seems dead set on catering to 3rd tier Russian mafia and various Central and South American mid-level government functionaries who think it is okay to appear in public wearing purple valour tracksuits.

 

[Runnin_Ute]

I have four Invicta Pro Divers with automatic movements including the Grand Diver. Different sizes too. 40 mm, 43 mm, and two 47 mm watches. The 40 is on an alligator strap with champagne colored dial, the 43 a two tone bracelet with red dial and black bezel, a 47 with orange dial and bezel. I have it on a black and orange NATO strap. The Grand Diver is also 47 mm and on a stainless bracelet blue bezel, silver dial.


Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[patten1969]

Unfortunately, Invicta's management seems dead set on catering to 3rd tier Russian mafia and various Central and South American mid-level government functionaries who think it is okay to appear in public wearing purple valour tracksuits.

Velour track suits are very comfy.

 

[GeronimoWSB]

I had several nice old invictas that were stolen. Just ordered a Deep Blue diver on sale. Swiss movement, ceramic inlaid bezel, of course sapphire and 500m water resistance. Mainly for the tritium tubes on it. Been wanting a Marathon gsar but they sort of rubbed me wrong by adding a few hundred for the military logos, after raising prices . Still would like one but this might scratch my itch.

 

[AshleyC]

Had a burglary myself months ago. Had to repair and reinforce a door frame...and the bastage got all my watches except for a Voctok "blue scuba dude" and a generic Chinese flieger.

It has been interesting rebuilding my collection, though. I still want the man dead. Shredded by a cyclopian, Lovecraftian horror...

 

[SydneyShaver]

Yeah, I have no idea why Invicta is hell bent on making 50mm plus watches that looks like something a cartoon villain would wear when every metric they have must be showing that their pro-diver line is their most successful. Even Seiko for some reason has re-done much of their lineup in a way I would consider cannibalizing. Swiss watches are top dog for a reason. Heritage, engineering and clear and consistent lines of watches that develop artfully with time instead of being 'over-hauled' every 5-10 years completely eliminating any heritage they could build other than history. Guess I need to be ordering my purple tracksuits in bulk

 

[dojpros]

Invicta knows exactly what they are doing. They are projecting a 45mm+ steampunk meets Mille etc look at a fraction of the price.
I suspect the costs on the big watches are not much more , if at all, than their divers and the market will bear a much higher markup.

 

[Doc4]

The surfboard chrono you cite is from Invicta before it went under, as a majority of watch brands did after the quartz crisis.

I'm not familiar with the term "quartz crisis".

Is this an actual "crisis", or perhaps a "watch geek" term relating to the problems the old-school watchmakers faced with the arrival of inexpensive and reliable quartz watches?

Velour track suits are very comfy.

Probably.

But ... purple??

 

[ByMyBeard]

Received my blue Pro Diver for Christmas. Pics will be coming, as I need to size the bracelet. This is my first fully automatic watch. A couple of questions...if you don't mind.
1) Am I correct this does not have a "quick set" date option? In other words, to change the date, you continue to rotate the time until you get the date where it needs to be?
2) When winding the watch manually...how do I know if I've gone far enough? I've heard over-winding can be bad.
3) Is there anything "wrong" with letting it fully power down? Is that worse for the movement than keeping it running?

I'll post pictures once I figure out how to re-size the bracelet. Trying to decide if it's worth the time/$ to get the proper tool, or if I figure out how to MacGyver it.