Invicta...Are they ok?

red1965

red1965

Joined
Apr 21, 2009
Messages
676
I have seen several Invicta's on the forum and wondered what people really think about them. I own several Lumi-nox and a couple of Marathons and wanted to know how the Invicta's compare. Most of these are reasonably priced, but I would like to know about quaility, toughness, crystal , brightness of dial,etc. Im leaning more towards the Pro Diver and or the Russian Diver. Any feedback would be greatfully accepted.
 
I don't like them. At all. They're basically a Chinese caliber (bought for about 5 to 10 bucks) in a Chinese case made of some kind of stainless steel, and in some style that was ripped off some traditional brand. And of course, quality varies a LOT from model to model :thumbdn:.

You want a mechanical or quartz? If you want a mechanical, look at Seiko and Orient, that have some GREAT options for a very decent price. But if you want quartz, look at Citizen and Casio. With all these brands you won't spend much but will receive a lot in terms of quality. And of course, you can also go Swiss, but then you'll pay a lot more for the brand name.
 
I have a black divers model that looks like a Rolex Submariner clone that I have worn daily for about two years. It has a Japanese Miyota movement, not Chinese, and keeps decently accurate time, usually slighly fast. The only down side is that it doesn't seem to run for more than a day or so if you don't wear it. The band is very heavy and solid stainless. I have knocked the mineral crystal face around and it has yet to show even a small scratch. I got mine for well under $100 on Amazon and with their free shipping it was a very good deal. I am very satisfied with it and believe I got my money's worth.
 
They vary a lot in quality! some are great, and some feel like cheap crap......none of them are going to be particularly high quality, but if you spend a decent amount (over a buck fifty) on a quartz invicta (With sapphire crystal!!!) you probably wont be disappointed.....I own a couple and they work just fine and look great.....but i find that anything but sapphire crystal tends to scratch pretty badly over time....
 
I have three Invictas, two dive chronographs that are made to look like a Rolex/Breitling sport type diver, and the other is a dress watch.

All were right at $100. They were all bought by me new at an auction about 8-10 years ago. All run great, look great, and have held up very well.

They all have mineral glass crystals that haven't scratched, and well made bands that haven't bent out of shape or had the clasps work loose. The cases are quite sturdy and where usually my constant sweating will pit the backs of the cases, none of these have had that problem. I can buff the stainless bands with my Dremel and some jeweler's rouge and they look brand new.

My watch guy told me that the two chronographs have a Swiss ETA movment (nothing exceptional, he said it is a solid movement along the lines of a upper end Seiko) and the dress watch has a Japanese Miyota movement which is pretty average. All keep great time.

I can't speak to the quality of the newer made watches, but the older ones I have are quite a value. If you have an opportunity to see the watch in person and to identify the origin of the movement, I think that would be the telling signs as to what type of quality of watch they are making these days.

Robert
 
I have two of them a Prowler Chronograph Watch #4391
and a Corduba #2641
They are good watches and I am hard on things, they have never let me down.
 
I personally have no experience with Invicta but from what i've read, their watches are ok but their customer service is horrible. Chances are if you buy one of their watches, it will work fine, but if you get a lemon, your screwed. For the money, I would rather have a Citizen or Seiko. Tissot also makes great watches, and they are just a little more expensive.
 
I have their upper-end auto-winding submariner-style watch, the 9937A. It has the Swiss movement, a really nice heavy duty stainless steel bracelet, and a sapphire crystal. It costs anywhere from $265 - $300 around the web and is definitely worth it. This is a well made, classy time piece. Keeps decent time. I love it.
 
Having been a one time collector of the brand (about 65 of them) I can speak on a few models. The older 40mm Pro Divers with Miyota movement are pretty decent quality and prices on them have really come down...easily sub-100 dollar. The newer Pro Diver with the SII movement are not all that great...obviously lower quality.

Most of what they sell these days are fahion junk of questionable origin. Customer service is probably one of the worst in the industry and the attitude of their forum representative is awful.

Seiko, Citizen, Orient, Casio and others have better watches for equal prices or maybe a few bucks more...well worth spending a tiny bit extra.

Some older models are ok if you can find them used at good prices.
 
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