Enough and DONE!

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bignoize

Tyme Master Jr.
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about a month or 2 ago I had rubber invicta strap go to crap on me in one day. Today I was in a Russian diver mood I grabbed a diver on a rubber strap start to buckle it an it crumbles at the barrels! breaks completely in half, I was gonna post a pic but I was so disgusted. I couldn't even manage to take a pic of a watch ( imagine that, ME OF ALL PEOPLE! not wanting to take a pic of a watch to share with you guys) I stripped the watch of the band an threw it the first place I believed it belonged, that's right.... the trash.
Then I thought ehh I could keep the barrels and buckle so I did that.

needless to say today is the very last day I ever buy any invicta on a rubber strap.
 
That sucks, but you know the rules Noize, you're supposed to give a warning before posting a rant :grin
I can't ever remember hearing of any Deep Blue's on rubber coming apart ... just sayin' :grin
 
Not good.:no: I don't keep any rubber straps from Invicta. I've put all my RDs on leather, for just that reason.:wink:
 
That's terrible. I almost always throw mine on leather...
 
I know poly has that issue, does silicone, too?
We don't know yet, none of them have really aged enough to have troubles. I'm going to predict silicone will have much longer legs than poly.

Now, all together now....

INVICTA POLY. IT'S WHAT SUCKS.

Bignoize, you have earned cake. Have a big piece, wash it down with a beverage of your choice.


Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
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Cheap a$$ chinee rubber sucks...not like great American rubber. The point of failure, though..not designed for long term wear. They sell the piece, then quickly move on. I've only got a couple Invictas...I only had one on a rubber strap but put it on an extra DB rubber strap I got with my SeaRam chrono. Much more comfy. I'm sure a lot more durable as well. I imagine this has happened to a lot more WIT's here....they're just not sharing it. But yeah, it's a HUGE turn-off for me.
 
BN the Invicta poly with the barrels is the worse known to man my friend! Better off with another strap anyway.
 
Gotta be frustrating to keep you from taking a pic, Noize.
I feel your pain.
 
I think the real issue is the metal inserts (barrels in this case) it creates a friction point with the rubber that is sure to exasterbate the issue of rubber drying out over time and becoming brittle. As thick as the straps are, at the point where the rubber meets the metal, the rubber is thin. This is how my Bolt's strap bit the dust. Haven't had any other issues though, and so far so good with silicone.

I've had a keeper crap out on my on my Imperious (pre-invicta) man of war. I usually wear it on leather and one day... just one day I decide to try the rubber and the keeper breaks the first time I use that strap. Back to leather it went.
 
Yep...this is why I have only been buying Invictas on bracelets lately and have been replacing some of my old Invicta rubber straps with stainless steel bracelets. The rubber/polyurethane just disintegrates over time and there is no way to avoid it or at least no way that I have found so far. Interestingly, my Seiko and Citizen rubber straps have been holding up just fine over the years.

Now...if only I could replace the rubber strap on my Sea Hunter, then I'd be much happier.
 
Sorry bro, heard that story before I even before I bought my first Invicta, which is why I've tried poly straps.
 
Perhaps it's time to go with one of Avi Viera's genuine Swiss rubber straps...? :) Unfortunately, the poly's don't do too well; it's not Invicta's fault, but rather the supplier's issue. Every single one of those "barreled" straps I've ever owned has failed miserably, crumbling away at the corners and other stress points. Like daycoo2, I've replaced everything with leather, but it's a frustrating issue. Anyhow, my heart goes out to you...
 
Too bad and what ever happened to taking pride in what you make
and sell ?!
 
Too bad and what ever happened to taking pride in what you make
and sell ?!

That pride was blinded by foggy watch crystals.

Invicta3.jpg


That's not my Invicta but I have quite a few that look just the same, if not worse than that one.
 
Perhaps it's time to go with one of Avi Viera's genuine Swiss rubber straps...? :) Unfortunately, the poly's don't do too well; it's not Invicta's fault, but rather the supplier's issue. Every single one of those "barreled" straps I've ever owned has failed miserably, crumbling away at the corners and other stress points. Like daycoo2, I've replaced everything with leather, but it's a frustrating issue. Anyhow, my heart goes out to you...

Ah, yes. I believe that was Avi's famous breathable Swiss rubber according to the on-air presentation. If memory serves the written description was "PU Rubber" which translates into polyurethane. I'm afraid strap materials may have suffered from the same imprecision of language that often impacts any product where marketing types get their nose in the tent. The product might be natural rubber or some variation of synthetic rubber including polyurethane and silicone varieties. I believe it would be unfair to tar "rubber" as problematic simply due to experiences with IWG. As Locoboy notes the Seiko and Citizen rubber has no problems. Neither are there widespread reports of problems with "rubber" straps from other manufacturers. When rubber straps provide the service intended over the course of decades we may assume they are suitable to the application barring ill-advised formulations or design defects.

It should be noted that Invicta has apparently taken deteriorating rubber to a new level - it disintegrates while sitting in a box or dive case unmolested. This phenomenon was first described by Douglas Adams as "nonlinear, catastrophic structural exasperation" or in other words "The strap had just got 'fundamentally fed up with being where it was.'" Cases of non-linear catastrophic structural exasperation are extremely rare but when they occur they play merry hob with shelf life predictions and generally impact large batches of product.

You are a wise and generous mouse but I would respectfully disagree that it's in any way the supplier's issue. My conjecture (and it is conjecture) is that the stylized product with barrel accents suffers from formulation error and design choices wholly on Invicta's doorstep. The non-stylized version may suffer only from formulation errors.

Importing a new design goes something like this:
1. Concept sketches then 3D render.
2. Send files to uncle Ned who knows someone with FEA software and a book of alternative formulations.
3. Run the software to ascertain if stress points are likely to fail under various conditions, in this case mostly tensile and torsional. Will the buckle pin holes hold shape, etc.
4. If you want to get fancy run actual accelerated aging tests. Or just simulate them.
5. Bag up the files and send out for bids or ask your OEM to receive bids on your behalf. Specify the exact composition you want and outline what you expect in the way of prototype testing and evaluation.
6. Physically test the prototype. Yourself.
7. Receive big bunches of product and ship out to your happy customers.

I'm betting Invicta short-cut the process by omitting steps 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 thus compromising point 7.
In place of steps 2 through 6 substitute the following:
Vendor: What formulation you want?
IWG: Which one's cheapest?

It is not up to the supplier to determine if you've selected a rubber formulation more suited to underwear elastic or compromised function with styling licks. That stuff lands right smack on the importer's doorstep. Every time.

So, not so much a rant as me making note of who is legally liable. If any product I import goes haywire it's my wrinkled backside in the sling - I can't tell people to blame it on Tianjin. Same with Invicta rubber or anything else.

Personally I seriously doubt some importers even know if they're using PU, Silicone or one of 40,000 variations of rubber. I base this surmise on the accepted wisdom that poly straps are stronger. This is what happens when you run QC on live TV - gotta admit I love that sort of stuff.

 
about a month or 2 ago I had rubber invicta strap go to crap on me in one day. Today I was in a Russian diver mood I grabbed a diver on a rubber strap start to buckle it an it crumbles at the barrels! breaks completely in half, I was gonna post a pic but I was so disgusted. I couldn't even manage to take a pic of a watch ( imagine that, ME OF ALL PEOPLE! not wanting to take a pic of a watch to share with you guys) I stripped the watch of the band an threw it the first place I believed it belonged, that's right.... the trash.
Then I thought ehh I could keep the barrels and buckle so I did that.

needless to say today is the very last day I ever buy any invicta on a rubber strap.

Sorry to hear that Noize... but one the bright side, those barrels make great weights when fishing. See it's not all bad. :wink:
 
Ah, yes. I believe that was Avi's famous breathable Swiss rubber according to the on-air presentation. If memory serves the written description was "PU Rubber" which translates into polyurethane. I'm afraid strap materials may have suffered from the same imprecision of language that often impacts any product where marketing types get their nose in the tent. The product might be natural rubber or some variation of synthetic rubber including polyurethane and silicone varieties. I believe it would be unfair to tar "rubber" as problematic simply due to experiences with IWG. As Locoboy notes the Seiko and Citizen rubber has no problems. Neither are there widespread reports of problems with "rubber" straps from other manufacturers. When rubber straps provide the service intended over the course of decades we may assume they are suitable to the application barring ill-advised formulations or design defects.

It should be noted that Invicta has apparently taken deteriorating rubber to a new level - it disintegrates while sitting in a box or dive case unmolested. This phenomenon was first described by Douglas Adams as "nonlinear, catastrophic structural exasperation" or in other words "The strap had just got 'fundamentally fed up with being where it was.'" Cases of non-linear catastrophic structural exasperation are extremely rare but when they occur they play merry hob with shelf life predictions and generally impact large batches of product.

You are a wise and generous mouse but I would respectfully disagree that it's in any way the supplier's issue. My conjecture (and it is conjecture) is that the stylized product with barrel accents suffers from formulation error and design choices wholly on Invicta's doorstep. The non-stylized version may suffer only from formulation errors.

Importing a new design goes something like this:
1. Concept sketches then 3D render.
2. Send files to uncle Ned who knows someone with FEA software and a book of alternative formulations.
3. Run the software to ascertain if stress points are likely to fail under various conditions, in this case mostly tensile and torsional. Will the buckle pin holes hold shape, etc.
4. If you want to get fancy run actual accelerated aging tests. Or just simulate them.
5. Bag up the files and send out for bids or ask your OEM to receive bids on your behalf. Specify the exact composition you want and outline what you expect in the way of prototype testing and evaluation.
6. Physically test the prototype. Yourself.
7. Receive big bunches of product and ship out to your happy customers.

I'm betting Invicta short-cut the process by omitting steps 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 thus compromising point 7.
In place of steps 2 through 6 substitute the following:
Vendor: What formulation you want?
IWG: Which one's cheapest?

It is not up to the supplier to determine if you've selected a rubber formulation more suited to underwear elastic or compromised function with styling licks. That stuff lands right smack on the importer's doorstep. Every time.

So, not so much a rant as me making note of who is legally liable. If any product I import goes haywire it's my wrinkled backside in the sling - I can't tell people to blame it on Tianjin. Same with Invicta rubber or anything else.

Personally I seriously doubt some importers even know if they're using PU, Silicone or one of 40,000 variations of rubber. I base this surmise on the accepted wisdom that poly straps are stronger. This is what happens when you run QC on live TV - gotta admit I love that sort of stuff.


An excellent and inherently easy-to-read summary; I enjoyed each paragraph. By way of background, my assertions about Invicta are admittedly somewhat anecdotal in that what happened with one of their straps is that it literally crumbled away into pieces the size of the old Pop Roc candies, little by little, especially in the area of the barrels, which dropped away faster and faster as the watch -- one of IWG's first SW-200 offerings, with MOP dial, gunmetal case and barrel-laden rubber strap -- was put through nothing more strenuous than a day of hunting through thrift stores in Carmel. Fast forward a few days, and I come across what look like the exact same bracelets (save for the color of the rubber) on feeBay (being offered for sale by a non-Invicta private party). I replaced the broken black strap, put the watch in my storage box, and waited for the first of the two barrel straps to either succeed or fail. Turns out I didn't have long to wait.

The first of the straps, a lovely red rubber (YUM!) ditty with gunmetal barrels, started coming apart after a week, and lasted another week before it became unwearable. The second non-IWG strap, a purple rubber strip with still more ubiquitous gunmetal barrels, lasted a bit longer at three weeks. It came apart where the pins meet the lugs, and I nearly lost my beautiful SW200-powered sport watch. After that, I went to leather and didn't look back until earlier today when I mentioned the whole issue. Again, these are anecdotal experiences, but, since the colorful replacement straps didn't come from Invicta, I didn't think the bony finger of indignance should be pointed at them alone. Since the replacement straps were close enough in appearance to be from the same supplier as that which had provided IWG with their barrel straps, I hypothesized that the problem might be the supplier vice IWG. And that's the whole baked potato in one oven, Mr. Zard.

Hope that all made sense...
 
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