Invicta Grand Diver Men's Automatic Watch

Bought with some Christmas money to replace a Citizen Eco-Drive solar powered watch that I've had for about 15 years, but had finally given up the ghost (who knew that these actually have a capacitor in them which eventually wears out. Defeats the Eco object really!)In view of this I determined I really wanted a fully mechanical Automatic watch. Looked at loads of reviews of watches both on Amazon and lots of other websites. Seiko kept coming up as highly recommend and this Invictor Grand Diver uses one of their best movements.I like Diver style watches and this has the classic Rolex look but without the price tag! If you are a 'watch snob' then you probably won't be interested but you'll be missing out, the quality and accuracy for a watch of this price is outstanding! It gains no more than about 3.5 minutes a month when worn every day, better (according to some 'watch buff' reviews), than a Rolex. I have an desk job so not much movement during the day, but I do walk a fair bit and am quite active outside of 'office hours' and it's never varied in the 5 months I've had it.I particularly like the 'Cyclops' date magnifier as I've always had problems making out the dates on watches even with my glasses on, particularly when you just glance at them. This is not a problem any longer and I can easily tell the date with just a quick look. I also like the fact that it has a 'hacking' movement, which means the second-hand can be stopped to aid synchronisation when setting the time. Many automatic watches do not seem to offer this feature, even some costing many times more than this one.The glass seems to have shrugged of scratches up till now and I wear it all the time, even when spannering on my motorcycles.Ok, now the potential 'downsides', they aren't for me but these are things that the potential buyer ought to be aware of. As other reviews have said, it's a BIG HEAVY watch. I have 7.25 inch wrists, so not huge by any means, and it still sits well and doesn't look stupidly big, which was something I was a little concerned about. The edges of the case curve nicely to 'wrap' around the wrist, which helps to minimise the scale overall. The watch face itself is exactly what I was hoping for, I wanted a simple, clear design and a size which allowed you to see the time clearly at a glance without tiny minute marks and clutter from useless small dials, perfect. More of a surprise was the weight, it is HEAVY, you wouldn't want to drop this on your bare foot! Now I personally got used to this fairly quickly and after a couple of weeks didn't really pay much attention to it during normal use. I am still reminded of it's weight when I first pick it up each morning though, but I kinda like the sense of wearing something that feels like it could shrug off a nuclear blast! However, if that's not you, then you may struggle with this aspect more than anything. The depth of the case is probably the other thing I was surprised about and is something I notice more than the overall size. It is thick and stands quite a way off the wrist as a result and can catch in things if you're trying to work in confined spaces like on a car or motorcycle. Personally, I just take it off if I know that's going to be the case, but again something to bear in mind.In conclusion, if you are not a 'watch snob', like the style and thought of a big, chunky, extremely well made and accurate timepiece, then do not hesitate and just buy it. It looks even better 'in the flesh' than it does in the pictures and you are very unlikely to be disappointed.

I have been a fan of Invicta Watches for many years now having purchased their 8926OB (Homage to the Submariner) version some 7 or so years ago from Amazon. In those days the Invicta’s were shipped from the USA which incurred Customs Handling Fees (albeit reimbursed by the seller at that time).Now Amazon are able to provide Prime Next Day Delivery Service on these watches.I was looking through Amazon’s range of Invicta watches when I saw the Grand Diver. I like large watches and this is a really large (49 mm), heavy watch. I went for the black dial version with the green bezel which was being sold for a very competitive price. The green is not normally a colour I would choose but I felt like being a bit different.The watch was delivered Next Day and well packaged by Amazon.I have to say, Invicta have really done a great deal to up their game-plan with their latest watch range.The watch comes in Invicta’s classic yellow textured clam snap case which is blistered packaged for protection-security.Opening the case reveals a yellow suede effect interior, Membership Card, Warranty Booklet, extended Warranty offer and the Watch itself with the Invicta Swing Tag. The watch is beautifully covered with protective plastic on the bracelet, watch face and the exhibition back. Having removed the protective plastic, I was left with an absolutely stunning looking watch, which has serious presence on the wrist and I absolutely love the green bezel. The case and bracelet are beautifully machined with a combination of polished & satin finishes. The overall build quality of the watch case and bracelet is fabulous. The watch has an excellent Lumen on all 3 hands, bezel ref Dot and hour markers. The cyclops lens does a great job, magnifying the date, even for my eyes. The exhibition back allows you to see the movement. What I really like is Invicta have moved from the 21 Jewel Miyota movement to the 24 Jewel Seiko NH35A (SII) movement. The NH35A is a much nicer looking movement enhanced by the yellow Self-Winding Rotor on which is written stylised information about the movement. Timekeeping of this watch has been really impressive and much, much better than the Miyota movement in my Pro Diver 8926OB. I like the stylised second hand with the Invicta logo and the applied name and logo on the watch dial. Although not everyone’s cup of tea, I do like the Invicta name engraved into the polished case side and the name, Grand Diver, engraved either side of the Screw Down Crown. If there is one issue I have, it’s the Screw-Down Crown. The thread quality when screwing the Crown back down is rough / not smooth and care must be taken to not to cross thread the crown which can cause it to bind. I have tried to address this issue by using a miniscule amount of special clock grease on the thread (mindful of rubber seals). The grease has made a slight improvement. As I liked the Seiko NH35A (SII) movement so much, I purchased a new Invicta Pro Diver 8926OB to replace my older version fitted with the Miyota movement. All three watches exhibit the same Screw-Down Crown issues described.I also have to agree with other reviewers who state the Bezel is very difficult to turn. The bezel is really tight, not helped by the use of the scalloped edge, rather than the alternative coin edge (OB). That said, it has loosened up slightly, with continued usage.In conclusion, this is a very large, heavy, visually stunning watch, which keeps excellent time whilst representing amazing value for money at the price I paid compared to its current price. Add to this the 300M-1000ft Water Resistance and you have an impressive Diving watch.

I researched this watch for my Christmas treat to myself after I watched a lot of Invicta videos on the Grand Diver range. I've never ever considered an automatic watch or the Invicta brand before but the stand out looks of this model caught my eye. Upon receiving and wearing this Grand Diver I was not disappointed with this timepiece, I just love the yellow coloured face dial and the smooth movement of the second hand, it's a chunky design which suits a real divers watch look and I also purchased when it was at a super low price!The 'Invicta' and 'Grand Diver' side case inscriptions plus the divers helmet branding on the face and stainless steel watch band makes this a stand out piece of timekeeping beauty, the price was a third cheaper than some of the bigger branded automatics so it wasn't too much of a hit to the wallet. The large diameter and height doesn't look out of place on my slim 7" sized wrist. Suprisingly it's very comfortable to wear and doesn't feel too heavy even after a long day of use.This divers watch is presented in a nice large yellow ripple shell padded case with warranty and instructions and it keeps an acceptable good time, the one I received gains a few seconds a day but I knew that automatics can either lose or gain time. If you don't wear the watch for more than two days then it will stop, so you do have to wind it a good 25 to 30 times with the crown unscrewed just to make it run for another day. I will never really use this watch for diving to three hundred metres, but for every day use it's a real 'looker' and I just love wearing it.