Invicta Commemorative Edition Grand Divers (THREE of 'Em!)

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misterjingles

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Everyone who collects things has a theme or a dominant sub-type among the things they collect. In the case of watches, a given collector, such as myself, might like diver’s watches best, even if he or she gets nervous and hears the theme to “Jaws” in their heads every time they get close to the two year-old’s kiddy pool. Sometimes, though, they might not like every diver they come across, for whatever reason; it might not be the right shade, or the bezel might not go well with the dial color, or, heck, it might have Mickey By Gosh Mouse on the dial. In my case, it was Invicta’s Commemorative Edition Grand Diver, with the big “Diver Dan” logo on the dial.



I mean, I got the idea of the enlarged “Diver Dan.” Okay, so maybe I didn’t, but it seemed to me that Invicta was proud of their excellent-selling Grand Diver, and that was the reason for the commemoration. Okay. But turn old “Dan” upside-down…



…and it looks, for all the world, like a toilet you’re standing at, preparing to make agua por los baños (that’s “wee-wee,” for those of you in medical device sales). See, there’s the tank, and the stool…all you need’s a magazine rack, and you’ve got yourself a gen-u-wine “reading room,” as Archie Bunker used to call it.

Nonetheless, people change as the years pass. Tastes change, as well. And suddenly, there I was on feeBay, looking at the white-dialed Commemorative Edition Grand Diver in the above pictures, and it hits me as being, well, kind of cool. Cool? Yeah, cool. So what’s a guy to do but bid on the doggone thing and bring it home to the House of the Mouse?

And, of course, I won, and became the proud owner of my first Commemorative Edition Grand Diver, with white MOP dial and now-very-cool “Diver Dan” logo, not to mention timekeeping’s latest wrist workhorse, the NH35A movement. Wonderful. Marvelous. My collection of Grand Divers is fait accompli, and I am a happy man.

However, as often happens to us collectors of watches, things conspired to make me aware that my fait wasn’t as accompli as I thought it was. There were, in fact, other Commemorative Edition Grand Divers out there. And, of course, I discovered that I must have them, as well. And the result? See below…



Just like a little chorus line ‘o Grand Divers, eh? And not just everyday Grand Divers, mind you; we’re talking doggoned Commemorative Edition Grand Divers…by GUM!





Yep, all three of the colors, “and they’re mine-all-mine," I thought, with smug satisfaction. The first, by way of recap (just in case you’ve forgotten it within the last five seconds :)) with white MOP and Seiko movement:




Second in line; an older version, with black MOP dial and white MOP inserts that create good old Plongeur Pete (“Diver Dan’s” French cousin) in a most artistic and satisfactory way. And let’s not forget that the older model carries with it a 21-jewel Miyota movement, a once-and-former workhorse of the wrist-ticker industry.




Third and lastly – at least for now* – the exquisite BROWN iteration of the Commemorative Edition Grand Diver, this one also with the MOP dial and white MOP inlays creating everyone’s favorite living logo, “Diver Dan,” first cousin to “Buzo Bill,” his Spanish counterpart.

*There is the new Grand Diver with abalone dial and large "Diver Dan" executed with dial cut-out's to consider. (Dang, they never let up, do they? Always selling some other, additional version of a watch you don't actually NEED...)




Thus far, fit and comfort have been excellent, even though my usual comfort zone is 38mm to 44mm. There’s just something about Grand Divers and their 47mm cases that I find exceptionally comfortable. Maybe it has something to do with my liking divers so much, or maybe Invicta’s design of this iconic piece is just naturally comfortable. Either way, I like the feel of this larger-sized watch. (Okay, okay; for my friends here at WIT, 47mm ain’t that large, but work with me here, guys…)





And, of course, the appearance of each of these watches truly speaks for itself. The use of MOP (and MOP inlays in the two older versions) really make these three watches stand out amongst their fellow Grand Diver family members. It’s all good.





It’s rather funny, nowadays, when I think back to my earliest reactions to this most unusual design under the Grand Diver moniker. I couldn’t have imagined buying one of them, let alone all three, yet that’s exactly what ended up happening. And I remain amazed at how much I’ve come to really like the look of this Grand Diver, big logo and all. Still, as I found out by the less-than-usual amount of “likes” my first one received when I snuck it into my WURW rotation, it isn’t for everyone. True enough. But maybe that’s all just part of this special watch’s charm.




As always, many thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful remainder to your holiday season.


©2016, Mortuus Aviation, LLC. All rights reserved.
 
All great pieces, Don. The center MOP full dial is probably the one of that design that I'll keep when the rest become endangered species.
 
I also appreciate diver dan and love grand divers. The size is a bit large but I love the substantial ness of them. Congrats on the latest and all of them:)


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Great post. Congrats on your Diver Dan trio. The Grand Diver is one of their best IMO.
I just wish you hadn't pointed out the toilet. Now everytime I see the large logo I also see the toilet :shake:

Kind of like the FedEx logo. Once someone points out the arrow in the logo your eyes always focus to it.

Fedex-hidden-message-within-the-logo.jpg
 
I can no longer look at these watches the same way...lol:)
 
Great post. Congrats on your Diver Dan trio. The Grand Diver is one of their best IMO.
I just wish you hadn't pointed out the toilet. Now everytime I see the large logo I also see the toilet :shake:

Kind of like the FedEx logo. Once someone points out the arrow in the logo your eyes always focus to it.

Fedex-hidden-message-within-the-logo.jpg


Ah, crap, Steve! If the toilet wasn't bad enough (one more reason for me to hate diver dan) now you've ruined FedEx for me! :headbang::grin:wink:
 
d-rendering-toilet-seat-top-view-black-backgroun-background-72228403.jpg
I can see the resemblance.:hmm:

But it does look good on a watch.:dance:

Glad your going to keep the collection going with the abalone. :good:
 
Still, as I found out by the less-than-usual amount of “likes” my first one received when I snuck it into my WURW rotation, it isn’t for everyone. True enough. But maybe that’s all just part of this special watch’s charm.

The great thing about the WIT forum is it gives the closeted brand collector who enjoys all kinds of watches no matter who makes them or what the cost, a refuge to show them off and enjoy without being torn a new one or ridiculed.


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Great post. Congrats on your Diver Dan trio. The Grand Diver is one of their best IMO.
I just wish you hadn't pointed out the toilet. Now everytime I see the large logo I also see the toilet :shake:

Yeah, I had a bit of an "internal debate" over whether or not to mention the whole toilet thing, but in the end (no pun intended), I kept it in...

Kind of like the FedEx logo. Once someone points out the arrow in the logo your eyes always focus to it.

Fedex-hidden-message-within-the-logo.jpg

Now that's pretty cool, and I have to admit that, in all these years, I never even caught the slightest glimpse of that arrow...good old Madison Avenue; sometimes they really do manage to come up with some neat ideas... :)
 
The great thing about the WIT forum is it gives the closeted brand collector who enjoys all kinds of watches no matter who makes them or what the cost, a refuge to show them off and enjoy without being torn a new one or ridiculed.

Mike...couldn't agree with you more.
Tommy Lee Jones was my favorite Two Face.
 
[h=2]Logo#1-Federal Express[/h]The first FedEx logo, which was created in 1971, actually went by the full name of Federal Express. This logo showed the words “Federal Express” at a slant. Each word is in a different colored area of the logo. The main reason for the name “Federal Express” was to associate the company with the U.S. Government. This meant that Federal Express enticed employees from the both the US government and the civilian population. This helped Federal Express to catapult itself to the top of the delivery world.
[h=2]Logo#2-The Hidden Symbol[/h]In 1994 the current logo of FedEx was created. This logo featured only the words FedEx which, though it seems simplistic, actually has some depth to it. First off, the logo is rather famous for the optical illusion hidden within it. If someone looks closely at the space between the E and the X a person will notice a small arrow hidden there. This arrow served to symbolize FedEx’s speed and accuracy. There is also an important meaning in the colors of the “Ex.” Whatever color the Ex is differentiates between the different parts of the company. As an example an orange “Ex” stands for FedEx express, while a red “Ex” stands for FedEx Freight. In this way FedEx is able to cleverly separate the individual businesses from within the whole of FedEx. So, as can be seen, FedEx has managed to pack quite a bit of information and symbolism into a clean and simple logo.

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The great thing about the WIT forum is it gives the closeted brand collector who enjoys all kinds of watches no matter who makes them or what the cost, a refuge to show them off and enjoy without being torn a new one or ridiculed.

That's very well said, Mike. :clap: I consider myself very lucky in that all three of the watch forums I belong to are that way. There are a few out there -- who will, of course remain unnamed here -- that are the opposite of the "warm, well-lighted place(s)" I consider 'my' watch sites to be. In truth, I didn't know how I might be accepted here (by those who might know of my deceased alter-ego) when I first showed up, but it's obvious to me now that I needn't have worried. As much as repeating myself is anathema to me, I'll say it again: I'm very lucky indeed... :)
 
You've ruined it forever. I'll never see Diver Dan again, from now on all I'll see is the place Dan takes a dump. Other than that it's a 5 star post MJ :good:

And now I'm logo hunting for arrows in FedEx, 31's in Baskin Robbins, bible reading robots in the Chicago bulls, vaginas in Liberty Mutual, the word "Mom" in Wendy's, etc. and so on.

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new-wendys-logo-1.jpg
 
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