SAN II Replacement

2manywatches

Tyme Machine
Joined
Jul 23, 2019
Messages
2,749
Still working to post up the backlog here….so these are all recent arrivals, from the past few weeks.

So, after replacing my Victorinox Night Vision, and finally finding a strap to improve my Hammy Pan Europe, a while back, I kept stewing on my old Invicta SAN II. Frankly, I wonder if the thing was a knock off or something, I don’t know.

I posted the story about it in passing, long ago, when reviewing my other spree of SAN’s, but, in short, it arrived from an eBay Seller and it had issues with the day/date changeover. He claimed to be a jewelry store, with an in-house watch repair service, so I sent it back. It did not get fixed, after multiple back and forth trips.

Finally, at my insistence and us splitting the cost, he consented to swap the movement and it arrived back, working, but with the lume pip missing from the bezel (I filled it in with some leftover BMW touch-up paint, lol), and gunk all over the hands and subdials. The movement has since started to repeat the issue.

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:banghead:

So, it has bugged me ever since. The grime is not noticeable from a distance, and, in fact, you have to get just the right light to see the peanut butter or whatever it is, but I know it’s there, and I can’t stand it, haha. So, it sits on a shelf, not worn.

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:nono:

Because they don’t make that particular model anymore, I have kept an eye out for any SAN II I liked enough, as a replacement, since I definitely did want one in my collection.

So, I saw this Limited Edition abalone version for a great price and grabbed it.

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It doesn’t have the dubious “Swiss Made” claim on the dial, and, moving from the Ronda 8040.N, to the 5030.D, there is no retrograde day, no 1/10ths second chrono subdial, but still a 30 minute totalizer and maximum elapsed time is 12 hours instead of 10. 300m WR instead of 500m, still Flame Fusion crystal. Same size with the 47mm case. Same bracelet. Small date at four, instead of the big date down at six.

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Doesn’t really matter that I liked the other layout, since that model is no longer available, and, besides, the abalone in this one is a very nice trade off. I love the white tachymeter ring, and how it picks up the white, applied indices.

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Just as with my abalone SAN III, the various polished elements of steel are very complimentary to the excellent dial. All in all, it’s a far more attractive watch, and no spaghetti sauce on the hands or subdials, haha.

Miserable lume as we expect from Invicta, sadly. The initial glow on the indices fades out, literally, within seconds, haha. As the minutes tick by….it just becomes truly pathetic. I guess, in terms of lume, Invicta never heard the adage that anything worth doing is worth doing well?

Let's appreciate the tragedy of it....

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Camera couldn't even pick it up, shortly after. Not much a diving companion LOL.

Still has the cool crown guard closure (which was very loose on the other one – it’s tight and right here), a machined clasp, engraved case back, and I’ve always liked the bracelet on this one, although the pin and collar system is irritating for the bracelet adjustment. Love the engraved clasp and wish that came on all SAN models. 120 click bezel works well, and it is nicely appointed with raised, polished markers.

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There is a sense of emerging SAN III DNA, with the three elevated bezel features and I just like the early Invicta era feel to it, the thick yet still relatively tame case size, the sense of almost conservatism about it. Much less of a spectacle, somehow.

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So, it’s not a magical solution to replace the watch I’d wanted, but it is a worthy replacement, for me, in my little watch journey.

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Sure pairs nice with the SAN III!

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So, an oldie but a goodie, is maybe the best summary, and no more maple syrup adorned subdials and hands, haha.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Keep on watching!
 
Very nice pick up, Congrats...


sharing the journey... roger on the voices rising with the gunk and becoming intolerable on a thing no one else can see... nice abalone SAN II ...the white rehaut tachymetre does pop and complement the chalk white markers...


enjoy the journey 2many...horo magic carpet ride
 
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