After the Spinnaker Tesei Titanium we are crossing the ocean to arrive at the United States. There we will meet the Invicta Grand Diver. With the Invicta Pro Diver 9094OB review (also available in Spanish) I advanced my attraction for the top model, the Grand Diver 3045. Considering that with a slightly increased price you get a lot more, it makes sense.
Do you want to know which is different between regular Pro Diver and Grand Diver? Then continue reading this review.
Data sheet
| Gender | Male |
| Case | 316L stainless steel. 47mm diameter excluding the crown. 14.4mm height |
| Crown | Screwed stainless steel |
| Dial | Blue |
| Bezel | Unidirectional stainless steel |
| Glass | Mineral |
| Lume | Yes |
| Case-back | Exhibition screwed |
| Strap | 22mm wide stainless steel |
| Functions | Hour, minutes, seconds, day of the month |
| Water resistance | 30 BAR |
| Weight | N/A |
| Movement | Seiko NH35A. 21,600 bph. 24 jewel |
| Complications | Automatic winding with bidirectional rotor. Manual winding, hacking |
| Performances | 41h power reserve. -20/+40 spd |
| Origin | Designed in USA. Made in China. Japan Movement. Made in Malaysia |
| Warranty | 2 years (3 years registering at invictawarranty.com) |
| RRP | €499 (offer €140 with 10% discount) |
| Dealer | Invicta Watch Europe / Invicta Watch Company of America |
Packaging
With the large FedEx Pro Diver packaging of the 9094, I was expecting an even larger one for the Invicta Grand Diver. Rationally it was equally sized which to me is fine according to dispose and environmental concerns.
They continue to us a FedEx customized box. It is neutral on the outside, but yellow branded in the interior.
Presentation box itself is double. First, we have the yellow carton one engraved with the Invicta logo.
Once we remove the top cover we find the box itself. It is made from a smooth rubber-like material with visible decorative stitches. It is signed with the “Invicta” name.
The interior is appealing and very protective with the watch during transportation, so you can reuse it when traveling.
As usual the kit the supply is much more than you need. First of all, a branded cloth for cleaning your watch, and the usual warranty card download (1.1 MB. in PDF format), the warranty extension from 2 to 3 years, the instructions manual download (416 KB. in PDF format).
Companion documentation includes a promotional flyer of their new Time Flies Fashion, a wear brand inspired by their watches, and some additional diptych with reminders about the post-sales services they offer to all customers.
Introduction
The Invicta Pro Diver has been for years and years the recommended diver style watch for entry level aficionados. The Grand Divers goes a step beyond, because it is further massive and further water resistant. Its size may scary us, but as we saw with the Radiant Dax it is a matter of personal preferences and being used to it.
Same as with the Pro Divers, the Grand Divers are among the most long-lasting models in the brand catalog. The ones sold right now are now at the second generation. Surprisingly, the Grand Diver is not a collection of watches but a label given to some models in the Pro Diver range. They share a common characteristic; they are water resistant to 300M. If the Pro Diver are marketed as “Master of the oceans”, the enhanced Grand Divers are then the “Master of the masters of the oceans”.
The 3045 together with the 3044 in black are the more classical and atemporal pieces, being in there since at least 2012. The variety of dive watches is impressive. Starting with the 3045 at 47mm, the 22019 at 43mm, the 33267 at 42mm, the already reviewed 9094 at 40mm as well as the 33273 at 38mm.
So it is very easy to find the model that best suits your preferences and wrist size. Unfortunately, you will need to discard some, because if you want a 300M water resistance you should go to the Grand Diver which is only available in larger diameters.
Design and manufacturing
The case is made of surgical stainless steel grade 316L. On top it is sanded to a matt finishing, while on its sides it is mirror polished. The size is impressive at a diameter of 47mm excluding the crown.
On the left side it has an “Invicta” engraving, something which some people like me loves, and other hates. On the opposite side the is the “Grand Diver” engraving. This makes the case more special, more original.
The crown is screwed, mandatory in a diver watch with a water resistance of up to 300 meters, 1000 feet or 30 BAR, but it is not ISO 6425 certified. It is made of stainless steel and signed.
We have a bezel equivalent to the one in the Pro Diver, a 120 clicks unidirectional rotating one. It is made of stainless steel too and the insert seems to be aluminum tinted in a metallic blue which matches quite well with the dial color.
The crystal is flat, thick and robust, making it go beyond the dial and thus with a risk of scratches. It is a hardened mineral glass, similar to the Seiko’s Hardlex™. It does not produce reflections but the Flame Fusion the brand uses in other models is a step forward. As you know, FlameFusion is a mix of mineral glass and sapphire that is manufactured using the Verneuil method. This makes it almost as hard as the sapphire, and almost as strong as the mineral.
The dial is blue with sunray effect. Pretty much identical than in the 9094OB, and this is perfect because the blue color looks good, the sunburst effect is noticeable, but it is not predominant so it does not make you tired. Logos are applied with silver contours while the rest of inscriptions, including the minutes markers are printed in white.
Hands are of type arrow instead of the Mercedes kind in the Pro Diver. They feel better in the dial giving more personality with same readability. To my personal taste they seem a few millimeters shorter than it should. These hands are not used in smaller Invicta watches, so as the contrary as we saw with the Orient Flight this should be an intentional design, not a reuse of existing components.
Its contours as well as the ones in the hour markers are silver polished. They are oversized providing a great daylight visibility.
The lume is the proprietary Trinite by Invicta. In the Grand Diver the brightness and duration is better than on the Invicta 9094OB. For sure reason is that we have more surface available to apply, but I would bet that the used compound is a bit better too. Brightness on the markers is very high, while in the hands and in the dot of the bezel is high. The performance is a bit beyond the LumiNova/Super-LumiNova.
Case-back has an exhibition glass allowing the owner to appreciate the movement. Rest of the shape is made of stainless steel, and of course in a diver watch, screwed.
At first glance you notice the bracelet is awesome. Solid stainless steel links and solid endlinks, which is not common even in more expensive timepieces. It is long enough to accommodate on large wrists, measuring 215mm in length. Clasp is a fold over deployant, very solid too, but without pushers not security mechanism. It is signed and even if not diving extension is present, it provides up to 4 microadjustments that should do the job.
An additional finishing detail is the decoration with the Grand Diver logo in the end-links, giving it more presence.
There is no information regarding its weight, according to my measurement it is at 240g, which is bulky as we should expect considering its built robustness and its size. In my configuration for a 17-17,5cm wrist size it weighted 220g.
Movement
Nothing new in the heart of this Invicta Grand Diver. It is powered by the reliable and known Seiko NH35A movement supplied by TMI we have already seen in the Steeldive SD1971 (Sumo), San Martin SN038-G (Marinemaster 300) or Reise Resolute prototype.
It beats at a frequency of 21,600 bph, contains 24 jewels and support both hacking and manual winding. Among their virtues it is very quiet, pleasant to adjust date and time and very efficient in terms of automatic charging due to its bidirectional winding rotor with magic lever. At Invicta they continue to use their yellow decorated rotor which makes the movement very attractive.
According to the manufacturer its accuracy is between -20/+40 seconds/day while the power reserve is 41 hours. Further details available in their technical specifications (1,1 MB. in PDF format). Discrete numbers at the end that in practice are far better. My unit reported at the timegrapher a value of just +6 seconds/day which is a more than good behavior.
It is possible to download the NH36 manual from their website ((923 KB. in PDF format) but not the NH35.
Feelings
Bezel works with the perfect balance between smoothness, so it is not too hard to turn, but not enough to accidentally move it. Its pleasant and its sound reflects assembling quality. Aesthetically the removal of the Rolex like hands, and other tiny changes make it a more personal watch.
The wristwatch feels like a solid as well as massive piece, which in my opinion is good, that is what you search for when looking for a tool watch. Well-built and with no issues in the finishing nor the quality controls. Most noticeable, the solid bracelet typically supplied with watches costing 2 or 3 times more is awesome. If we would like to improve it, even at the cost of an extra money, the almost nowadays standard ceramic bezel would be very nice to have. Invicta has combined a conservative and well-known design with a gaudy size, it looks masculine and makes you feel powerful and almost bullet-proof.
It fits large and weights. You feel you are wearing the watch. Unexpectedly it is not uncomfortable at all unless you are wearing tight cuffs. The case does not pitch on the wrist, even when you are constantly moving your arms. It gets always on place. As a metaphor it wears as if you were driving a Hummer, it is not the most practical, but it is robust and cool.
The Grand Diver 27611 is almost identical, but featuring some youth yellow accents that I am liking a lot too.
Conclusions
The Grand Diver 3045 is an upgrade of the already know Pro Diver models. With a tiny price increase over them, it features lots of small nice improvements and details, most noticeable its lume and its water resistance. If you like big watches this is your best choice. The concept of being able to own a durable at that cost is fair, and unfortunately not usual. To be honest I do not know any brand which is able to offer a 300 meter diver watch at roughly €140. Excepting the Chinese brands no one is near to this price tag. Count also on the 3 year warranty and the no involvement of additional customs taxes nor hidden fees. A durable watch that does not need you to spend all your budget.
Hope at Invicta continue acting that way and makes the Grand Diver range even stronger. Cannot wait for a 43mm or 44mm sized Grand Diver which will be almost perfect.
| ▲ More | ▼ Less |
| Solid stainless steel construction 300M water resistant |
Hands could be larger Glass is not Flame Fusion |
I don’t know why, some people hates this watch, I only see: quality, good movement and good price.
Thanks Guti. You are mi little brother.
Thank you very much Ricardo. Good movement, good quality and a fair price.
Como mola la firma del rotor
Gracias John Wayne. Me gusta que esa caligrafía impresa tan retro. Y el color amarillo le da un toque muy espectacular. Es una característica que también tenía el Invicta Pro Diver y que hace que el conjunto tenga un valor percibido que parece imposible por su precio.