Setting The Record Straight On Invicta
Ok, so I keep seeing people rag on Invicta, because their watches are so ugly.
Ok, I will admit, some of their watches are a bit "over the top," and not to my taste. But to be fair, those watches are probably aimed at a different demographic; younger folks (early 20's) who are trying to make a bold fashion statement, etc.
BUT INVICTA HAS A LOT OF NICE TRADITIONAL-STYLE WATCHES AS WELL!! 😀
Here are the Invictas I have collected. Take a look. Nothing but awesomeness and tradition to follow:
...And yes, some of their watches are BIG (48mm - 52mm) but I am here to tell ya, I'm glad they are, because they look great if you have the wrist size to pull it off. (And not to brag, but I do.) And I think a lot of people would be surprised to find that their 48mm Pro Divers fit a lot better than most folks would imagine that they would.
...And yes, their pricing scheme isn't fooling anyone. But that's because the "new" Invicta, back in the early 1990s, started out as a shopping channel brand, and their pricing strategy was always like that: inflated MSRP, to make it look like the "sale price" / "special discount" was an incredible deal. They just never got the memo that people were onto that nonsense. But the average Invicta with a Seiko movement is a pretty good watch, and well worth the $75 - $100 dollars that you will probably pay for it. I have not regretted purchasing any of my Invictas. I just ignore all of that MSRP / deep discount shenanigans. 😎
Ok, that's my two cents. 😎 Carry on. 😀
Call me Chris! Faithful Christian / Devoted & Loving Husband / Proud Father / Scholarly Librarian / Avid Antiquarian Book Collector / Registered Armiger / Certified D&D Nerd / Watch & Clock Collector.
I have a Grand Diver for over 10 years. Great watch, but the majority of what they make now is just straight up bizarre lol. You have ones decent ones. At their price point they clearly have thier demographic picked. You do you!
That 1st picture and watch is right down my alley way LOL 🔥🔥🔥🔥
That 1st picture and watch is right down my alley way LOL 🔥🔥🔥🔥
That's the 43mm Aviator. It's a great little watch, Seiko PC32 quartz movement.
Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/i0CCvkq
I stated before invicta knows exactly what they are doing. They would not be doing this if they knew money was not coming in. For the enthusiast they can buy a Glycine Swiss Made both Quartz and Auto on sizes from 36mm to 48mm.
For those of us who have been around the block a few times the "hate" comes from a different direction.
The Invicta Watch group has a long and storied history on misinformation and outright lies as their business model.
Many aren't aware of the fake sandstone/meteorite/MOP dials, the crazy lie that the CEO's grandmother had a hand in the design of their original "Russian Diver", and the well documented cases of watches touted a Swiss made/mov't but having cheap Chinese movements inside. Also the lies about the value of watches donated to the military and their fictitious,never located Swiss Factory. The list goes on.
And let's not forget the abysmal; Customer Service (Call Rebecca) and the 28.00 charge for warranty work.
I have a couple Invictas from the early days and a current production 1953 Pro Diver.
It's not the watches that I have an issue with. It's the sleazy way the business has been run since the early 90's.
I haven't owned an Invicta in some time but I used to own 2. First one was probably around $89 a quartz submariner homage. I wore it on and off for 3-4 years, never had a problem with it. Sat in a watch box for another 4 years. I didn't know what to do with it but it would not stop running or keeping perfect time. It was pretty scratched up but still looked good. I put a new battery in it and gave it to a homeless guy.
My other Invicta was a grand diver with an NH35 in it and the story is pretty much the same. Indestructable and would not stop running. I think I paid around $139 for it. I sold it on Ebay 6 years later for about $60. It was actually a good looking watch. It cost about $12-$14 a year to own. Including tax shipping and service. Forgot I had 3. TA dress watch
- same thing. Would not stop running, never needed service sold it. $15 a year. I just read a post by a guy who says his Tudor has needed service 3 times in 3 years.
I don't own it, but I could say that they seemed to be a robust watch at the very least, it is unfortunate that they are known and promoting their "over the top" watches and some warches that people called them "homage", which looked to me as more of a copy. If they produce back their very early elegantly made watches, people might view them differently.
Invicta making over the top niche fashion watches is what allowed them make tons of money to save Glycine and leave them to themselves. Invicta can keep doing what they do so long as Glycine lives! Also, the Invicta Pro Diver is pretty decent.
I haven't owned an Invicta in some time but I used to own 2. First one was probably around $89 a quartz submariner homage. I wore it on and off for 3-4 years, never had a problem with it. Sat in a watch box for another 4 years. I didn't know what to do with it but it would not stop running or keeping perfect time. It was pretty scratched up but still looked good. I put a new battery in it and gave it to a homeless guy.
My other Invicta was a grand diver with an NH35 in it and the story is pretty much the same. Indestructable and would not stop running. I think I paid around $139 for it. I sold it on Ebay 6 years later for about $60. It was actually a good looking watch. It cost about $12-$14 a year to own. Including tax shipping and service. Forgot I had 3. TA dress watch
- same thing. Would not stop running, never needed service sold it. $15 a year. I just read a post by a guy who says his Tudor has needed service 3 times in 3 years.
Yup, the nh35 is a workhorse. Been known to run 15 yrs without a service. That's something!
I also prefer these "subtle" Invictas 👊
For those of us who have been around the block a few times the "hate" comes from a different direction.
The Invicta Watch group has a long and storied history on misinformation and outright lies as their business model.
Many aren't aware of the fake sandstone/meteorite/MOP dials, the crazy lie that the CEO's grandmother had a hand in the design of their original "Russian Diver", and the well documented cases of watches touted a Swiss made/mov't but having cheap Chinese movements inside. Also the lies about the value of watches donated to the military and their fictitious,never located Swiss Factory. The list goes on.
And let's not forget the abysmal; Customer Service (Call Rebecca) and the 28.00 charge for warranty work.
I have a couple Invictas from the early days and a current production 1953 Pro Diver.
It's not the watches that I have an issue with. It's the sleazy way the business has been run since the early 90's.
I wasn't aware of these claims. But it doesn't surprise me. Several other small watch startups have made similar, outlandish claims, such as Stuhrling. And that's a shame, because both Invicta and Stuhrling produce a decent, reliable watch.
They don't do ANY repair or warranty work AT ALL. They farm it out to a third-party repair service, which provides them with an Invicta-branded webpage. That service is called "Fix My Watch." So you might as well ignore the warranty completely, and just take it to your local watch repair shop if something ever goes wrong with it. I learned that lesson the hard way. HOWEVER, the watches cost so little to begin with, that I still don't mind buying them if I see one that I like. And I have not had any problems with any of my Invictas yet anyway. (The "problem" I had with the one watch that I sent in for repairs was that the stem felt gritty, even though the watch functioned normally. See my old post here for details.)
To be fair, all of their watches aren't ugly. Only their original designs are. If they produce a decent looking watch it is only because it is a homage of some other brand's good looking watch.
Look, there is absolutely no accounting for taste, so if you like garish watches, then go for it. No one can tell you that you are wrong. And they are reasonably priced. You can buy every single ugly Invicta watch ever made for less than the price of one ugly Richard Mille watch. So they do represent "good value" in the ugly watch category.
If you like a watch and you can afford it, then buy it regardless of brand/cost/size etc etc and sod everyone else 🎯👍🏻
I use to collect them years ago and the largest I went was 52mm. But the designs just kept getting outlandish and dials harder to read. I still have a couple stashed away for sentimentality, but my taste has changed.
This is one of my favorite Invicta's I picked up a couple years ago. They've got a lot of cool watches that you just have to search out on their site.
2020 Invicta Jump Hour
Invicta sucks, sorry but they are just a rip off fashion brand!!!
Invicta sucks, sorry but they are just a rip off fashion brand!!!
To each his own, my dude! 🤣😎
I have s Pro Diver I used for modding. It has been taken apart, and put back together, the same is true for its movement. I bought it 2 years ago, and it was a step below the AliExpress brands in quality. I can't speak to what is being shipped today.
What I do applaud the company for are its outlandish designs just for fun. No heritage, no pretense, just trying it because there might be fun in going completely against the grain.
I have s Pro Diver I used for modding. It has been taken apart, and put back together, the same is true for its movement. I bought it 2 years ago, and it was a step below the AliExpress brands in quality. I can't speak to what is being shipped today.
What I do applaud the company for are its outlandish designs just for fun. No heritage, no pretense, just trying it because there might be fun in going completely against the grain.
I've bought all of my Invictas in the last year or so (between Feb 2023 and early May 2024.) So far, so good! 👍 And quality is more than decent. 👍
Completely agree dude 👍.
Invicta gets a bad rep but, they have some gems 👍.