Invicta watch??

[skimon]

I'm considering an Invicta watch (pro diver series) that is realatively cheap ($80 - $100) and is rated as water resistant to 200 meters. I plan to use it primarily as a "watch" and I dive no deeper than 100 FSW. I'm wondering if Invicta has a decent reputation for water resistance, durability, etc?
Thanks!!

 

[MRadke]

I have an Invicta with the 100 meter rating. I've used it for several years and it hasn't missed a beat. I keep a little grease on the o-ring and my dives haven't exceeded 100 feet. When you think about it, even the 100 meter rating is 3 times as deep as it is reasonable to go on air.

 

[tplyons]

Mine fogs up in the shower. I wouldn't trust it in a kiddie pool.

 

[Quero]

I've had more than one. The first one flooded around the crystal. The store replaced it at no charge. The second one flooded in the battery case. The store didn't replace it because they had had so many issues with failures that they stopped carrying the brand.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

It is unfortunately typical of inexpensive diver watches. I have a FreeStyle and gave my son an Invitica for his birthday. Both are going strong, they are certainly better than the junk at Walmart. I like the feel and looks. I would not trust either diving despite the depth rating.They are not pressure tested. If the crown unscrews, it will leak.

 

[Quero]

When my second Invicta flooded, my distributor started carrying Immersion dive watches, and I bought a Storm. However, Immersion seems to have gone out of business, and even though the watches are excellent, you can get them at very low prices now through online resellers advertising at auction sites and overstock sites. I've had this watch for a very long time now, and it's performed faultlessly.

 

[SOFDiver]

A watch rated for less than 200 meters is not going to be a reliable dive watch. IMO the brands mentioned above are a in the "junk" category of time pieces and dive watches. For a few $ more one can get a Citizen, Seiko, or even a Casio dive watch that will provide long service. While I work in a Dive Shop, I buy my watches (dive watches) in a place that sell watches as their primary business, although I have bought at least one from Amazon.com. $150 will buy a basic Citizen dive watch, with a 3 year warranty that they will honor, and the company is not likely to go out of business for the life of the watch.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

A watch rated for less than 200 meters is not going to be a reliable dive watch. IMO the brands mentioned above are a in the "junk" category of time pieces and dive watches...

Just out of curiosity, would you trust your $150 200M rated Citizens to 200M? How about 150M? 75M?

If I recall correctly, the rating on the back of the watch is an unregulated marketing claim. Maybe someone at one point pressure tested a sample, but is a certainly not a reliable number. The only thing the brand names have going for them IMO is slightly better quality control and more of an infrastructure to support warranty claims. The designs themselves are mostly copies with cosmetic changes.

 

[PeterNBiddle]

Just out of curiosity, would you trust your $150 200M rated Citizens to 200M? How about 150M? 75M?

If I recall correctly, the rating on the back of the watch is an unregulated marketing claim. Maybe someone at one point pressure tested a sample, but is a certainly not a reliable number. The only thing the brand names have going for them IMO is slightly better quality control and more of an infrastructure to support warranty claims. The designs themselves are mostly copies with cosmetic changes.

It depends on what standard they are rated against and the dependability of their manufacturing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_6425

 

[Tigerman]

I wouldnt take a 200 meters rated citizen to 200 meteters for several reasons, non of wich has to do with the 200 meter rating...
First of all I wouldnt go to 200 meters as I dont do saturation diving or like to carry the entire dive boats supply of tanks with me while diving. Second if the watch is rated only Divers 200 meters it is NOT rated for mixed-gas enviroments, thats a rating all of its own..

However if the watch was less than 100 bucks I wouldnt give a damn about the watch crapping out, what Id be conserned with would be the result of the watch crapping out. Like wether I would have to abort the dive or my suit get all eaten up by battery acid..