Anyone know anything about invicta watches?

So, a while back i spotted this ridiculous watch at a jeweler. It was rose gold and ceramic, and roughly the size of a ford fiesta. Gaudy as hell. I loved it. Upon closer look, it turns out it was an invicta. A bit of trolling online tells me they specialize in huge flashy things. I like shiny objects so im amused. They seem relatively afford in the exotic watch market, and lo and behold, with my move to florida, they are EVERYWHERE. (Turns out us headquarters is in Hollywood fl, so it makes sense). I keep looking at these damn things, and i kind of want one. Are they worth the coin? They seem to land in about the 500$ territory for what i want. Not cheap, but not rolex. What sayeth the hive?

I have asked before about these. They often show up on eBay deals for ~$100 from $500-1000. I recall the thread wasn't positive in the end.

My thread from before.

Now I look again, I found a stainless/blue dive watch for $60 I like. To bad I strongly prefer digital. And no watches at work.

They are not bad when they are dirty cheap on Amazon. Of my 3 Russian Divers, only one is 100% non-broken. One has a chipped crystal and one had the second hand fall off when it fell off the nightstand. For the ~$60 I paid on them, they are not even worth fixing.

Invicta doesn't have a terribly good reputation in the watch world. There's usually a number of quality problems with them, such as chapter ring misalignments, dial problems, and problems with the movements, and the build quality isn't much to write home about. Interestingly some of their more expensive watches utilize both ETA 2824 movements and Valjoux 7750 movements which are well regarded.

There's a couple of things that watch people don't like about them beyond the QA issues. First is the perception of the brand is marred by the games that they play with their pricing. Those 80% off sales happen often enough that if you buy one at full price you've been had. Second is the mall brand image. They're very commonplace and can be bought pretty cheaply (see point one). Last is the same issue that Breitling suffers from where they can be pretty gaudy.

If you like it I'd look for one of those super sales that Jomashop throws with them all the time. They're a grey market dealer but have a good reputation for customer service. If you're considering an automatic look for an ETA 2824, a Valjoux 7750, or a Miyota 9015. Possibly a Sellita or NH35. For quartz Ronda is the king currently.

Are you looking for any specific style or just that certain one?

Definitely quality problems. I've got three, one of which still works. It's got the best movement of the bunch. It's also a massive chunk of steel, it would double as a set of brass knuckles if needed. If you're interested in trying out various watch styles, it's a cheap way to do it.

Really, i was drawn to them because theyre ridiculous and gaudy. Breitling doesnt do it for me. Not shiny enough.

mndsm wrote: Really, i was drawn to them because theyre ridiculous and gaudy. Breitling doesnt do it for me. Not shiny enough.

I think you're the first person I've ever seen admit that...

Maybe a Seiko Sawtooth that's been fully polished?

The seller is asking $250 for it. Looking at GRMish pricing for something absurd right now.

I have two Invictas and they both have run fine for several years now. One is battery powered and my every day watch is an automatic. They both look like Rolex Submariners and were less than $70 each on line. I didn't expect much when I bought them, so they've exceeded my expectations.

The0retical wrote:

mndsm wrote: Really, i was drawn to them because theyre ridiculous and gaudy. Breitling doesnt do it for me. Not shiny enough.

I think you're the first person I've ever seen admit that... Maybe a Seiko Sawtooth that's been fully polished? The seller is asking $250 for it. Looking at GRMish pricing for something absurd right now.

Yeah, im an odd duck. Shiny objects.

That sawtooth is pretty rad.

In reply to mndsm:

We like what we like. Watches are one of those things, like cars, where they're highly personal extensions of ones style.

Here's the link to the Sawtooth

If you've got a brand or a price range in mind WatchRecon indexes pretty much all the private forum sales on the internet. Under the gear by the search bar you can specify price ranges and brands, or exclude brands.

Jomashop does a number of sales on weekly. They're grey market, meaning they're not a authorized dealer, but they offer their own warranty and I rarely hear any bad things said about them on watch forums.

If you want something unique we can talk microbrands and some of the cool stuff that they offer too from $150 to whatever you want to spend. Most of them are having Christmas sales right now so it's a good time to buy from them.

Edit: It's expensive but if you want something really absurd and pretty amazing H2o Watches does a MOKUME GANE. It's amazing Not my pictures unfortunately.

Yes that is layered stainless steel and bronze with a black mother of pearl dial.

The0retical wrote: In reply to mndsm: We like what we like. Watches are one of those things, like cars, where they're highly personal extensions of ones style. Here's the link to the Sawtooth If you've got a brand or a price range in mind WatchRecon indexes pretty much all the private forum sales on the internet. Under the gear by the search bar you can specify price ranges and brands, or exclude brands. Jomashop does a number of sales on weekly. They're grey market, meaning they're not a authorized dealer, but they offer their own warranty and I rarely hear any bad things said about them on watch forums. If you want something unique we can talk microbrands and some of the cool stuff that they offer too from $150 to whatever you want to spend. Most of them are having Christmas sales right now so it's a good time to buy from them. Edit: It's expensive but if you want something really absurd and pretty amazing H2o Watches does a MOKUME GANE. It's amazing Not my pictures unfortunately. Yes that is layered stainless steel and bronze with a black mother of pearl dial.

So, that thing is a beast and i want it. I am somewhat averse to leather bands though, because sweat and itchy and stank. Im going to pore over that h20 site. Really, i like big and gaudy. Visible movement is a plus. Name is inconsequential. I am not metal allergic to my knowledge , butmy preferences run outsideof traditional gold. I have a nice dressy seiko from my grandfathers estate if i need one. 50+mm face good.

Quite a bit less expensive than the H2o but if you want something with some presence:

Benarus Megalodon: 53mm lug to lug, shiny sapphire bezel, comes in orange, bright blue, or black, 24mm lug width, and sits 17.9mm high on the wrist. Also comes in bronze which has an amazing red dial.

Any of the stainless watches you can polish or send out to get polished for more bling.

If you can find one for less than 600 dollars I love the Halios Holotype.

This picture is mine after I rebrushed the bezel and lugs then refilled the indices on the bezel. I have 7 3/4 inch wrists for reference:

24mm lug width, 45mm lug to lug with hooded lugs, 16mm high, 44mm case.

If you want to go all out.... there's nothing like Enzo Mechana. They're all built to order and there's a lead time but if you want absurd he'll build it to your specs.

^Yes that is a pearlescent stingray skin band with orange lizard belly leather backing it. Dangerous9 made the strap for the guy.

Now were talking.

Invicta=too gaudy for my taste.

92dxman wrote: Invicta=too gaudy for my taste.

Thats why i like em.

Update!

Now i need to know about welder watches. They seem to get mostly positive reviews, and they look closer to the really oddball designs i like. The only thingthat scares me is i found one for sale on aliexpress. Thats not a positive sign.

Thought I might had an Invicta but it was really a Festina, never wore the berkeleyin' thing. I call it the Festivus watch now.

mndsm wrote:

92dxman wrote: Invicta=too gaudy for my taste.

Thats why i like em. Update! Now i need to know about welder watches. They seem to get mostly positive reviews, and they look closer to the really oddball designs i like. The only thingthat scares me is i found one for sale on aliexpress. Thats not a positive sign.

Welder is a spinoff of U-Boat which is a fairly high end Italian brand. They generally use either Swiss (Ronda) or Japanese quartz movements (Miyota). They're designed to fill the void below U-Boat where other manufacturers were taking design elements from U-Boat to put into their own watches. They're pretty well regarded by a number of sources.

Around the same price point is Ballast, who also uses quartz movements, and has some interesting takes on the Russian diver or pilot watches.

The0retical wrote:

mndsm wrote:

92dxman wrote: Invicta=too gaudy for my taste.

Thats why i like em. Update! Now i need to know about welder watches. They seem to get mostly positive reviews, and they look closer to the really oddball designs i like. The only thingthat scares me is i found one for sale on aliexpress. Thats not a positive sign.

Welder is a spinoff of U-Boat which is a fairly high end Italian brand. They generally use either Swiss (Ronda) or Japanese quartz movements (Miyota). They're designed to fill the void below U-Boat where other manufacturers were taking design elements from U-Boat to put into their own watches. They're pretty well regarded by a number of sources. Around the same price point is Ballast, who also uses quartz movements, and has some interesting takes on the Russian diver or pilot watches.

Good to know. They fit the price point i was looking into (500ish?) And they have some freaky cool designs.

I really have no room to talk. I wear a cheapo Casio W70 on a velcro strap.

I bought a huge Fossil JR9453 back in 2010 when I was in Germany. Blingy enough for me, but it takes three batteries and was apparently a European only watch.

I've had an Invicta 9937 for close to 10 years. It's from when they were equipped with an ETA 2824 movement and a flame-sapphire crystal. After I'd beaten the crap out of it and destroyed the bezel and bracelet, I bought a cheap eBay replacement Rolex bezel and a NATO strap, thoroughly cleaned the watch, hit it with a buffer and put the nex bezel on and it looks like new and still runs fine. Do I care about seconds a day? No. But it was like $325 and it's sturdy and serviceable.

What about an Orange Monster? Tough watch and cheap buy in with a decent automatic movement.

http://www.jomashop.com/seiko-5-mens-watch-srp309.html

There are some well done Invicta models, but for the most part I would never ever get one again - besides their looks, of the 3 I've ever bought, only 1 still works and that's because it one of there good ones they did with a Miyota movement. This specific one to be exact:

It's an Omega Planet Ocean clone known as the 'Pro diver Offshore' that I bought as a Father's day gift for my dad a long time ago and it still is doing great to this day.

If you want a decent big, but better quality inexpensive gaudy watch look at some of the Precisionist line from Bulova. You'll get a nice high frequency quartz movement and low cost maintenance watch with excellent fit and finish for the price. Was never a fan of Bulova because of their designs until they brought out the classic styled Accutron II series... Specifically this one:

I am very coservative and classic in respect to watch design, much prefering Hamilton and Magrette to most anything else in the affordable range. About as big and gaudy as I'd ever dare go would be a Grand Seiko Spring Drive chronograph. I'd much rather go with a Damasko DA37 for ~1/6 the price though (just wish it was a slightly larger watch). That is a watch of simplistic beauty yet with lot of technology and genious design with highly precise and detailed fit and finish - the HK USP of watches.

Other than Shinola watches my odd/different watches that I buy are Tokyo Flash style watches. Especially the Pimp series.