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Invicta was originally a Swiss watch brand that was founded in 1837. Like almost all watch brands for all of the 1800s and most of the 1900s, Invicta produced high-quality mechanical watches for the wealthy people of Europe that could afford them.
Another familiar story is the quartz crisis of 1970 which shook the industry to its core and decimated many Swiss watchmakers. Invicta was no different and struggled to make ends meet. The market for the middle class who wanted a reasonably priced timepiece was completely taken over by battery-powered movements from Japan. Invicta could simply not keep up.
However, in 1991 the brand rights were acquired in a corporate takeover and is now run as “Invicta Watch Group Ltd” with its headquarters in Hollywood, California. Invicta does still continue to make some of their watches in Switzerland but has mostly outsourced their manufacturing to Asia.
Invicta are extremely fond of collaborating. If you’re into special edition watches or a specific company outside of watchmaking, there is a decent chance Invicta has made a watch with them.
As of today, Invicta has made the following watches: Star Wars, Disney, Marvel, Various NFL Teams, The US Navy, The Muppets & DC Comics.
Table of Contents
Do Invicta Make Good Quality Watches?
Overall Invicta makes very solid quality fashion watches. Most of their timepieces contain either miyota (Japanese quartz) movements and at the higher end contain some low-level Swiss movements.
Invicta is not a high-end brand that makes luxury watches. They are a company that mostly makes oversized fashion watches and are well known for their garish designs. Compared with other fashion watch brands, Invicta makes pretty good quality watches. The movements are generally the same as other similar level watches.
If you want an automatic watch with a high-quality Swiss movement, there are much better and cheaper choices than Invicta. However, these watches will not be the same design and often looks very basic. In short, Invicta is appealing because of its designs. You can find better quality for money in other brands such as Orient or Seiko, however, these watches are aimed at completely different demographics.
The only comparable brand to Invicta is TW Steel who also make oversized watches for a similar price point. However, their designs are still quite different.
Why Are Invicta Watches So Big?
The main reason Invicta watches are big is that this is the identity of the brand. Invicta is known for producing giant watches well over 46mm cases with 20mm thickness. They are a similar brand to TW Steel who also make statement watches which most people would consider to be oversized.
Secondly, as time has passed, the general consensus of people was to wear larger watches. Women would never have worn 40mm dial watches 20 years ago, now it is fairly common.
Similarly in the 1950s, it was common for a man’s Rolex to be around 30-32mm. You will almost never see a man wear anything under 38mm in modern-day. As the design of watches has progressed with subdial complications and date wheels, the need for watches to become bigger has been a consequence of this.
Lastly, people in general have become taller and weigh a lot more than the average adult did even just 50 years ago. It would make sense that they now want bigger watches.
Are Invicta Watches Expensive?
No, Invicta watches are not particularly expensive at all. Even though their watches can be found “heavily discounted” at various retailers. If you buy an Invicta watch from a website such as eBay or Amazon, you will generally always be paying between $60 and $300. The difference in price is usually due to the popularity of the watch along with the various complications.
Some may describe Invicta watches as “cheap” since they use basic movements and their watches are a similar level and finish to various fashion watch brands such as Hugo Boss, Emporio Armani and Michael Kors.
Overall if you take into account that Invicta designs original watches by themselves and collaborates with various other companies, their watches are very unique. Therefore their watches are pretty good value. They certainly aren’t the cheapest brand on the market, but you can’t say Invicta is expensive.
Are Invicta Watches Swiss Made?
On the whole, No. Invicta mostly sources their parts from around the world and uses Japanese quartz movements (specifically Miyota) in their watches.
However, Invicta still does assemble some watches in Switzerland. Depending on the model and which range the watch is from, Invicta does sometimes use Swiss movements. When they do use a Swiss movement it will almost always be mentioned since it is higher quality.
Why Are Invicta So Hated?
In all honesty, the main reason Invicta watches are hated is snobbery. They’re not particularly overpriced, neither are they poor quality. Watch snobs do not like the fact that Invicta use a basic Japanese quartz movement coupled with an unusually oversized and loud design.
Other reasons include their “homage” designs. Although if you are to look at divers watches for an example, Invicta is a very similar style to Rolex. This could be viewed as a cheap copy, but there are many other companies that imitate this style. In addition, Invicta actually designs a lot of watches themselves. I am not particularly a fan of the Zeus Bolt 2, although you can’t argue that it’s not an original design.
Why Are Invicta Watches Always On Sale?
The only legitimate criticism about Invicta are some of the MSRP’s they put on their watches. In the past, they have been caught listing $800 watches as 80% off. In reality, I do not know anyone who has paid $800 for an Invicta, and likely you don’t either.
However, in my opinion, this is just marketing. There are lots of companies that use this strategy. Not only this, but there are methods of making your watches look better than they actually are which are far shadier than deep discounting.
The 8 Best Invicta Watch Models
Invicta Pro Diver
At first glance, you would be forgiven for thinking this was a Rolex Submariner. The difference between the watches is that as usual, Invicta decided to make it bigger. In this case, it’s only 43mm to 40mm between the two.
Anyway, this watch costs over 100 times less than a Rolex sub, but obviously it isn’t made of real gold and neither does it have a Swiss automatic movement. That said, for this price, it’s really good value. The Invicta Pro Diver series comes in a variety of different colors and in general, is probably the best value-for-money watch that the brand offers.
Check The Price Of Invicta Pro Diver Watches On Amazon
Invicta Bolt
If you were looking to make a statement then the Invicta Bolt Chronograph will do that for you. It is a colossal 48mm wide and over 16mm thick. The strap contains two screws at either end to secure it to the case, and believe me they are needed!
If you have a lot of muscle on your arms or are a bigger guy in general. This watch certainly won’t look out of place on your wrist and is very heavy. The crazy thing is that this watch is also 200 meters water-resistant. Not that you’d ever want to dive with this watch on as you might have trouble getting back to the surface.
Check The Price Of Invicta Bolt Watches On Amazon
Invicta I-Force
The Invicta I-force are the sports models of the Invicta brand. They are giant watches with 50mm cases and are likely inspired by both Tag Heuer & Audemars Piguet. The Japanese Miyota (quartz) movement means that although the watch is incredibly bulky, it will also be accurate and reliable.
I-Force watches are available in a variety of different colors and also are made for left handers. If you’re looking for an Invicta watch with the crown on the left hand side, the I-Force range would be your best bet.
Check The Price Of Invicta I-Force Watches On Amazon
Invicta Aviator
Funnily enough, the Aviator is one of the smallest watches Invicta makes. Although not by much, its case measures 48mm. This is made up for by the fact that it has giant exposed chronograph buttons. Due to the fact that they are so large, it wouldn’t be recommended to wear this kind of watch for a manual job since they may get knocked or scuffed.
The aviator has an unusual 2 subdial design with the dials being at the 12 and 6 o’clock positions respectively. The exposed date wheel is also quite an uncommon feature on many watches which mostly just choose to reveal a single number. The watch is very heavy and well plated so the gold effect will not wear away.
Check The Price Of Invicta Aviator Watches On Amazon
Invicta Speedway
One of the more plain watches made by Invicta. The speedway is available in a few different colors and is just a simple oversized chronograph.
This watch is ideal if you are a big guy who wants a big watch, but not something that is too loud. The simple color scheme makes it one of Invictas least garish designs. Although it’s oversized, the lugs of the case are not too gigantic, so it sits well on your wrist and is very comfortable to wear.
Check The Price Of Invicta Speedway Watches On Amazon
Invicta Coalition
As you can see, this is not a typical Invicta watch. The coalition has an automatic movement that is visible from both the front and the back through 2 clear glass dials. If you aren’t familiar with automatic movements, this just means that the watch will wind itself by the everyday movement of your wrist.
On the side of the watch is a giant crown guard. As the watch is so bulky and heavy, this is quite necessary as the crown is the most delicate piece and needs to be well protected. If you’re looking for a unique or individual Invicta watch that doesn’t break the bank. The coalition is definitely recommended.
Check The Price Of Invcita Coalition Watches On Amazon
Invicta Signature Collection
The Invicta Signature collection offers a variety of different watches, each group having its own style. The watch featured above is the Russian diver series. This series is slightly higher-end than the average Invicta watch since it contains a Swiss movement rather than a Japanese one.
Another unusual feature is the crown protector which is screwed onto the side of the watch. This feature has been used by various other brands such as Breitling and TW Steel. It is quite rare to see this coupled with a square dial. To be honest I don’t think I’ve ever seen a watch do this before.
Check The Prices Of Invicta Signature Collection Watches On Amazon
Special Edition Watches
Invicta manufactures a lot of special edition watches. It has contracts with various companies such as Disney, Marvel & DC, as well as others. Therefore you always have to keep your eyes open for these as they are quickly snapped up and not reproduced.
The Venom series in particular is the highest spec of Invictas Swiss-made watches. They almost always have a case size well over 50mm and have various features such as a double date window and chronograph. If you love oversized watches, the Venom range is ideal for you.
Check The Price Of Invicta Special Edition Watches On Amazon