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Invicta Pro Diver 42mm Quartz LUME Quartz Stainless Grey/Blue

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TheJohnP
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Invicta Pro Diver 42mm Quartz LUME Quartz Stainless Grey/Blue

Post by TheJohnP »

Hope you don't mind @Klaatu3, this felt worthy of a standalone review post.

REPOSTED From Show Off Your New Watch.
Original post
- https://manontime.com/viewtopic.php?p=108659#p111181


So I ordered this, um, interesting Invicta about 9 days ago during the one-day ShopHQ "$25 off any watch" coupon. See my original post in the Bargains thread here:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3037&p=110660#p110660

The obvious "attention grabber" is the full-lume bezel. I had never seen an Invicta with one before, but I figured it was worth a modest gamble. It was on sale, so after the $25 coupon my cost was just under US $37 including shipping and tax. ShopHQ standard shipping is not exactly quick...I received it 8 days later in mid-US. I chose the grey dial with the blue lumed (ceramic?) bezel and lumed hands/markers.


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Invicta Model # 37846

Product Description: “Invicta Pro Diver 42mm Quartz LUME Quartz Stainless Grey/Blue”
Sizes: 42mm case diameter, 13mm thick, 20mm lug width, 48mm lug-to-lug

In some respects I was pleasantly surprised. It came in a standard Invicta yellow box with tags. While a part of the Pro Diver line, it seems more like an SKX homage than the familiar Subby homages like the 8926 and similar models. This stainless case is more sleek and rounded on the sides, mostly polished, and lacks the giant “INVICTA” engraving of the subs. It has their flat, “Flame Fusion” crystal with beveled edge. The grey sunray dial is elegant and restrained, lacking unnecessary printing, and sports SKX-style hands and hour markers. The blue features really pop in daylight and would probably elicit compliments in social settings.

But soon things began to go sour for me. First, the quartz movement is frustratingly hard to hack accurately (that is, so the minute hand lines up with the hash mark when the seconds hand hits 12). No matter what tricks I tried, the minute hand jumps ½ minute ahead or behind (randomly) when you push the crown in. There’s some slop in the linkage between the stem and the minute hand. Maybe this is a little OCD and won’t bother everybody, but I’ve returned quartz watches for this before.

Also, the crown is not a screw-down, which one would expect when the watch is rated 200m WR.

Most importantly, the watch falls sinfully short on its most prominent feature: LUME. It’s not bright and doesn’t last long. This lume photo was taken in a darkened room 2 minutes after exposure to full sunlight. At that time it was readable and emitted a pleasant glow. However, within 20 minutes it was nearly invisible in darkness (I didn’t bother to photograph it again…my camera was totally disinterested).

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So to me, this watch scores Invicta some points in styling, but can't be taken seriously on technical performance.

In summary, Pros:
• Nice case finishing and no obnoxious case-side branding
• Attractive dial and hands set
• Decent, standard Pro Diver stainless bracelet (hollow ends, pressed clasp, polished center links)
• Ticking seconds hand hits most of the markers
• Inexpensive (list $249 but quickly found under $100)

Cons:
• Lume is lame!
• Properly hacking the quartz movement (TMI PC32A) is nearly impossible due to sloppy gearing
• No screw-down crown, despite 200M WR claim
• Rotating bezel is stiff
• Date slightly off-center in window

Bottom Line: Can’t recommend. You’ll notice I haven’t unwrapped nor sized the bracelet. For the money it’s an attractive casual watch, but I’ll probably be returning it.

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Klaatu3
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Re: Invicta Pro Diver 42mm Quartz LUME Quartz Stainless Grey/Blue

Post by Klaatu3 »

TheJohnP wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 7:28 pm Hope you don't mind @Klaatu3, this felt worthy of a standalone review post.
I don't mind a bit @TheJohnP. Thanks for the repost & thread :D
- Klaatu3

"I don't have time to set all these &%#* watches!"
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