Invicta Crosses the Bar....

2manywatches

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Well, I will slowly start posting up my recent run of Invicta madness, since they are slowly starting to arrive. I have had my eye on this Invicta "Vintage Crossbar" as they call it, for a while. Getting back into the brand a few months ago, I've started picking up ones I'd previously passed on, and this one is an ideal mate for my crazy huge Nautilus. It arrived in the classic Invicta "dive" box.

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And here it is alongside the Nautilus:

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The Nautilus was getting quite rare when I finally decided to get one, some time back (it's the original version of it, not the latest iteration), and I was able to score one still brand new. I just went with the quartz version, with the Ronda 8040.N, providing the retrograde day, split time chronograph, and big date, 1000m WR, Superluminova, and of course crowned with the awesome diver's helmet "cage" feature, which can be removed. Well made lever for that, on a simple pivoting gear mechanism, plus, a lever on the back pops open a hinged caseback cover to showcase the movement -- not too impressive as just a quartz, haha, but still it's just kind of the height of Invicta being over the top, this whole huge design (which is surprisingly comfortable to wear, I might add).

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So, I was excited when the Crossbar came out, and, with a great sale on it, decided to get one, as a compliment to the Nautilus. There's another in this "series" as they refer to it, a model called the Chatham and Dover, and apparently this is meant to evoke watch designs from way back, hence the hinged cover and the use of Invicta's apparently original "horse" logo on the caseback.

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Here on the Crossbar model, they are using the ubiquitous Ronda Z60, styled with a rotating day wheel, date, split time chrono with 30 minute totalizer, and running seconds at the 9 o'clock subdial. Lume is reduced down to what Invicta is calling their "New Lite" lume, and WR is plenty at 500m. Case is the same size as the Nautilus at 52mmm, although obviously far less hardware with less massive features.

The Vintage Crossbar comes in a fairly wide range of color options, but, this gloss black case with the gold cage was most appealing to me. The leather strap is super soft and comfy, and of excellent quality. Like the Nautilus, this model, despite its size, sits very nicely on the wrist, although this one is less weighty than the other one, of course.

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The mechanism to open the cage feels a bit less solid than the geared lever on the Nautilus and just mineral crystal here, and, as mentioned, not Superluminova (Nautilus on the right).

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Even with Superluminova, lume has never been a strong point, with this brand.

Overall, I'm super happy, and it's a great addition to the overall collection, and a terrific companion piece to the very Invicta-ish Nautilus. The time is easily read behind the crossbar cage cover, and it's a fun watch that's already gotten lots of compliments in my first day of wearing it. Like so many Invicta models, it's just way outside the box and provides something different for those who like an unusual and unique design.

I have a few more other buys coming, and then just ordered another, thank to a post here, haha, so I'll try to post back when other stuff comes rolling in. Thanks all, for reading. Sure do love this forum!

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Well it certainly compliments the Nautilus. Nice pick up. Good color combination. Enjoy.
 
One certainly does compliment the other, cool pick-up and congrats!
 
Gotta LOVE it! I have seen several of these off and on at TJ Maxx and even with their discounted prices it was too much for me to pull the trigger. I am always looking though.
 
Gotta LOVE it! I have seen several of these off and on at TJ Maxx and even with their discounted prices it was too much for me to pull the trigger. I am always looking though.

That's awesome that some stores are still carrying Invicta, especially the more diverse models. Used to be a lot of the brand around (part of what fed my habit, haha) when I first got into Invicta, many years back now, but over time it seemed fewer places were carrying any. Thankfully it coincided with the growth of online sales availability, of course, but I'm still thankful for good old Evine (which is about to be re-branded yet again, it seems), for the helpful visuals.

Wish more watch brands had that much pre-purchase review to them. I mean, yes, some of the sales pitches are a bit much haha, but it's great to see a watch on a wrist, and have someone go over the features. It was seeing the video presentation of the Crossbar that really sold me on it -- along with a terrific price point as well.
 
2manywatches, I have seen Invictas in several local department stores, one jewelry shop not far from me as well as a couple pawn shops but their prices are crazy HIGH! The 2 pawn shops near me sell them for way too much. They make sure they display the hang tag with the MSRP which we know they NEVER sell at. The department stores are a little better, I'll do a quick online search and the price online are a 3rd or less to their sale prices. TJ Maxx is the only big store that sells them for close or less than online prices sometimes less than you can pay preowned. I have owned a lot of watches and still do and Invicta far exceeds what you can get for the money. I have two that have gone thru hell and back, both still work and tell time as good as any high end watch and IMO those high end watch would never survive going thru a commercial dish washer with 180 degree rinse! Mine did and has done several times since.
 
2manywatches, I have seen Invictas in several local department stores, one jewelry shop not far from me as well as a couple pawn shops but their prices are crazy HIGH! The 2 pawn shops near me sell them for way too much. They make sure they display the hang tag with the MSRP which we know they NEVER sell at. The department stores are a little better, I'll do a quick online search and the price online are a 3rd or less to their sale prices. TJ Maxx is the only big store that sells them for close or less than online prices sometimes less than you can pay preowned. I have owned a lot of watches and still do and Invicta far exceeds what you can get for the money. I have two that have gone thru hell and back, both still work and tell time as good as any high end watch and IMO those high end watch would never survive going thru a commercial dish washer with 180 degree rinse! Mine did and has done several times since.

Yup, durable for sure. I had one fall down quite a drop, on a hike. Took it off on a rest period, and set it too close to the edge and managed to knock it over. Thankfully, it was a nice shiny one, so I was able to find it, upon backtracking down the trail. Only damage was an index marker came loose, which was a simple repair and Invicta had it back to me in a few weeks.

Funny that I have paid far, far more for other watches that show damage so easily. My first "real" Swiss watch, a Certina auto diver, I wound up needing a new bezel after a week of wear, due to a huge scratch. My Breitling already has a scratch on the bezel as well, after a few weeks of wear.

And, yup, Invicta used to be pretty available, years back, but I sure don't see them much anymore, in local stores.

Haha, yes, those hang tag MSRP's are entertaining. While a sore point for some folks, who insist it is some kind of underhanded wizardry, the reality is that it's never what anyone pays. In terms of arguing "worth" of any watch, parts and assembly cost are never the sticker price, but I like that Invicta prices are always so low -- I definitely don't feel ripped off, which is a good feeling.

I've found it interesting that most Invicta's don't ship with any MSRP on the hang tag anymore and it has seemed part of Invicta's better efforts at being more forthright about their products. Gone also is a lot of the "Swiss Made" marking, with upfront declarations of being only a Swiss Movement, or even just a "Swiss parts" movement, and noted assembly in Malaysia or China on various models.

To me, the embrace of being a more mainstream economy type brand has resulted in some lower quality feel to some of the model lines they produce now, although they still do make some "nicer" models that rarely run more than a few hundred bucks, which is very affordable for what one gets, in my watch buying experience across a lot of brands over the years.

I came to see those sticker MSRP's as a pretty realistic measure of what I could have paid for similar specs in another brand. I remember a full titanium cased diver, 1000m WR, sapphire crystal, Swiss Ronda movement, helium release valve, and it came with an MSRP sticker that seemed quite accurate to getting anything similar from any other brand.

Heck, my COSC Invicta uses the same "super" quartz that Breitling sourced, and it cost me a couple hundred bucks, instead of two or three grand. I think the MSRP sticker on that was $1395, which is actually low, comparatively.

They do give a good watch for the price!
 
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