More About Invicta Than You Probably Wanted.

What if I could tell you, you could get a watch that used to be in Switzerland and has a long rich history going all the way back to 1837, which if you don’t know makes it older than brands like Omega and Rolex. And what if I could tell you, you could get it at a low low price of just $60.That brand I am talking about is most likely one you've heard of called Invicta. A brand that most would say leaves a bad taste in your mouth. But some would say differently, but what we can all agree on is that history was chucked out the window once they went bankrupt and sold to a hedge fund group in Florida. This is when they become the Invicta that watch enthusiast speak so violently against.

If you're like me than you assume (assumed) its just a measly department store brand that's aimed at every Dad in Kohl's commercials. Or maybe you found them on one of those late night auction channels. Or maybe this was the first brand that started you into mechanical watches. It doesn't matter how you heard of Invicta that point is that you have.

What and Who is Invicta

Invicta surprisingly has a deep and rich history that goes into the early days of horology, and this is not hard to find. With a few google searches I came upon the history section of Invicta's website, and to give you a quick rundown of what I found here is some important facts you may not know. Invicta started in 1837 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, by Raphael Picard. From 1837 - 1970 Invicta made Swiss watches for affordable prices. But in 1959 the USSR’S Council of Labor and Defense commissioned Invicta to create a Swiss-made watch exclusively for the officers of the naval fleet. These where what once would call the "hay days" for the brand and a few decades later it would fall off the map and be picked back up in 1991. Invicta is, in fact, one of the largest growing watch companies to date, and continues to grow as it purchases other brands under it’s ever growing umbrella (such as the most well-known Glycine). Invicta while to some a joke, to others a watch mecca that one day will be uttered in the same breath as Swatch Group.

My Experience

I ordered an Invicta Pro Diver with a Seiko 8926 movement, a homage to the Rolex Submariner. It was my first time with my hands on an Invicta and I was more than surprised, for the price you could not get your hands on a better-crafted timepiece. The solid structured case and the sweeping hand of the movement strike me as a watch of higher value. While the watch is an homage of Rolex Submariner, the movement is no copycat. The Seiko 8926 comes from a brand that is in no way related to Invicta but was a genius move on the brands part to put it in this watch. The movement struck me as something better than the all revered 7s26 movement in the Seiko 007, the 8926 gives the added leg up to 7s26 with the additional added bonus of hacking. This made me think with such a well-crafted movement, case, bezel function, and a 200m water resistant. Could this beat the Seiko 007 as the best beginners automatic diver? while most would certainly disagree give the complete homage of the watches design coming from the Rolex Submariner. But I would have to argue, that this is the best Automatic Diver in its range for the price, and would this make the Seiko 007 in fact overpriced?

While this is my thoughts and initial opinions on the matter I would love to hear what you think, have you owned in Invicta? and if so did the quality and price of the timepiece shock you as much as it did me?